Month: February 2023
EA wants to remake Dead Space 2, but I just want an original game
A survey leaked by Gloomwood developer Dillon Rogers suggests that EA is looking to remake Dead Space 2 and 3.
A Dead Space 2 or 3 remake could be on the cards if a survey from EA is to be believed, but I’m honestly not too excited about that idea.
EA may be looking to capitalize on the success of the Dead Space remake by refurbishing the other two games in the series. While EA has not yet confirmed the possibility of Dead Space 2 or 3 remakes, a survey was leaked by Gloomwood dev Dillion Rogers on Twitter that shows questions as to whether fans would be “interested” in further remakes.
A couple more remakes seem like an easy win, and while that’s great for EA and its bottom line, it may not be a good thing for fans of this series or any other older IP who desperately just want some new content instead of a steady slew of remakes.
Just because you could doesn’t mean you should
(Image credit: EA)
I enjoyed my time aboard the USG Ishimura; slicing through all the mutant monstrosities and reveling in the derelict ruins of the once-great planet cracker brought me immense satisfaction. However, a part of me still felt like the remake was a clever cash grab. Instead of taking a chance and making a new Dead Space game, I thought EA played it safe with a title that would play on nostalgia.
After an hour of running through the halls of the broken spacecraft, I realised that I had seen this all before and knew exactly where the narrative was heading. As someone with a massive backlog of unplayed games to get through, I couldn’t help but think this was a waste of time.
But that’s not the worst part of the Dead Space remake. The worst part is that games like this could become the new norm for older and beloved franchises. I don’t want the rest of my life to become a cycle of replaying Dead Space, The Last of Us, and Resident Evil remakes. That would be worse than any horror game I could think of.
Saying goodbye to the old
(Image credit: EA)
As I said before, I have quite a backlog of games I need to play, so buying a remake for $70 and spending hours playing it all over again doesn’t seem like the best use of my time or money.
This remake won’t miraculously jump to the top of my list and push out new games with yet-unseen stories
Despite my undying love for the series, I won’t be playing the Resident Evil 4 remake for similar reasons. This beloved installment of the Resident Evil series was one of the first survival horror games I had ever played and was a big reason why I’m still so obsessed with the genre, but I feel like my time with that game has passed. Now I’m showered with new survival horror games like Sons of the Forest that present me with interesting situations and beasts I haven’t seen before.
That’s not to say that I will never play this remake. Suppose I find myself in a situation where my long list of games miraculously disappears, or I have a suspicious amount of free time; I may run around Spain again, killing cult members and trying to rescue the President’s daughter. But one thing is for sure; this remake won’t miraculously jump to the top of my list and push out new games with yet-unseen stories that’ll surprise me and keep me guessing.
The Dead Space remake has an amazing feature I won’t be using
The coolest thing OnePlus is showing off at MWC 2023 isn’t a phone
While the liquid cooling OnePlus 11 Concept is cool, the company’s forthcoming Liquid Cooler will chill any phone
Early on February 27, we brought you our hands-on OnePlus Pad review and a close-up look at the OnePlus 11 Concept; after spending some time with both ahead of the Mobile World Congress trade show, taking place in Barcelona.
Now that the doors on MWC have officially opened, however, we were also fortunate to come across another ‘cool’ OnePlus gadget that – like the OnePlus Pad – should be coming to market very soon.
While we’ve seen liquid cooling on desktop PCs and even the occasional laptop (like Asus’ GX700, which was first introduced way back at IFA 2015), we’ve never seen a dedicated liquid cooling system for a smartphone like this before.
Although OnePlus’ 11 Concept is the company’s showcase of integrated liquid cooling, there’s no time frame on when such technology will make it into a consumer-ready device. That said, on the OnePlus booth at Mobile World Congress, we were introduced to the OnePlus 45W Liquid Cooler – an external cooling unit with a specialized reservoir and phone grip that can attach to almost any smartphone and suck heat away from a hard-working chipset in an instant.
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
The unit itself is a TEC (a semiconductor-based Thermo Electric Cooler), a water-based system with a tube (in OnePlus’ signature red, of course) leading to what it calls The Clip. This sprung phone grip weighs just 75 grams and measures 51mm wide, in order to remain unobtrusive when in use, while what’s thought to be a ceramic pad on the inside of The Clip allows for rapid heat transfer.
As well as holding the reservoir and chilling the water, when pressed, a single button on top of the unit switches between four cooling levels, which also effects the system’s loudness too.
Who wants liquid cooling on a smartphone?
OnePlus says that its OnePlus 45W Liquid Cooler is able to cool a device by up to an impressive 20°C / 36°F, which would make a huge difference when running intensive games, shooting high-resolution video for extended periods of time or taxing the phone’s silicon in other ways.
A quick real-world test revealed that The Clip will just about handle a Google Pixel 7 Pro (without a case), when carefully slid in, top-down, so any phone that measures 76.6mm or narrower should be able to benefit from the the cooler’s chilling properties, and that’s perhaps the big hook here.
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
(Image credit: Future | Alex Walker-Todd)
While some of the best gaming phones – such as Asus’ ROG Phone 6D Ultimate – come with dedicated integrated and external cooling systems, OnePlus’ solution is device agnostic. While there’s no doubt the company would love you to use it with their latest flagship (check out our OnePlus 11 5G review, for more on that), the ability to apply this next level cooling to any smartphone that fits is perhaps its biggest strength.
Note: Not long after OnePlus showed off its cooler, sister company Oppo showed off the similarly-styled external Oppo 45w Liquid Cooler, which delivers the same experience but replaces The Clip with a magnetically detachable wireless charging cooling plate.
The best VR headsets for 2023
If you’ve been holding out for VR hardware to mature, you chose wisely. Headsets have come a long way since the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive six years ago. The Meta Quest 2 has already been around for two years, and it’s proven to be a very capable portable VR experience. And if you’re looking for a more immersive experience, high-end PC headsets are getting cheaper (and there’s the new PS VR 2 to look forward to). While the overall VR market hasn’t really changed much since last year (aside from the somewhat disappointing Meta Quest Pro), at least there are plenty of VR experiences to dive into.
