The AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D earned a reputation as one of the best value gaming CPUs of the AM4 era. However, according to a recent report, this CPU has now reached end-of-life status, meaning when current stocks run out, these CPUs will no longer be available.
Launched back in January 2024, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D was essentially a slightly downclocked version of the 5800X3D, offering the same eight cores and massive 96MB of L3 cache, but with a 400MHz lower boost clock speed. This small trade-off in frequency came with a significant price cut, often selling for around £200. After the original 5800X3D was discontinued, the 5700X3D became the last widely available X3D chip for the AM4 user base.
Unfortunately, according to Tweakers, it seems that's about to end. Recently, the price of the Ryzen 7 5700X3D has started to increase, leading some to wonder if something was happening in the background. Asking stores what was happening, Tweakers learned that the 5700X3D would be discontinued when the present stock runs out, since retailers are no longer able to order the CPU.
With the 5700X3D seemingly riding off into the sunset, gamers looking for the next great value V-Cache CPU will now have to look towards the AM5 platform, where a rumoured Ryzen 5 9600X3D is expected to arrive.
KitGuru says: Were you planning to get a Ryzen 7 5700X3D? If so, do it now, as they're still available. As things stand, it seems you won't get much longer to get it for a decent price.
Rumours about a new entry-level MacBook that could shake up the laptop market are starting to emerge. Following earlier whispers of a more affordable model, a new report suggests this new MacBook could launch with a starting price ranging between $599 and $699, directly targeting the education-focused Chromebook market and creating a new, more accessible entry point into the Apple ecosystem.
While previous rumours pointed to a 13-inch screen, the new report from DigiTimes (via MacRumours) suggests a more specific 12.9-inch display. Interestingly, this is the exact diagonal measurement as the larger iPad Pro models (4:3 aspect ratio). However, this new MacBook is expected to adopt the more traditional 16:10 aspect ratio standard for Apple's laptops.
This would make it slightly smaller than the current 13.6-inch MacBook Air but still a notable increase over the 12-inch MacBook that was discontinued in 2017. Under the hood, the device is rumoured to be powered by the A18 Pro chip, the same processor expected to be in the upcoming iPhone 16 Pro.
According to the same report, this new MacBook is expected to enter mass production by the end of Q3 2025. This timeline could point to a launch as early as October, a month in which Apple has frequently held Mac-focused events. On the other hand, a debut in early 2026 would align with Apple's typical release window for its more affordable devices.
KitGuru says: If these rumours pan out, this $699 MacBook could be a game-changer, giving Apple a powerful new weapon to get market share in the budget-conscious consumer space.
Nvidia has announced two new additions to its RTX Pro graphics card lineup. The new RTX Pro 4000 SFF and RTX Pro 2000 are designed to bring the architecture's AI and graphics performance to more mainstream and small form factor workstations, all while keeping power consumption in check.
Starting with the RTX Pro 4000 Blackwell SFF, Nvidia is claiming it offers more than double the AI performance of its predecessor, the RTX A4000 SFF, delivering 770 AI TOPS. This is backed by 24GB of ECC GDDR7 memory, all while consuming just 70W, making it ideal for space-constrained systems.
Slotting in below it is the new RTX Pro 2000. This card also operates within a 70W TGP and is equipped with 16GB of ECC GDDR7 memory. Nvidia is positioning this GPU for mainstream CAD, 3D modelling, and entry-level AI workloads, claiming it is around 1.5 times faster than the RTX A2000. Videocardz reports that the RTX Pro 2000 will have 4,352 CUDA cores while the RTX Pro 4000 SFF will have 8960 CUDA cores.
Pricing information has not yet been released and will likely be announced by partners closer to launch. Both cards are expected to become available later this year to OEMs, but the RTX Pro 2000 will also be available in the DIY market.
KitGuru says: Are you currently planning on getting a new workstation? If so, would you be happy with something powered by the RTX Pro 2000, or do you need something a bit more capable, like the RTX Pro 4000 SFF?
Remedy Entertainment has given an update on its many projects. As expected, the launch of FBC: Firebreak did not succeed commercially, however, other games like Control have reached new milestones. On top of that, we have news on Control 2 and the Max Payne remakes.
