Hardware News

Check the news feeds from tomshardware!

• Framework's new RTX 5070 12GB graphics module costs a whopping $1,199 — 72% more expensive than $699 8GB version, says pricing is beyond its control

  Framework has just launched a new graphics module featuring the RTX 5070 mobile 12GB, and it costs a cool $1,200, representing a 72% raise in pricing over the 8GB variant, that's $699. Both GPUs are identical apart from the memory capacity (and bandwidth), but Framework says pricing is out of its control.

• US stops exports of tools to China’s number two chip maker — Hua Hong and Huali Microelectronics reportedly on the cusp of starting a 7-nm fab in Shanghai

  Applied Materials, KLA, and Lam Research received letters from the U.S. Department of Commerce preventing them from shipping some of Hua Hong's orders for the latest chipmaking tools. These are reportedly being planned for use on the Chinese company's planned 7-nm fab in Shanghai.

• Palit Group says Galax GPU brand will continue to operate following restructure — Galax management centralized under Palit Group in 'pre-planned' shakeup

  Galax has moved under the direct control of Palit, owned by the Palit Group, but the brand itself isn't going anywhere. Official statements from both companies clarify that Galax will continue to design, produce, and release hardware like before, but will be managed by Palit now to streamline the business.

• Developer re-enables 3D printer features that Bambu Lab disabled, firm promptly threatens legal action — OrcaSlicer-BambuLab project now shuttered

  Independent software developer Pawel Jarczak has voluntarily shuttered his popular “OrcaSlicer-BambuLab” project following legal threats from Bambu Lab, ending one man’s fight to restore direct control to the popular third-party slicer.

• Nvidia exec says AI is more expensive than actual workers — yet some companies don't see the extra costs as a negative

  As advanced LLMs do more and more for modern businesses, the outlays to cover all those tokens can cost more than worker salaries alone. But some companies don't see the added costs as a negative as they look toward a more automated future.

• Get 32GB of Corsair DDR5 RAM for just $56 in this Newegg 9950X3D2 combo deal — $1,705 barebones kit for an AMD gaming PC also ships with a 2TB WD Black SSD and an Asus ROG Strix motherboard

  Save 20% on this Newegg combo kit with AMD's first dual-X3D chip in the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2, along with an Asus ROG Strix motherboard, 32GB (2x16GB) of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6400 RAM, and a 2TB WD Black SN7100 SSD, all for $1,704.99.

• Dell's exceptional 34-inch Alienware QD-OLED gaming monitor returns to Black Friday pricing — $649 all time low for awesome color accuracy and 240Hz refresh rate

  Dell's 34-inch QD-OLED monitor has fallen back to its all-time-low Black Friday price of $649.

• More details emerge about how Intel now earns more revenue from each wafer by looking to the edges — analyst reports say reduced yield variability across each wafer leads to more sellable CPUs

  According to analyst reports, Intel is reducing wafer yield variability to get more useful CPU dies from wafer edges amid AI-driven demand.

• PS5 Linux loader goes public, turning ‘Phat’ consoles into full Linux PCs — build script includes bootable Ubuntu 24.04 image, can output 4K games at 60 FPS

  Only PS5 Phat consoles on older firmware 3.00, 3.10, 3.20, 3.21, 4.00, 4.02, 4.03, 4.50, or 4.51 are supported.

• Chinese GPU maker Lisuan Tech becomes only the fourth GPU maker ever to earn Microsoft WHQL certification — LX 7G100 GPU joins Nvidia, AMD, and Intel as it crosses the WHQL driver finish line, first Chinese firm to earn certification

  Lisuan Tech has secured Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certification for its 6nm graphics cards, making it only the fourth company to ever do so.

• Ransomware accidentally destroys all files larger than 128KB, preventing decryption — VECT code likely partly vibe coded with AI or used an old code base, security researchers suggest

  A ransomware's major flaw meant that files cannot be decrypted because of a programming mistake. It also has several minor issues, showing that its creator may not be as sophisticated as suggested. Still, researchers point out that these can be rectified in future versions of the malware.

• Zuckerberg's Meta will beam sunlight from space to power AI data centers, solar-collecting satellites will orbit 22,000 miles above Earth — firm reserves 1 Gigawatt of orbital solar energy and 100 Gigawatt-hours of long-duration storage

  Meta has announced plans to help power its AI data centers using sunlight beamed from space through a partnership with Overview Energy, alongside a 100 GWh long-duration storage deal with Noon Energy, as the AI industry’s energy demands continue to surge.

• Nanoscale device generates continuous electricity from evaporating water and some sunlight — paves the path for battery-free sensors, wearable electronics, and more

  Researchers at Switzerland’s École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne have developed a nanoscale device that generates continuous electricity from evaporating water, with heat and sunlight boosting the process.

• Nvidia quietly launches 12GB RTX 5070 laptop GPU — midrange mobile gaming gets more VRAM amid the RAMpocalypse

  Despite ongoing memory shortages, Nvidia has launched a higher-capacity 12GB trim of its RTX 5070 laptop GPU. The new part has 50% more capacity compared to Nvidia's existing RTX 5070 8GB model.

• This £8.59 TP-Link gigabit Ethernet switch is the ultimate budget upgrade for lag-free gaming and streaming — ideal solution for ditching laggy Wi-Fi connections unlocks four extra high-speed ports on your network

  Grab a huge 34% discount on this TP-Link 5-port unmanaged Ethernet switch that'll let you upgrade the wired connectivity in your home or office with gigabit speeds, now down to a lowly £8.59 for a limited time only.

• Market slumps as OpenAI reportedly misses internal targets for active users and revenue — Nvidia, Oracle, AMD, and CoreWeave shares all tremble on the news

  Nvidia, Oracle, SoftBank, and CoreWeave saw their stock prices go down because of news that OpenAI has been missing its internal targets. SoftBank stock lost 9.9% of its value on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Nvidia, AMD, Oracle, and CoreWeave also dropped during pre-market trading and remain down after the market opened.

• Sony rolls out 30-day online DRM check-in for PlayStation digital games — players could temporarily lose access if they don't keep their consoles online

  PS4 and PS5 consoles are now apparently subject to a new DRM policy requiring users to check-in online every 30 days to maintain access.

• China announces CPU-only exascale supercomputer with 47,000 homemade processors, record 2 Exaflops of performance without GPUs — Lingshen super said to use Huawei Kunpeng servers and no foreign-made components

  The system would pack 47,000 processors into 92 compute cabinets, making it the first exascale machine designed to reach that performance tier without GPU accelerators.

• Ubuntu's AI roadmap revealed, universal AI 'kill switch' and forced AI integration are not part of the plan — cloud tracking, local inference, and agentic system tools take center stage

  Canonical has confirmed AI is coming to Ubuntu, with plans for local AI inference, agentic system tools, and AI-powered accessibility features — says everything will remain opt-in and privacy-focused.

• Legendary ZSNES Nintendo emulator rewritten from scratch with GPU-acceleration, no vibe coding — new Super ZSNES has ‘far more accurate CPU and audio cores than the original’

  ZSNES is a legendary Super Nintendo emulator that has been reborn this week as Super ZSNES with 'super enhancements' powered by your GPU.