So what makes a good VR headset?
I tend to judge virtual reality headsets on a few basic criteria: Ergonomics, immersion and controls. It’s not that hard to shove a mobile display into a plastic headset and strap some cheap elastic headbands onto it. But it takes skill to craft something that’s well balanced and doesn’t feel uncomfortable after 30 minutes.
Immersion, meanwhile, comes from having high resolution screens with fast refresh rates, so everything looks sharp and smooth. Field of view is also a major element, as it describes how well VR screens can cover what you see. Having a low field of view makes it feel like you’re looking through a pair of binoculars, which limits your sense of “presence.” The best VR headsets have a wide field of view that can make it seem like you’re actually flying over the globe in Google Earth.
And when it comes to controllers, the best options fit naturally in your hands and offer accurate tracking. The industry has basically adopted the design of Meta’s excellent touch controllers, but we’re also seeing intriguing leaps forward like Valve’s finger tracking gamepads.
Best VR headset for most people: Meta Quest 2
Over two years since its release, the Meta Quest 2 remains the best VR headset for the vast majority of consumers. It’s completely cordless, and it’s comfortable to wear for long sessions. Unfortunately, due to supply chain pressures and a worsening economic climate, Meta ended up increasing the Quest 2’s price by $100 this year, making it a $400 headset. It’s still a great device, but it’s also in the strange position of being a worse deal than it was last year.
Here’s what’s still good, though: there’s a huge library of virtual reality titles that you can experience anywhere, and it’s bundled with Meta’s great motion controllers. You can also connect the Quest 2 to a gaming PC to stream more complex VR experiences.
The Quest 2 features fast-switching LCDs with a resolution 1832×1920 per eye, the highest we’ve seen from Meta. It also has a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, which is impressive for something running entirely on mobile hardware. The Quest 2’s field of view isn’t the best — it’s been measured at just around 90 degrees — but it’s still enough to enjoy most VR experiences. You can also use different face pads to increase its field of view a bit. And if you want an even more comfortable fit, you can snag the Elite headstrap for $49 (or $129 with a built-in battery and case).
Meta has recalled the foam inserts from the original model and is offering silicone covers to make the headset more comfortable. We didn’t experience any issues during our review, or during the past year of usage, but there have been enough complaints for Facebook to take action. The base $399 Quest 2 also comes with 128GB of storage, double the space of the original model, giving you even more room to cram in VR games and apps.
The Quest 2 may not offer the best overall VR experience, but it’s certainly the most accessible headset on the market. (At least until we see a potential follow-up next year.)
Best console VR: PlayStation VR2
In many ways, the PS VR2 is the best headset we’ve tested yet. It offers dual 2K OLED HDR screens, effectively giving you 4K quality. It’s one of the most comfortable headsets around. And it has some genuinely refreshing new features, like eye tracking and headset haptics. (Yes, it can literally rock your noggin.) And best of all, the PS VR2 delivers high-quality virtual reality without the need for a $1,000+ gaming PC – all you need is a PlayStation 5.
Now, our recommendation comes with a few caveats. At $550, the PS VR2 is more expensive than the PS5 itself. And it’s unclear how quickly its game library will fill up (the initial run has only a few exclusives, like Horizon VR and Gran Turismo 7). But it’s the easiest way to experience high-end VR, and it’s a major upgrade over the original PS VR.
Best PC VR headset under $600: HP Reverb G2
If you don’t care about wireless VR, and you want to invest a bit more in a high-quality PC virtual reality headset, HP’s $599 Reverb G2 is meant for you. It was developed in cooperation with Valve and has some of the best features from the pricier Index headset, like near-field speakers. The Reverb G2 also has sharp screens, offering 2,160 by 2,160 pixels per eye, a 90Hz refresh rate, and a relatively wide 114-degree field of view.
It’s also the first Windows Mixed Reality headset to include four sensors, which helps to ensure more accurate VR tracking, especially during fast-paced games. I also give HP credit for making a tethered VR headset that’s extremely comfortable thanks to its luxurious cushioning around the eye-piece and rear strap.
The Reverb G2’s motion controllers aren’t my favorite, but they’re still a big step up from HP’s previous model. You could also upgrade it to use Valve’s finger-tracking controllers, but that involves snagging SteamVR sensors and a lot more setup. Still, it’s nice to have the upgrade path available.
Best PC VR headset for gamers: Valve Index
Valve’s Index kit remains one of the best high-end VR solutions on the market for PC gaming. For $999 you get the Index headset, Valve’s finger tracking controllers and two SteamVR base stations. While we’ve seen higher-resolution headsets arrive in the last two years, it’s still a very solid option, with a 1,440 by 1,600 pixel resolution, an eye-watering 144Hz refresh rate and a massive 130-degree field of view. I’d gladly lose a few pixels to get a smoother and more expansive screen, which are still far beyond any other consumer headset.
As a SteamVR product, the Index requires installing two sensors at opposite corners of your room. And of course, it’s wired to your PC. But that clunkiness is worth it for the higher refresh rate and more accurate tracking. Sure, it’s not as easy to use as the Quest 2, but at this price range, we assume you’ll suffer a bit of inconvenience to get a truly high-quality VR gaming experience.
Valve’s finger tracking controllers are fantastic as well, with a convenient strap that locks them onto your hands. They make playing Half-Life: Alyx feel like a dream. It’s unfortunate that other VR games haven’t fully taken advantage of the finger tracking though.
Best VR quality, no matter the cost: HTC Vive Pro 2
HTC’s Vive Pro 2 is the best-looking PC VR I’ve seen. It has an astoundingly sharp 5K screen and a solid 120Hz refresh rate. Just be prepared: the full kit, which includes the headset, two SteamVR sensors and wand controllers, costs $1,399. You can also buy the headset separately for $799 as an upgrade to the original Vive Pro, or the Valve Index.