As part of its most recent investors update, Remedy confirmed that the recent launch of FBC: Firebreak, the studio's very first multiplayer game, did not succeed commercially. The game's growth was primarily driven by Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus, leaving Remedy unsatisfied with the consumer sales figures. The writing was already on the wall for this one, as Remedy had already acknowledged the game's bad first impression.
While FBC: Firebreak has been a low point, Remedy's 2019 action hit, Control, has now surpassed 5 million copies sold. Development on Control 2 also remains on track, with the developers now focused on meeting milestones for gameplay, environments and missions. Essentially, the game is deep into the production cycle, but there is still no release date yet.
Max Payne 1 & 2 remake also “remains in full production” and Remedy says its ongoing collaboration with Rockstar for this project “remains close and productive”. Outside of that though, there is not much more to say.
Despite FBC: Firebreak struggling commercially and other projects remaining in deep development, Remedy still expects to see an operating profit increase in 2025.
KitGuru Says: I've been replaying Control recently. It is still one of my favourite games. If you've never played it, be sure to pick it up on a sale at some point.
Last week, we heard the exciting prospect of a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9000X3D CPU with two 3D V-Cache chiplets. However, it might be time to temper those expectations, as a new report from the Chinese hardware community is pouring cold water on the idea of a dual-CCD V-Cache flagship arriving this year.
wjm47196 (via Wccftech), a member of the Chiphell forums and frequent source of hardware leaks, claims that AMD currently has no plans to release a dual-CCD 3D V-Cache CPU in 2025. This would rule out the previously rumoured 16-core monster with 192MB of L3 cache. The source also clarifies that the rumoured 120W TDP figure for the upcoming 8-core model is likely inaccurate.
So, while the dream of a 16-core, no-compromise V-Cache beast was exciting, we may have to wait a lot longer for it to become a reality. For now, it seems AMD is content to refine what worked best in the last generation: a single, latency-optimised CCD with a massive slice of L3 cache.
KitGuru says: If AMD released a dual-CCD Ryzen X3D chip, what kind of performance would you expect from it? How much would you be willing to pay for this hypothetical CPU?
Following on from the announcement several months ago, Ninja Theory's latest release has arrived. Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced Edition is now officially available as a free update to all owners of the game. The Enhanced Edition also comes to Game Pass and, for the very first time, PlayStation 5 consoles.
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced Edition includes several updates. For the first time, console players will be able to switch to a 60FPS performance mode. On the PC side, we're getting a new ‘Very High' tier of graphics settings to push fidelity even further. Speaking of PC, the Enhanced Edition upgrade also adds support for DLSS 4 and Nvidia already has new GeForce Game Ready drivers available.
Ninja Theory released a development deep-dive video covering the creation of this Enhanced Edition. If you were wondering how they could possibly make the game look any more graphically impressive, then it is well worth a watch:
Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 Enhanced Edition is also available on PS5 starting today. The game lands on PlayStation for the very first time, acting as Ninja Theory's return to the platform. Originally, Hellblade was a PlayStation 4 exclusive, before coming to PC and Xbox later down the line. When Microsoft acquired Ninja Theory in 2018, it was assumed that all future games from them would be exclusive to Xbox consoles and PC. However, in the past year, Microsoft has made the decision to abandon exclusive games, instead opting to release its games across multiple consoles and PC.
Today also marks the release of the next-gen version of Hellblade 1 for PS5. Previously, this enhanced version of the first game was exclusive to Xbox and PC.
Aside from performance and visual improvements, the Enhanced Edition of Hellblade 2 also features a new difficulty level that brings back the Dark Rot mechanic from the original game. In this mode, each time the player fails, rot will spread further across Senua's body, if it reaches her head, its Game Over.
KitGuru Says: Are you planning on playing Hellblade 2 for the first time now that the Enhanced Edition update has dropped?
Hell is Us has been shaping up to be one of the most interesting games of the year. With the planned launch just weeks away, a final demo has now been made available on PC, giving everyone a chance to try it out ahead of time.
The Hell is Us demo is now available on Steam and unlike the previous demo from June, it doesn't appear that this demo will be going away after two weeks. The new demo also has a number of key improvements over the previous version, including new camera options, performance optimisations, bug fixes, support for additional languages and a few other gameplay tweaks.