For the price you get a well-balanced and supremely comfortable VR headset. The Pro 2 is a clear sign that Valve has practically perfected the art of making high-end hardware. I’m less impressed with the large wand controllers, which are exactly the same as the ones that came with the original HTC Vive in 2016. They’re functional, but they’re nowhere near as ergonomic as Oculus’s Touch Controllers.
I’m mainly recommending the Pro 2 here based on the astounding quality of the headset.
True VR fans may want to just grab that separately along with SteamVR base stations and Valve’s finger-tracking controllers. That way you can ensure you have the best experience while playing Pistol Whip.
If you’ve been holding out for VR hardware to mature, you chose wisely. Headsets have come a long way since the launch of the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive six years ago. The Meta Quest 2 has already been around for two years, and it’s proven to be a very capable portable VR experience. And if you’re looking for a more immersive experience, high-end PC headsets are getting cheaper (and there’s the new PS VR 2 to look forward to). While the overall VR market hasn’t really changed much since last year (aside from the somewhat disappointing Meta Quest Pro), at least there are plenty of VR experiences to dive into.
So what makes a good VR headset?
I tend to judge virtual reality headsets on a few basic criteria: Ergonomics, immersion and controls. It’s not that hard to shove a mobile display into a plastic headset and strap some cheap elastic headbands onto it. But it takes skill to craft something that’s well balanced and doesn’t feel uncomfortable after 30 minutes.
Immersion, meanwhile, comes from having high resolution screens with fast refresh rates, so everything looks sharp and smooth. Field of view is also a major element, as it describes how well VR screens can cover what you see. Having a low field of view makes it feel like you’re looking through a pair of binoculars, which limits your sense of “presence.” The best VR headsets have a wide field of view that can make it seem like you’re actually flying over the globe in Google Earth.
And when it comes to controllers, the best options fit naturally in your hands and offer accurate tracking. The industry has basically adopted the design of Meta’s excellent touch controllers, but we’re also seeing intriguing leaps forward like Valve’s finger tracking gamepads.
Best VR headset for most people: Meta Quest 2
Over two years since its release, the Meta Quest 2 remains the best VR headset for the vast majority of consumers. It’s completely cordless, and it’s comfortable to wear for long sessions. Unfortunately, due to supply chain pressures and a worsening economic climate, Meta ended up increasing the Quest 2’s price by $100 this year, making it a $400 headset. It’s still a great device, but it’s also in the strange position of being a worse deal than it was last year.
Here’s what’s still good, though: there’s a huge library of virtual reality titles that you can experience anywhere, and it’s bundled with Meta’s great motion controllers. You can also connect the Quest 2 to a gaming PC to stream more complex VR experiences.
The Quest 2 features fast-switching LCDs with a resolution 1832×1920 per eye, the highest we’ve seen from Meta. It also has a smooth 90Hz refresh rate, which is impressive for something running entirely on mobile hardware. The Quest 2’s field of view isn’t the best — it’s been measured at just around 90 degrees — but it’s still enough to enjoy most VR experiences. You can also use different face pads to increase its field of view a bit. And if you want an even more comfortable fit, you can snag the Elite headstrap for $49 (or $129 with a built-in battery and case).
Meta has recalled the foam inserts from the original model and is offering silicone covers to make the headset more comfortable. We didn’t experience any issues during our review, or during the past year of usage, but there have been enough complaints for Facebook to take action. The base $399 Quest 2 also comes with 128GB of storage, double the space of the original model, giving you even more room to cram in VR games and apps.
The Quest 2 may not offer the best overall VR experience, but it’s certainly the most accessible headset on the market. (At least until we see a potential follow-up next year.)
Best console VR: PlayStation VR2
In many ways, the PS VR2 is the best headset we’ve tested yet. It offers dual 2K OLED HDR screens, effectively giving you 4K quality. It’s one of the most comfortable headsets around. And it has some genuinely refreshing new features, like eye tracking and headset haptics. (Yes, it can literally rock your noggin.) And best of all, the PS VR2 delivers high-quality virtual reality without the need for a $1,000+ gaming PC – all you need is a PlayStation 5.
Now, our recommendation comes with a few caveats. At $550, the PS VR2 is more expensive than the PS5 itself. And it’s unclear how quickly its game library will fill up (the initial run has only a few exclusives, like Horizon VR and Gran Turismo 7). But it’s the easiest way to experience high-end VR, and it’s a major upgrade over the original PS VR.
Best PC VR headset under $600: HP Reverb G2
If you don’t care about wireless VR, and you want to invest a bit more in a high-quality PC virtual reality headset, HP’s $599 Reverb G2 is meant for you. It was developed in cooperation with Valve and has some of the best features from the pricier Index headset, like near-field speakers. The Reverb G2 also has sharp screens, offering 2,160 by 2,160 pixels per eye, a 90Hz refresh rate, and a relatively wide 114-degree field of view.
It’s also the first Windows Mixed Reality headset to include four sensors, which helps to ensure more accurate VR tracking, especially during fast-paced games. I also give HP credit for making a tethered VR headset that’s extremely comfortable thanks to its luxurious cushioning around the eye-piece and rear strap.
The Reverb G2’s motion controllers aren’t my favorite, but they’re still a big step up from HP’s previous model. You could also upgrade it to use Valve’s finger-tracking controllers, but that involves snagging SteamVR sensors and a lot more setup. Still, it’s nice to have the upgrade path available.
Best PC VR headset for gamers: Valve Index
Valve’s Index kit remains one of the best high-end VR solutions on the market for PC gaming. For $999 you get the Index headset, Valve’s finger tracking controllers and two SteamVR base stations. While we’ve seen higher-resolution headsets arrive in the last two years, it’s still a very solid option, with a 1,440 by 1,600 pixel resolution, an eye-watering 144Hz refresh rate and a massive 130-degree field of view. I’d gladly lose a few pixels to get a smoother and more expansive screen, which are still far beyond any other consumer headset.
As a SteamVR product, the Index requires installing two sensors at opposite corners of your room. And of course, it’s wired to your PC. But that clunkiness is worth it for the higher refresh rate and more accurate tracking. Sure, it’s not as easy to use as the Quest 2, but at this price range, we assume you’ll suffer a bit of inconvenience to get a truly high-quality VR gaming experience.
Valve’s finger tracking controllers are fantastic as well, with a convenient strap that locks them onto your hands. They make playing Half-Life: Alyx feel like a dream. It’s unfortunate that other VR games haven’t fully taken advantage of the finger tracking though.
Best VR quality, no matter the cost: HTC Vive Pro 2
HTC’s Vive Pro 2 is the best-looking PC VR I’ve seen. It has an astoundingly sharp 5K screen and a solid 120Hz refresh rate. Just be prepared: the full kit, which includes the headset, two SteamVR sensors and wand controllers, costs $1,399. You can also buy the headset separately for $799 as an upgrade to the original Vive Pro, or the Valve Index.
For the price you get a well-balanced and supremely comfortable VR headset. The Pro 2 is a clear sign that Valve has practically perfected the art of making high-end hardware. I’m less impressed with the large wand controllers, which are exactly the same as the ones that came with the original HTC Vive in 2016. They’re functional, but they’re nowhere near as ergonomic as Oculus’s Touch Controllers.
I’m mainly recommending the Pro 2 here based on the astounding quality of the headset.
True VR fans may want to just grab that separately along with SteamVR base stations and Valve’s finger-tracking controllers. That way you can ensure you have the best experience while playing Pistol Whip.
Nokia reveals new logo to remind you it doesn’t make phones anymore
The new Nokia logo. | Image: Nokia
Finnish telecoms firm Nokia has redesigned its logo to remind the world that it doesn’t make mobile phones anymore.
“In most people’s minds, we are still a successful mobile phone brand, but this is not what Nokia is about,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark told Bloomberg. “We want to launch a new brand that is focusing very much on the networks and industrial digitalization, which is a completely different thing from the legacy mobile phones.”
Nokia revealed its new brand identity on Sunday at MWC — the first major redesign of the firm’s logo in nearly 60 years. The company has come a long way since its founding as a single paper mill operation in 1865. Its original logo featured a salmon head; a reference to the Nokianvirta river by which the mill was established and which gave the company its name.
Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales
The classic Nokia logo on HMD Global’s Nokia G50.
Image: Nokia / composite by The Verge
Nokia’s old logo (top) and new rebrand (bottom).
Nokia once ruled the mobile world but failed to adapt to the smartphone era spearheaded by Apple and Google. The company sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft in 2014 but the deal was a disaster.
By 2016, Microsoft had lost at least $8 billion on the acquisition and began winding down its own smartphone business, which failed to take on iOS and Android. That year, the Nokia mobile brand was sold to a new entity founded by former Nokia employees, HMD Global. Android handsets began being sold under the Nokia name once more, though they’re now manufactured by Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile.
According to mobile analyst Ben Wood, Nokia has said the rebrand this week will not affect the branding license used by HMD to market its own devices. HMD revealed a new repairable smartphone just days ago, complete with the original Nokia logo.
Kicking off #MWC23 with news. This is @Nokia but not as the world has seen us before.Our new brand signals our ambition to harness the exponential potential of networks, drive digitalization across every industry https://t.co/flJpdmn0Ue. #NewNokia pic.twitter.com/x8asup3OtT— Pekka Lundmark (@PekkaLundmark) February 26, 2023
Nokia itself now makes money through businesses including the sale of networking equipment and the licensing of its many patents, including to mobile makers. The company has also been pushing hard into 5G, with this portion of its business buoyed by bans on equipment manufactured by Chinese rival Huawei.
In a blog post, Lundmark said the company’s new logo “captures Nokia as we are today, with renewed energy and commitment as pioneers of digital transformation.”
Said Lundmark: “We built on the heritage of the previous logo, but made it feel more contemporary and digital, to reflect our current identity … This is Nokia … but not as the world has seen us before.”
The new Nokia logo. | Image: Nokia
Finnish telecoms firm Nokia has redesigned its logo to remind the world that it doesn’t make mobile phones anymore.
“In most people’s minds, we are still a successful mobile phone brand, but this is not what Nokia is about,” Nokia CEO Pekka Lundmark told Bloomberg. “We want to launch a new brand that is focusing very much on the networks and industrial digitalization, which is a completely different thing from the legacy mobile phones.”
Nokia revealed its new brand identity on Sunday at MWC — the first major redesign of the firm’s logo in nearly 60 years. The company has come a long way since its founding as a single paper mill operation in 1865. Its original logo featured a salmon head; a reference to the Nokianvirta river by which the mill was established and which gave the company its name.
Photo: Amelia Holowaty Krales
The classic Nokia logo on HMD Global’s Nokia G50.
Image: Nokia / composite by The Verge
Nokia’s old logo (top) and new rebrand (bottom).
Nokia once ruled the mobile world but failed to adapt to the smartphone era spearheaded by Apple and Google. The company sold its mobile phone business to Microsoft in 2014 but the deal was a disaster.
By 2016, Microsoft had lost at least $8 billion on the acquisition and began winding down its own smartphone business, which failed to take on iOS and Android. That year, the Nokia mobile brand was sold to a new entity founded by former Nokia employees, HMD Global. Android handsets began being sold under the Nokia name once more, though they’re now manufactured by Foxconn subsidiary FIH Mobile.
According to mobile analyst Ben Wood, Nokia has said the rebrand this week will not affect the branding license used by HMD to market its own devices. HMD revealed a new repairable smartphone just days ago, complete with the original Nokia logo.
Kicking off #MWC23 with news. This is @Nokia but not as the world has seen us before.
Our new brand signals our ambition to harness the exponential potential of networks, drive digitalization across every industry https://t.co/flJpdmn0Ue. #NewNokia pic.twitter.com/x8asup3OtT
— Pekka Lundmark (@PekkaLundmark) February 26, 2023
Nokia itself now makes money through businesses including the sale of networking equipment and the licensing of its many patents, including to mobile makers. The company has also been pushing hard into 5G, with this portion of its business buoyed by bans on equipment manufactured by Chinese rival Huawei.