If you do plan on grabbing the demo, then you'll want to take a look at the game's PC system requirements, which you can find below:
The recommended spec calls for an RTX 2080 Ti or an RX 6750 XT graphics card for 1080p/60FPS gameplay. If you are looking to play at 1440p with High settings, you'll apparently need an RTX 3080 or an RX 6800 XT.
In Hell is Us, players will be thrown into a country divided by a brutal civil war and overrun by supernatural creatures. Armed with a drone and a sword, players will have to fight their way through, exploring and investigating along the way. Players will be encouraged to follow their instincts while roaming the world, as there will be no quest markers or compass.
Hell is Us releases on the 4th of September 2025.
KitGuru Says: This is one of my most anticipated games of the year, so I'm looking forward to jumping into a full game in September. If you missed out on the previous demo, be sure to give the new version a download.
Rockstar finally brought Grand Theft Auto V Expanded & Enhanced to PC a while back, well after the initial release on consoles in 2022. Now, the game is being updated with PC-specific features, including support for the latest versions of Nvidia's DLSS upscaler.
Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Edition is getting a new update this week that introduces support for DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation. While Multi-Frame Generation is exclusive to RTX 50 series graphics cards, the game will also support standard DLSS Frame Generation, so those with RTX 40 series graphics cards will benefit as well. On top of that, today also sees the release of Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 – Enhanced Edition. The new update introduces DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation.
Two other games are also getting DLSS upgrades this week – Supraworld, a new puzzle metroidvania game, and Titan Quest 2, which had a surprise launch earlier this month. Both games are updating to DLSS 4 with Multi-Frame Generation this week, and if you'd like to push visuals even further, then DLAA can be used in place of DLSS for maximum image quality.
All of these updates arrive alongside a new GeForce Game Ready Driver, which is now available to download through the Nvidia app, or directly through the Nvidia website.
KitGuru Says: Will you be playing any of this week's new DLSS-supported titles?
Back in November 2022, Valve launched Steam for a new platform – ChromeOS. Steam for ChromeOS has been in beta for four years at this point but now, Valve is pulling the plug.
As spotted by 9to5Google, Valve quietly announced this month that it would be ending Steam support for ChromeOS. This means from January 1st 2026, Chromebook users will no longer be able to use Steam and any games you keep installed will not run.
As Valve is heavily focused on Steam for Linux nowadays thanks to the Steam Deck, it was assumed that Steam for ChromeOS would progress fast, but there were just a handful of updates for the beta over the years. Meanwhile, the Steam Deck gets updates on a near weekly basis.
Google's own efforts to make ChromeOS more gaming-friendly also appear to have slowed down considerably, so it isn't too surprising that other companies aren't eager on carrying the load.
Do you own a Chromebook? Have you ever tried running a game on it through Steam?
Ebuyer, an etailer that has served the tech enthusiast scene in the UK for decades, has now entered administration. It might not be the end though, as sources have already indicated that Fraser Group is due to buy the company from administrators.
Fraser Group is a company founded by Mike Ashley, the founder of Sports Direct. Over the years, Fraser Group has acquired a number of retail brands, from House of Fraser to GAME. It also has investments in the likes of Boohoo and Asos. As reported by The Register, Fraser Group is in talks to pick up Ebuyer after the struggling tech retailer entered administration this month.
Ebuyer has already updated its website, removing the tech store we all knew and replacing it with a link to a Fraser Group-owned site, Studio, which sells everything from sofas to clothing. This is strong evidence that The Register's source is correct and that Ebuyer will be joining Fraser Group.
Ebuyer first came into existence 25 years ago, but competition from giants like Amazon, as well as competing tech outlets like SCAN and OCUK led to financial struggles. The company had sold to new ownership in 2023 but things did not turn around from there.
KitGuru Says: When was the last time you ordered an upgrade from Ebuyer? Which retailer do you usually go to for PC hardware?
Arctic showed their new Xtender case at Computex, however we didn't get to visit their booth which means this review is the first time KitGuru has got to grips with this rather large case. The headline feature is that it can accommodate a 420mm cooler in the side and also a 420mm cooler in the roof. That's interesting… but as you will see in our video, it is the VG or Vertical Graphics side of things that devoured our attention.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:27 Meet the Arctic Xtender
01:05 Removing the panels
03:15 Drive installation
06:19 Building the test PC
08:35 Leo hits a snag with the PSU
11:21 CPU cooler installation
13:24 Some GPU shenanigans
14:49 Thermal testing
17:01 Leo’s not happy – trying a new GPU
20:26 Pricing and closing thoughts
Specification:
Motherboard support: E-ATX (up to 285mm wide), ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX.