In a blog post, Lundmark said the company’s new logo “captures Nokia as we are today, with renewed energy and commitment as pioneers of digital transformation.”
Said Lundmark: “We built on the heritage of the previous logo, but made it feel more contemporary and digital, to reflect our current identity … This is Nokia … but not as the world has seen us before.”
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D review: closing the Intel gap for gaming
AMD lost out to Intel’s Core i9-13900K recently, but it’s back with its 3D V-Cache technology to challenge Intel again. AMD is back to challenge Intel for the PC gaming crown. After losing out to the Core i9-13900K with its first Zen 4 chips, the new Ryzen 9 7950X3D closes the performance gap for PC games. But it doesn’t seem to replicate the huge jump that we saw with the dominant Ryzen 7 5800X3D due to a rather mixed bag of results in the selection of games we’ve tested.
This new flagship Ryzen 9 7950X3D chip is priced at $699 and has 16 cores with 32 threads and 144MB of cache. It goes head-to-head with Intel’s flagship Core i9-13900K, which retails at around $589 and has eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores for a total of 32 threads. While Intel’s main Core i9 is cheaper, AMD also has to compete with Intel’s new $699 Core i9-13900KS processor, which breaks the 6GHz barrier at stock speeds for the first time.
AMD has promised it will beat Intel’s gaming and productivity performance with its X3D chips, all while consuming less power. So we’ve put its flagship 7950X3D against Intel’s Core i9-13900K and Core i9-13900KS chips to find out.
I’ve been testing out AMD’s 7950X3D with MSI’s Meg X670E Ace motherboard, 32GB of G.Skill DDR5 6000 RAM, and Nvidia’s RTX 4090. This AM5 motherboard includes one PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot and three PCIe 4.0 M2. slots, so there’s plenty of room for the latest storage.
The Verge doesn’t review processors in the traditional sense, so we don’t own dedicated hardware testing rigs or multiple CPUs and systems to offer all of the benchmarks and comparisons you’d typically find in CPU reviews. We’re going to recommend Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, Tom’s Hardware, and PC World for those.
I’ve tested a variety of workloads, synthetic benchmarks, and games across both AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Intel’s Core i9-13900K and 13900KS. All tests were run on the latest Windows 11 2022 Update with VBS security off, Resizable BAR enabled, and at 1080p resolution. Tests are performed at 1080p to help avoid any potential GPU bottlenecks and to analyze the raw CPU performance.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D catches right up to Intel’s Core i9-13900K in most of the games I tested. In Metro Exodus, the 7950X3D is practically identical in frame rates to the 13900K and 13900KS at 1080p, and it’s similar with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion, too.
The big exceptions are Shadow of the Tomb Raider and F1 22, where the 7950X3D blasts straight past Intel’s latest and greatest. Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at 354fps on the 7950X3D at 1080p, while it hit 308fps on the 13900K and 313fps on the 13900KS. AMD’s 7950X3D also hit 423fps in F1 22, with the 13900KS trailing behind at 389fps.
Intel’s main advantage in the games we tested was Gears 5, where the 13900KS manages to hit 237fps on average compared to 213fps on the 7950X3D. It’s clear from this small selection of games that AMD has closed the gap here, though.
Over on the synthetics benchmarks and productivity side, Intel is still largely ahead. The 7950X3D loses out on PugetBench’s Photoshop test but manages to close the gap on the Premiere Pro side. I found that the 7950X3D also falls behind both Intel’s latest Core i9 chips in Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23. Strangely, it also falls really behind in the 3DMark Time Spy CPU test.
While Intel might edge ahead in some productivity tests and draw in gaming ones, it’s doing so with a much larger power budget. AMD upped its first flagship Zen 4 chips to a 170-watt TDP, but it has dropped this Ryzen 9 7950X3D to a TDP of 120 watts. Intel, on the other hand, has a base power of 125 watts on the Core i9-13900K, and it has bumped this up to 150 watts on the 13900KS. At max turbo power, both of Intel’s latest chips hit slightly above 250 watts and can go way beyond this if a motherboard is set to unlimited power. The difference can be as much as more than 200 watts between the 7950X3D and 13900KS on identical multithread loads. Digital Foundry also found that the 7950X3D draws significantly less power than Intel’s Core i9-13900K.
Both AMD and Intel have also been maximizing thermal headroom lately. That saw the 7950X run at around 95C during heavy mutilthread loads in our previous review, and the Core i9-13900K hitting 100C in similar workloads. I noticed the 13900KS hitting 101C in a multithread load, while the 7950X3D managed 86C during the same test. Both CPUs are using the same Corsair H150 Elite LCD cooler.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D arrives on February 28th.
If you like the performance results, here are some considerations. AMD’s latest 3D Zen 4 processors use the company’s impressive 3D V-Cache technology. AMD’s first desktop chip to use this technology was the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and it outclassed its own Ryzen 5900X and Intel’s 12th Gen Core i9-12900K last year for PC gaming. Even against the 13900K, it still holds its own.
We now have a better idea of how it performs at the flagship level for productivity and rendering apps, alongside PC gaming. But if you’re interested in a 7950X3D, you’ll need a new AM5 motherboard, much like the regular 7950.
Motherboards that use AM5 have support for DDR5 memory and up to 24 PCIe 5.0 lanes. We’re still waiting on the first PCIe 5.0 consumer SSDs to appear, so you’ll likely be pairing any AM5 motherboard with PCIe 4.0 SSDs for now. The PCIe 5.0 support is also merely futureproofing on the GPU side, as Nvidia’s latest RTX 40-series don’t support this latest standard, and we haven’t hit the limits of PCIe 4.0 for GPUs yet.
Existing AM4 coolers should work just fine, and much like the 7950, I was able to use Corsair’s H150 Elite LCD without any changes required. You’ll need to check with your cooler manufacturer to make sure that existing AM4 models can easily be used with these new AM5 motherboards.