Power supply support: ATX.
Expansion slots: 7.
Included fans: 3x 140mm side intake, 2x 120mm rear exhaust.
Front I/O ports: 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1×1 Type-A, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 Type-C, audio.
Dimensions: 530mm H x 530mm D x 232mm W.
Testing and Performance
To put this case through its cooling paces we will be using a test system consisting of an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, Palit RTX 5080 and an SSD. This system allows us to produce a substantial amount of heat and effectively test the Arctic Xtender VG‘s cooling capabilities.
Test System:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X
CPU Cooler: Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 420 A-RGB
Motherboard: ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi
Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo DDR5-6000
Graphics card: Palit RTX 5080 Gamerock OC 16GB
Power supply: Montech Titan PLA 1000W Platinum
SSD: Crucial T700 M.2 NVMe
OS: Windows 11 Pro
Cooling Performance
Cooling Performance Overview
In our testing the Arctic Xtender acted like two completely different cases. With the Vertical Graphics riser removed it works just fine and keeps both CPU and graphics card nice and cool. However, with the riser installed, we had a distinct problem where our Palit RTX 5080 graphics card and Arctic AIO cooler clashed and drove up CPU temperatures by 20 degrees C. Switching out the huge RTX 5080 for a slightly less huge MSI RTX 4090 was just about OK with the vertical riser, as we demonstrate in our video. Our conclusion is that you need to proceed with caution and carefully select components that work together correctly.
Closing Thoughts
The engineering behind the Arctic Xtender is rather Germanic with a hefty main glass window and large metal panels with huge cut-outs for ventilation. if we gave an award for ‘Case Least Likely To Flex Under Pressure' we would immediately grant it to Arctic.
Instead, of course, we focus on the niceties such as building a PC in the case and checking thermals, and that is where we ran into some questions.
As we show in our video, the Vertical Graphics riser caused us some problems with the lack of clearance between our chosen AIO cooler and a modern and large graphics card, with the result that CPU temperatures were sky high. The fix, clearly, is to opt for the non-VG case and install the graphics card horizontally in the motherboard.
That will certainly work but it raises the question of exactly which graphics cards will work correctly in the riser, and sadly that is unknown and relies on the traditional suck-it-and-see approach.
Arctic sent us the below table outlining the price of the various Xtender models. Arctic is currently offering low prices on the webstore, which will reduce the cost as shown below:
SKU
Original MSRP
After rebate
Xtender (Black) black window w/o GPU vertical mount
€ 199,99
€ 144,99
Xtender (Black) black window with GPU vertical mount
€ 219,99
€ 169,99
Xtender (White) transparent window w/o GPU vertical mount
€ 209,99
€ 154,99
Xtender (White) transparent window with GPU vertical mount
€ 229,99
€ 184,99
Xtender (Black) mirrow black window w/o GPU vertical mount
€ 204,99
€ 144,99
Xtender (Black) mirrow black window with GPU vertical mount
€ 224,99
€ 174,99
Arctic Xtender
Pros:
Arctic Xtender is a large and smart case that is solidly constructed.
Five ARGB fans are included.
Decent airflow and good cooling.
Cons:
This is a huge case that weighs plenty and takes up loads of room.
A printed user guide is not included.
Air flow to the power supply might be restricted.
Rating: 8.
Arctic Xtender VG
Pros:
Arctic Xtender is a large and smart case that is solidly constructed.
Five ARGB fans are included.
Brackets are included to allow installation of 120mm fans.
Cons:
The GPU riser and Arctic 420mm AIO cooler clashes with our Palit RTX 5080.
A printed user guide is not included.
Air flow to the power supply might be restricted.
Rating: 7.
KitGuru says: The huge Arctic Xtender can pack in two 420mm coolers and a massive graphics card but has a few issues.
Ever since 2005, TT Games have consistently released new titles based on the ever-green LEGO brand, launching a new entry pretty much every single year. Since 2022 however, the studio has been relatively silent. According to one insider, amongst many project cancellations, TT Games’ next title is set to arrive in Spring of 2026.