I noticed some early issues with the DDR5 memory training process during my Ryzen 9 7900X review, with an additional boot time of around 30 seconds. New BIOS updates have certainly addressed this, but I’m still noticing delayed boot times compared to the Intel system I’ve been testing.
I’m pleased to report that the sleep mode issues I also experienced during the Ryzen 9 7900X review have been fixed. I can now resume from sleep with the latest BIOS updates to the MSI Meg X670E Ace.
AMD’s 7950X3D truly closes the gap with Intel’s latest and greatest processors for PC gaming, but it doesn’t go much beyond in our small selection of games. With AMD promising support for its new AM5 socket through 2025, the 7950X3D feels like a great option for those who need performance in both gaming and productivity tasks.
For just pure gaming, AMD might still have a more reasonably priced option for PC gamers that brings the performance and power usage benefits. The 7950X3D arrives alongside the 7900X3D that’s $599. Both chips are shipping on February 28th, with the new Ryzen 7 7800X3D retailing on April 6th priced at $449. AMD only supplied the 7950X3D for testing, but the 7800X3D could be a true successor to the 5800X3D that became a popular option for PC gamers.
Since we haven’t been able to test the 7800X3D yet, the 7950X3D offers some great PC gaming performance in a processor that won’t hit your energy bills quite like Intel’s flagship CPUs will. In an era where chip makers don’t always focus on efficiency, AMD’s 7950X3D shines through as an exception to the rule.
AMD lost out to Intel’s Core i9-13900K recently, but it’s back with its 3D V-Cache technology to challenge Intel again.
AMD is back to challenge Intel for the PC gaming crown. After losing out to the Core i9-13900K with its first Zen 4 chips, the new Ryzen 9 7950X3D closes the performance gap for PC games. But it doesn’t seem to replicate the huge jump that we saw with the dominant Ryzen 7 5800X3D due to a rather mixed bag of results in the selection of games we’ve tested.
This new flagship Ryzen 9 7950X3D chip is priced at $699 and has 16 cores with 32 threads and 144MB of cache. It goes head-to-head with Intel’s flagship Core i9-13900K, which retails at around $589 and has eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores for a total of 32 threads. While Intel’s main Core i9 is cheaper, AMD also has to compete with Intel’s new $699 Core i9-13900KS processor, which breaks the 6GHz barrier at stock speeds for the first time.
AMD has promised it will beat Intel’s gaming and productivity performance with its X3D chips, all while consuming less power. So we’ve put its flagship 7950X3D against Intel’s Core i9-13900K and Core i9-13900KS chips to find out.
I’ve been testing out AMD’s 7950X3D with MSI’s Meg X670E Ace motherboard, 32GB of G.Skill DDR5 6000 RAM, and Nvidia’s RTX 4090. This AM5 motherboard includes one PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot and three PCIe 4.0 M2. slots, so there’s plenty of room for the latest storage.
The Verge doesn’t review processors in the traditional sense, so we don’t own dedicated hardware testing rigs or multiple CPUs and systems to offer all of the benchmarks and comparisons you’d typically find in CPU reviews. We’re going to recommend Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry, Tom’s Hardware, and PC World for those.
I’ve tested a variety of workloads, synthetic benchmarks, and games across both AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Intel’s Core i9-13900K and 13900KS. All tests were run on the latest Windows 11 2022 Update with VBS security off, Resizable BAR enabled, and at 1080p resolution. Tests are performed at 1080p to help avoid any potential GPU bottlenecks and to analyze the raw CPU performance.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D catches right up to Intel’s Core i9-13900K in most of the games I tested. In Metro Exodus, the 7950X3D is practically identical in frame rates to the 13900K and 13900KS at 1080p, and it’s similar with Assassin’s Creed Valhalla and Watch Dogs: Legion, too.
The big exceptions are Shadow of the Tomb Raider and F1 22, where the 7950X3D blasts straight past Intel’s latest and greatest. Shadow of the Tomb Raider ran at 354fps on the 7950X3D at 1080p, while it hit 308fps on the 13900K and 313fps on the 13900KS. AMD’s 7950X3D also hit 423fps in F1 22, with the 13900KS trailing behind at 389fps.
Intel’s main advantage in the games we tested was Gears 5, where the 13900KS manages to hit 237fps on average compared to 213fps on the 7950X3D. It’s clear from this small selection of games that AMD has closed the gap here, though.
Over on the synthetics benchmarks and productivity side, Intel is still largely ahead. The 7950X3D loses out on PugetBench’s Photoshop test but manages to close the gap on the Premiere Pro side. I found that the 7950X3D also falls behind both Intel’s latest Core i9 chips in Geekbench 5 and Cinebench R23. Strangely, it also falls really behind in the 3DMark Time Spy CPU test.
While Intel might edge ahead in some productivity tests and draw in gaming ones, it’s doing so with a much larger power budget. AMD upped its first flagship Zen 4 chips to a 170-watt TDP, but it has dropped this Ryzen 9 7950X3D to a TDP of 120 watts. Intel, on the other hand, has a base power of 125 watts on the Core i9-13900K, and it has bumped this up to 150 watts on the 13900KS. At max turbo power, both of Intel’s latest chips hit slightly above 250 watts and can go way beyond this if a motherboard is set to unlimited power. The difference can be as much as more than 200 watts between the 7950X3D and 13900KS on identical multithread loads. Digital Foundry also found that the 7950X3D draws significantly less power than Intel’s Core i9-13900K.
Both AMD and Intel have also been maximizing thermal headroom lately. That saw the 7950X run at around 95C during heavy mutilthread loads in our previous review, and the Core i9-13900K hitting 100C in similar workloads. I noticed the 13900KS hitting 101C in a multithread load, while the 7950X3D managed 86C during the same test. Both CPUs are using the same Corsair H150 Elite LCD cooler.
AMD’s Ryzen 9 7950X3D arrives on February 28th.