Similarly, a new Harry Potter game made in the style of the 3rd-person Star Wars Skywalker Saga was pitched, but never came to be.
In terms of what TT Games is working on now, the leaker has claimed that “The next Game is a Skywalker Saga styled LEGO Batman that is not connected to the original trilogy” – said to be arriving in Spring next year.
Couple this with rumours of mismanagement at TT Games from a couple years ago and it is quite clear that the studio is no longer the sole proprietor of LEGO video games. All that said, hopefully their next title manages to come out swinging and succeed.
KitGuru says: What do you think of TT Games in 2025? Did they produce the best LEGO games? Did you enjoy the Skywalker Saga? Let us know your thoughts down below.
Ever since Hideo Kojima was freed from the shackles of Konami, the director has been keeping busy working on a number of projects. With Death Stranding 2 now officially out and available for all to play and experience, Kojima has offered an update on his other PlayStation console exclusive, Physint.
In an interview with the publication IndieWire, Hideo Kojima spoke on the development of Death Stranding 2 and how it changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, both in terms of narrative and technology.
Offering just a hint on these two titles, Kojima claimed to be “starting to work with the team on ‘OD’ because that’s a new project,” while “also doing ‘Physint’ all by myself because that’s at the conceptual stage. So I’m doing that.”
Given that OD was first announced back in 2022, it makes sense that it would be next in line for development. Still, it is interesting to hear that the espionage action title Physint is being actively worked on right now – in Kojima’s mind at least.
Prior to the launch of Death Stranding 2, Kojima claimed that Physint “will take me another five or six years” likely owing to his ongoing work with OD at the moment.
Over the past couple console generations we’ve seen the games industry tackle the idea of remasters and next-gen upgrades in many different ways. From full priced ‘remasters’ to £10 upgrades to entirely-free patches, whether a publisher charges for its upgrades or not has been quite inconsistent. Adding to this confusion, SEGA has now confirmed that the upcoming Switch 2 version of Yakuza Kiwami will offer a (paid) upgrade path – the first Switch 2 title from SEGA to do so.
Ahead of the official launch of Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2 for the Switch 2 later this year in November, SEGA has confirmed that the former of the two (which landed on the OG Switch back in October 2024) will feature a paid upgrade path to the tune to 1000¥ – or roughly $10.
That said, the upcoming Sonic Racing Crossworlds was technically confirmed to be the first SEGA game to include an upgrade path from Switch 1 to Switch 2, though the racing title isn’t planned to arrive until the tail end of the year (or 2026 if you want a physical version).
Curiously, SEGA’s support for the Switch 2 so far has been one of the oddest, with the publisher seemingly testing out as many different release strategies as possible; using Game-Key Cards for some games but not others; offering upgrade paths for some games and not others; while also porting games over without their DLC in certain instances.
As with the PS4-PS5 generation, hopefully these developers and publishers eventually wind up landing on a consistent method which benefits both themselves and most importantly the players. It will be interesting to see how SEGA’s strategy evolves as the generation proceeds.
KitGuru says: What do you think of the various types of upgrade paths? Is a $10 price fair if it only offers improved framerates/resolutions, or should paid upgrades include additional features/content? Let us know down below.
The Civilization series is by far one of the biggest in the strategy game space, with the franchise stretching back as far as 1991. Unfortunately, the arrival of Civ VII earlier this year has not gone too well – currently sitting at an overall ‘mixed’ rating on Steam. Publisher Take-Two has now commented on the matter, confirming that the latest entry is off to a “slow start.”
In an interview with IGN, Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick spoke on the reception towards Civilisation VII’s current state, confirming that the latest entry has been off to a “slow start”. That said, according to Zelnick:
“Civ has always been a slow burn. It's always been a title that had — I'm not really a big believer in the long tail theory of the entertainment business — but Civ is an example of that theory. And right now our projections for the lifetime value of the title are very consistent with our initial expectations for the title.”
The CEO continued, “So while we were off to a slow start and while we have had to make changes — and there are more changes coming — I feel like consumer uptake is better and better and we feel really good about the title. I think over time it's going to take its place in its Civilization pantheon in a very successful, credible way.”
KitGuru says: What did you think of Civ VII’s launch state? Can the game ever reach the heights of its predecessor? Let us know your thoughts down below.