If you like the performance results, here are some considerations. AMD’s latest 3D Zen 4 processors use the company’s impressive 3D V-Cache technology. AMD’s first desktop chip to use this technology was the Ryzen 7 5800X3D, and it outclassed its own Ryzen 5900X and Intel’s 12th Gen Core i9-12900K last year for PC gaming. Even against the 13900K, it still holds its own.
We now have a better idea of how it performs at the flagship level for productivity and rendering apps, alongside PC gaming. But if you’re interested in a 7950X3D, you’ll need a new AM5 motherboard, much like the regular 7950.
Motherboards that use AM5 have support for DDR5 memory and up to 24 PCIe 5.0 lanes. We’re still waiting on the first PCIe 5.0 consumer SSDs to appear, so you’ll likely be pairing any AM5 motherboard with PCIe 4.0 SSDs for now. The PCIe 5.0 support is also merely futureproofing on the GPU side, as Nvidia’s latest RTX 40-series don’t support this latest standard, and we haven’t hit the limits of PCIe 4.0 for GPUs yet.
Existing AM4 coolers should work just fine, and much like the 7950, I was able to use Corsair’s H150 Elite LCD without any changes required. You’ll need to check with your cooler manufacturer to make sure that existing AM4 models can easily be used with these new AM5 motherboards.
I noticed some early issues with the DDR5 memory training process during my Ryzen 9 7900X review, with an additional boot time of around 30 seconds. New BIOS updates have certainly addressed this, but I’m still noticing delayed boot times compared to the Intel system I’ve been testing.
I’m pleased to report that the sleep mode issues I also experienced during the Ryzen 9 7900X review have been fixed. I can now resume from sleep with the latest BIOS updates to the MSI Meg X670E Ace.
AMD’s 7950X3D truly closes the gap with Intel’s latest and greatest processors for PC gaming, but it doesn’t go much beyond in our small selection of games. With AMD promising support for its new AM5 socket through 2025, the 7950X3D feels like a great option for those who need performance in both gaming and productivity tasks.
For just pure gaming, AMD might still have a more reasonably priced option for PC gamers that brings the performance and power usage benefits. The 7950X3D arrives alongside the 7900X3D that’s $599. Both chips are shipping on February 28th, with the new Ryzen 7 7800X3D retailing on April 6th priced at $449. AMD only supplied the 7950X3D for testing, but the 7800X3D could be a true successor to the 5800X3D that became a popular option for PC gamers.
Since we haven’t been able to test the 7800X3D yet, the 7950X3D offers some great PC gaming performance in a processor that won’t hit your energy bills quite like Intel’s flagship CPUs will. In an era where chip makers don’t always focus on efficiency, AMD’s 7950X3D shines through as an exception to the rule.
Spade turns credit card transaction gibberish into clear, actionable data
Spade’s technology “cleans” credit card data and enriches it with actual merchant identities, logos, business hours and spending history.
Spade turns credit card transaction gibberish into clear, actionable data by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch
We’ve all looked at our credit card statements and seen the reference numbers that are just a string of letters, numbers and symbols that don’t mean much to the average consumer.
Most times the statement shows where something was purchased and the company, but what happens when a company’s name on the statement doesn’t match up to the receipt? For companies reconciling dozens or even hundreds of statements for its employees, that can translate into hours of playing detective.
The U.S. processed more than $124 billion credit and debit card transactions in 2020, so what if there was a way to more easily decipher that string of data? That’s exactly what Spade is working on.
The company, founded in 2021 by Oban MacTavish and Cooper Hart, is developing a data-backed transaction enrichment API that turns that bad data into merchant, category and geolocation details in real time.
“It started basically as doing a logo for transactions,” MacTavish told TechCrunch. “It very quickly snowballed, so we discussed building a simple integration of layers on top of bank data that makes it better.”
Spade’s technology “cleans” the data and enriches it with a proprietary first-party dataset that matches transactions with actual merchant identities, logos, business hours and spending history so companies can get a full picture of purchases, MacTavish said.
Spade founders Oban MacTavish and Cooper Hart. Image Credits: Spade
With that more enhanced data, Spade customers, which include card issuers, anti-fraud platforms and neobanks, can do things like implement spending controls and improve fraud prevention models.
“Now computers can properly build systems on top of the data because it’s not just a clean merchant name, but a consistent ID number across every version of a merchant,” MacTavish added. “We can also know if a merchant is a fraudulent merchant for some reason, which is actually not possible today without better data. That’s where we come in.”
Spade is now buoyed by $5 million in seed funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Joining in on the round were Y Combinator, Gradient Ventures, Dash Fund and a group of angel investors from Square, Alloy, Coinbase, MANTL and Venmo. In total, the company raised $6.1 million.
MacTavish intends to deploy much of the funds into hiring — until recently it was just him and Hart, but now there are 10 people on the team. The company also has a lot of runway now to purchase and negotiate data acquisition deals, he said.
MacTavish said Spade is bringing in revenue, but declined to comment further than to say the company “had our biggest quarter ever in the first quarter” of this year after launching its card issuer products last October. He also offered that the company is now more focused on growing revenue now that it has gotten to a good place with its product.
“We’re at a really strong place in terms of product and we’re very confident we have the team to scale,” MacTavish added. “Historically, we’ve worked with mid-market and startups, but we’re really pushing off towards the mid-market and then on the enterprise side as well. Once we land a few more marquee customers we can sort of get that next stage of growth.”
Spade turns credit card transaction gibberish into clear, actionable data by Christine Hall originally published on TechCrunch
Snapchat is releasing its own AI chatbot powered by ChatGPT
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Snapchat is introducing a chatbot powered by the latest version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, it’s a bet that AI chatbots will increasingly become a part of everyday life for more people.
Named “My AI,” Snapchat’s bot will be pinned to the app’s chat tab above conversations with friends. While initially only available for $3.99 a month Snapchat Plus subscribers, the goal is to eventually make the bot available to all of Snapchat’s 750 million monthly users, Spiegel tells The Verge.
“The big idea is that in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day,” he says. “And this is something we’re well positioned to do as a messaging service.”