DICE and EA are looking to take cheaters more seriously than ever before with Battlefield 6. The new game will include a new anti-cheat system and so far, it appears to be doing a very good job, resulting in hundreds of thousands of bans during the open beta weekend.
The first open beta weekend for Battlefield 6 just ended and DICE has already dealt with an unprecedented number of cheaters. In a forum post, the SPEAR anti-cheat team confirmed that the system blocked over 300,000 attempted cheaters.
Here are all the stats shared from the beta weekend:
Javelin has prevented 330,000 attempts to cheat or tamper with anti-cheat controls.
You’ve reported 44,000 instances of potential cheaters during day one and another 60,000 so far today.
We are already using these with our own Gameplay Integrity team to add and improve our detections for Battlefield 6. They are also working with the Battlefield Positive Play team, to actively remove those reported we confirm to be cheaters.
There will be a second open beta weekend taking place for Battlefield 6 later this week. The good news is that the anti-cheat system is already taking care of the common cheating methods, but cheat makers will always find an exploit to get around protections, so the developers will need to stay vigilante and constantly monitor cheats hitting forums and marketplaces.
Ubisoft and Netflix recently confirmed that an Assassin's Creed TV series would soon be going into production. Now, it appears that one of Ubisoft's other major franchises, Far Cry, is due to get the same treatment.
According to a now deleted post on Ubisoft's website, which was later preserved on Reddit, Ubisoft's Far Cry series is in development at FX, with Rob McElhenney of ‘It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia' set to co-create it. McElhenney has worked with Ubisoft previously on the Apple TV+ series ‘Mythic Quest'.
Aside from co-creating, McElhenney is also expected to have an acting role in the show, but no specific roles have been confirmed so far. The Far Cry series is expected to be an anthology series, with each season having its own self-contained story, with fresh characters each time. This is also how the Far Cry games work, with each game taking place in a new setting, with new heroes, villains and side characters.
It is unclear when the series will be officially announced, Ubisoft leaked the announcement early via its website, so we would expect a proper announcement before the end of the month.
Blizzard is undergoing more major changes behind the scenes. Last week, the company's head of Diablo, Rod Fergusson, announced that he was leaving the studio after five years at the helm of all things Diablo related.
Fergusson had previously worked at Epic Games, before moving to Microsoft to found The Coalition, the studio in charge of the Gears of War IP. After the release of Gears 5, Fergusson moved to Blizzard to take on a leadership role in the Diablo team. After successfully shipping Diablo 4 and overseeing nine seasons worth of new content, he is now stepping down from Blizzard.
In a post on social media, Fergusson confirmed his departure from Blizzard saying: “After five years of driving the Diablo franchise forward with four big launches, it’s time for me to step away from Blizzard/Microsoft, sword in hand, and see what’s next”.
In a separate statement, Blizzard president, Johanna Faries, confirmed the news, saying: “Guiding a franchise like Diablo takes rare talent, vision, and collaboration. Thank you, Rod, for bringing all of those in spades.”
It is unclear who will be next in line to take on the role as head of the Diablo franchise. Currently, Blizzard is working on the game's tenth season, and plans to release a second paid story expansion in 2026.
KitGuru Says: Hopefully whoever takes over Diablo from here can get Diablo 4 into a more consistent state. Since launch, every other season has been poorly received, so starting off with two good seasons in a row would be a great start.
It's back to school season and that means there are a ton of deals to be found on PCs and laptops. Until late August, MSI is slashing prices across a range of laptops just in time for the new school year.
At the top of our list is the MSI Sword 16 HX, a 16-inch gaming laptop that packs an Intel Core i7-14700HX processor, an RTX 4060 GPU and a 1TB SSD. Normally, this model goes for around £1500 but at the moment it can be found for £1199.
The MSI Thin 15 B13VE-2448UK, which normally goes for £999, has also had a big price cut for this sale. Now available for £699, this laptop packs a FHD/144Hz panel, a 13th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and an RTX 4050 GPU for some light gaming.
The MSI Cyborg 15 offers similar specs to the MSI Thin 15 mentioned above, but with an RTX 3050 instead, and a cheaper £649 price tag.
If you are after something under the £500 mark, then there are a couple of great options available. The MSI Prestige 14 AI Evo is a very sleek 14-inch laptop with an Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, making it ready for AI-related tasks. Normally, this laptop is £799 but during MSI's back to school sale, it is down to £479. The MSI Modern 15 F13MG-056UK is available for just £299, packing a 13th Gen Intel Core i3 CPU, making it a prime candidate for typing notes and general-use purposes.
The MSI Claw A1M-016UK is a great pick-up if you want to wind down with some gaming. This is the Intel Core Ultra 7 powered model with a 1TB SSD, so normally it would cost around £800, but it is currently down to £449. This is a Windows handheld, so you get the full freedom of Windows for gaming, and you can always dock it, hook up a monitor, mouse and keyboard and then use it like a normal PC.
BioWare is in a very tough spot at the moment, having released two critical and commercial flops in Anthem (2018) and Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2024). In an effort to try and turn things around a bit, BioWare had pitched a set of remasters for the original Dragon Age games, but EA appears to have no interest in sinking anymore money into the IP.
Mark Darrah, a BioWare veteran who worked on Dragon Age and Anthem, recently spoke in an interview with YouTuber, MrMattyPlays. In the interview, Darrah confirmed that the Dragon Age team had tried to pitch a remastered trilogy to EA on several occasions but was rejected each time, even after the success of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition.
Darrah explains that due to its fantasy setting and the original game's tactical-RPG style, executives at EA don't look at Dragon Age Origins as a product with much ‘mainstream' potential: “EA wants mainstream success and it's hard for corporate people to look at a game like Dragon Age: Origins, which is super nerdy, not very attractive looking, and say ‘this is a mainstream game'”.
Darrah added that EA has been “against remasters”, which does appear to be true. To date, EA has released very few remasters/remakes, which is why the Mass Effect trilogy re-release ended up being such a big deal. If BioWare's plans for Dragon Age Remastered had gone ahead, then the first three games in the series would have been re-released under new ‘Champions trilogy' branding.
Moving forward, Darrah expects BioWare to remain a one-project studio, as internal fights over resources have had a hugely negative impact on the studio.
Dragon Age, while popular, has never been as big as Mass Effect for BioWare and following the messy release of the previous Dragon Age game, it now seems likely that BioWare's primary focus moving forward will be on Mass Effect 5 and future Mass Effect games.
KitGuru Says: Hopefully BioWare can survive for long enough to release Mass Effect 5. If the project hits hurdles and misses milestones, it is entirely possible that EA cuts its losses and shuts the studio down due to mounting losses.
While Intel's focus for the remainder of this year is on the launch of its Panther Lake mobile platform, the first detailed specifications for its successor have already begun to surface. A new leak from the reliable tipster gives us a full breakdown of the planned configurations for the 2026 Nova Lake mobile lineup, from high-end HX-series chips down to ultra-low-power U-series models.
The Nova Lake generation is set to introduce a new set of core microarchitectures. According to recent rumours, we can expect to see “Coyote Cove” P-Cores and “Arctic Wolf” E-Cores, which will be paired with “Skymont-based” low-power E-Cores on the SoC tile. On the graphics side, the integrated GPU will be powered by the Xe3 ‘Celestial' architecture.
The leak detailing the entire mobile stack comes from Jaykihn (via videocardz). At the top, we have what seems to be the Nova Lake-HX series, which will reportedly feature up to 28 CPU cores (8P+16E+4LP) paired with a modest 4-core Xe3 iGPU. The mainstream Nova Lake-H series should balance CPU and GPU performance with up to 16 cores (4P+8E+4LP) and a 12-core Xe3 iGPU. Alternatively, there's a 4-core Xe3 iGPU variant. Finally, the lower-power Nova Lake-U series will drop the standard E-cores entirely, offering up to 8 cores (4P+4LP) to maximise battery life and up to four Xe3 iGPU cores.
Of course, with the launch still over a year away, these plans could change. For now, all eyes are on Panther Lake, which is expected to launch in H2 2025 as the debut platform for Intel's 18A process node. Nova Lake should only come the year after.
KitGuru says: What are your expectations for Nova Lake Mobile? Do you think Intel can recover its flair with the upcoming CPU architectures?