At launch, My AI is essentially just a fast mobile-friendly version of ChatGPT inside Snapchat. The main difference is that Snap’s version is more restricted in what it can answer. Snap’s employees have trained it to adhere to the company’s trust and safety guidelines and not give responses that include swearing, violence, sexually explicit content, or opinions about dicey topics like politics.
It has also been stripped of functionality that has already gotten ChatGPT banned in some schools; I tried getting it to write academic essays about various topics, for example, and it politely declined. Snap plans to keep tuning My AI as more people use it and report inappropriate answers. (I wasn’t able to conjure any in my own testing, though I’m sure others will.)
After trying My AI, it’s clear that Snap doesn’t feel the need to even explain the phenomenon that is ChatGPT, which is a testament to OpenAI building the fastest-growing consumer software product in history. Unlike OpenAI’s own ChatGPT interface, I wasn’t shown any tips or guardrails for interacting with Snap’s My AI. It opens to a blank chat page, waiting for a conversation to start.
While ChatGPT has quickly become a productivity tool, Snap’s implementation treats generative AI more like a persona. My AI’s profile page looks like any other Snapchat user’s profile, albeit with its own alien Bitmoji. The design suggests that My AI is meant to be another friend inside of Snapchat for you to hang out with, not a search engine.
“The big idea is that in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day.”
That distinction could save Snap some headaches. As Bing’s implementation of OpenAI’s tech has shown, the large language models (LLMs) underpinning these chatbots can confidently give wrong answers, or hallucinations, that are problematic in the context of search. If toyed with enough, they can even be emotionally manipulative and downright mean. It’s a dynamic that has, at least so far, kept larger players in the space — namely Google and Meta — from releasing competing products to the public.
Snap is in a different place. It has a deceivingly large and young user base, but its business is struggling. My AI will likely be a boost to the company’s paid subscriber numbers in the short term, and eventually, it could open up new ways for the company to make money, though Spiegel is cagey about his plans.
Snap is one of the first clients of OpenAI’s new enterprise tier called Foundry, which lets companies run its latest GPT-3.5 model with dedicated compute designed for large workloads. Spiegel says Snap will likely incorporate LLMs from other vendors besides OpenAI over time and that it will use the data gathered from the chatbot to inform its broader AI efforts. While My AI is basic to start, it’s the beginning of what Spiegel sees as a major investment area for Snap and, more importantly, a future in which we’re all talking to AI like it’s a person.
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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Snapchat is introducing a chatbot powered by the latest version of OpenAI’s ChatGPT. According to Snap CEO Evan Spiegel, it’s a bet that AI chatbots will increasingly become a part of everyday life for more people.
Named “My AI,” Snapchat’s bot will be pinned to the app’s chat tab above conversations with friends. While initially only available for $3.99 a month Snapchat Plus subscribers, the goal is to eventually make the bot available to all of Snapchat’s 750 million monthly users, Spiegel tells The Verge.
“The big idea is that in addition to talking to our friends and family every day, we’re going to talk to AI every day,” he says. “And this is something we’re well positioned to do as a messaging service.”
At launch, My AI is essentially just a fast mobile-friendly version of ChatGPT inside Snapchat. The main difference is that Snap’s version is more restricted in what it can answer. Snap’s employees have trained it to adhere to the company’s trust and safety guidelines and not give responses that include swearing, violence, sexually explicit content, or opinions about dicey topics like politics.
It has also been stripped of functionality that has already gotten ChatGPT banned in some schools; I tried getting it to write academic essays about various topics, for example, and it politely declined. Snap plans to keep tuning My AI as more people use it and report inappropriate answers. (I wasn’t able to conjure any in my own testing, though I’m sure others will.)
After trying My AI, it’s clear that Snap doesn’t feel the need to even explain the phenomenon that is ChatGPT, which is a testament to OpenAI building the fastest-growing consumer software product in history. Unlike OpenAI’s own ChatGPT interface, I wasn’t shown any tips or guardrails for interacting with Snap’s My AI. It opens to a blank chat page, waiting for a conversation to start.
While ChatGPT has quickly become a productivity tool, Snap’s implementation treats generative AI more like a persona. My AI’s profile page looks like any other Snapchat user’s profile, albeit with its own alien Bitmoji. The design suggests that My AI is meant to be another friend inside of Snapchat for you to hang out with, not a search engine.
That distinction could save Snap some headaches. As Bing’s implementation of OpenAI’s tech has shown, the large language models (LLMs) underpinning these chatbots can confidently give wrong answers, or hallucinations, that are problematic in the context of search. If toyed with enough, they can even be emotionally manipulative and downright mean. It’s a dynamic that has, at least so far, kept larger players in the space — namely Google and Meta — from releasing competing products to the public.
Snap is in a different place. It has a deceivingly large and young user base, but its business is struggling. My AI will likely be a boost to the company’s paid subscriber numbers in the short term, and eventually, it could open up new ways for the company to make money, though Spiegel is cagey about his plans.
Snap is one of the first clients of OpenAI’s new enterprise tier called Foundry, which lets companies run its latest GPT-3.5 model with dedicated compute designed for large workloads. Spiegel says Snap will likely incorporate LLMs from other vendors besides OpenAI over time and that it will use the data gathered from the chatbot to inform its broader AI efforts. While My AI is basic to start, it’s the beginning of what Spiegel sees as a major investment area for Snap and, more importantly, a future in which we’re all talking to AI like it’s a person.
Mortgage Refinance Rates for Feb. 27, 2023: Rates Rise – CNET
Multiple key refinance rates notched upwards this week. The Fed’s interest rate hikes have affected the refinance market.
Multiple key refinance rates notched upwards this week. The Fed’s interest rate hikes have affected the refinance market.
Mortgage Rates for Feb. 27, 2023: Rates Increase – CNET
This week, a handful of major mortgage rates moved up. If you’re in the market for a home loan, see how your future mortgage payments could be affected by interest rate hikes.
This week, a handful of major mortgage rates moved up. If you’re in the market for a home loan, see how your future mortgage payments could be affected by interest rate hikes.