Just days after unveiling the low-power Radeon Pro W7400 workstation card, it appears AMD has also quietly launched its gaming counterpart, the Radeon RX 7400. This new entry-level RDNA 3 desktop card has surfaced on AMD's website, but don't expect to find it on retail shelves, as this one is likely destined for the OEM and system integrator market.
According to the official product page (via Notebookcheck), the RX 7400 is designed for gaming and streaming at 1080p. It's built on the same “Navi 33” GPU as the W7400, featuring 28 CUs, which translates to 1,792 Stream Processors, 56 AI Accelerators, and 28 Ray Accelerators. While it supports all the features of the RDNA 3 architecture, its performance will be modest, as suggested by its 43W GPU power rating.
This card is not a product for the DIY market. It has already been spotted inside a Dell pre-built system, paired with one of Intel's latest Core Ultra 200 series processors. Its primary purpose is to serve as a discrete GPU upgrade over the integrated graphics found in modern CPUs. While it won't be a performance monster in games, it will offer a decent improvement over any desktop iGPU.
As an OEM-exclusive part, the Radeon RX 7400 doesn't have an official MSRP for consumers. But if it does find its way to the retail market, expect it to go below the £150 mark.
KitGuru says: We know the Radeon RX 7400 won't be topping any performance charts. Still, as an entry-level GPU, it will do its job.
AMD has just released FSR 3.1.4, and while on the surface it looks like another iterative update with bug fixes and a new SDK, the strategy behind it appears to be far more ambitious. This latest version is reportedly the foundation for “FSR Redstone”, AMD's upcoming suite of AI-powered graphics technologies, which could be enabled in existing games running the latest FSR via a future driver update without direct developer intervention.
First teased at Computex, the FSR Redstone suite is AMD's answer to Nvidia's DLSS 4. This new suite includes four key components: ML Super Resolution (effectively FSR 4), ML Frame Generation, ML Ray Regeneration (a competitor to Ray Reconstruction for improving RT quality), and Neural Radiance Caching (accelerates path tracing). These AI-driven features are designed to boost both performance and image quality in the most demanding games.
The foundation for this new tech is being laid with the recent FSR 3.1.4 update. In the blog post, AMD's Alexander Blake-Davies confirmed that this version includes a “signed, easily upgradable DLL” that supports a driver-based upgrade path. This means games that implement FSR 3.1.4 can potentially have Redstone features enabled by AMD via a simple driver update in the future, without requiring a new patch from the game developer.
The not-so-good news is the hardware requirements. AMD has stated that FSR Redstone will only be officially supported on the RX 9000 series. This will likely be disappointing news for RDNA 3 and older card owners, who have come to expect wide hardware support from FSR. Of course, given the history of the PC modding community, it may only be a matter of time before someone finds a way to make it work on unsupported hardware.
In addition to the launch of FSR 3.1.4, AMD also released a new Unreal Engine 5.6 plugin to make it easier for developers to integrate the latest FSR into their games. Lastly, the red team also updated its Radeon Anti-Lag 2 plugin to support Unreal Engine 5.6.
KitGuru says: Do you think FSR Redstone will be able to compete against DLSS 4?
QuakeCon took place over the weekend and as usual, Bethesda had some surprises in store. Over the past couple of years, Bethesda has used QuakeCon has a platform to announce remasters for several of its classic shooters and QuakeCon 2025 was no different.
Bethesda's id Software has teamed up with Nightdive Studios once again for a new remaster. Previously, this partnership has resulted in remasters for the original DOOM and its sequel, as well as Quake and Quake 2. This time around, they went with a pair of slightly lesser known classics in the id Software library – Heretic and Hexen.
The Heretic + Hexen remaster bundle is now available. The games, which originally released in 1994 and 1995, have been upgraded with support for higher resolutions (up to 4K), and higher frame rates, with up to 120FPS on supported console hardware, while PC gamers can push further beyond.
The games both support mods, and online multiplayer for up to 16 players, so you can jump into fan-favourite custom maps, or jump into multiplayer lobbies for some classic arena shooter action.
Here is everything included in the Heretic + Hexen remastered bundle, which is selling for £13.50 on Steam:
Heretic: Shadow of the Serpent Riders
Hexen: Beyond Heretic
Hexen: Deathkings of the Dark Citadel
Two all-new episodes created in collaboration between individuals at id Software + Nightdive Studios:
Connexion
