Leaked Intel GPU benchmarks show promise
As we get closer to the official launch of Intel’s first real attempt at consumer-focused GPUs, internet detectives are sniffing for leaks. Someone actually managed to find one. Or at least what appears to be one. TUM_APISAK uncovered some benchmark results from SiSoftware that show how the new GPU performed in some synthetic tests. If these results are legit, this could be the cause for some celebration.
A few specifications reveal that these results are for the DG2-512EU model. This is the flagship model for Intel’s Arc Alchemist series it plans to release sometime this year. As the name suggests, this one has the full 512 execution units (kinda like Nvidia’s CUDA cores). The results indicate that the card might be packing some series performance. The numbers show it’s able to trade blows with Nvidia’s 3070. Before you get your hopes up remember that these are just synthetic tests and don’t indicate real-world performance. The drivers will probably be updated as well so launch-day results might look slightly different but we can’t help but get a little excited. If there’s anything gamers need right now, it’s another stream of GPUs into the market.
Source: Videocardz
Another day, another Samsung leak
As we approach the first Samsung Unpacked event of the year, there has supposedly been another leak. Expected to be announced on 9 February, the different models in the Galaxy S22 range have already been made public, supposedly. Roland Quandt tweeted what are apparently “official Euro prices” for the memory and storage options. It looks like the chip storage and current world state have hit Samsung harder than we thought. Or at least that’s what it seems like from those price increases.
According to the tweet, the base model S22 will feature 8GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. The same goes for the slightly bigger, slightly better Galaxy S22+. That’ll also have 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 256GB of storage. Nothing new there. The S22 Ultra is where things get weird. For the first time, Samsung is offering its flagship device, the S22 Ultra with a measly 8GB of RAM with the 128GB storage model and 12GB with the 256GB and 512GB models. We’ll need to wait for the official announcement for local pricing and to see if we’re getting devices with a Snapdragon chip or Samsung’s new Exynos 2200.
Source: Engadget
Call of Duty will still be on PlayStation
After the gaming world was rocked by Microsoft’s surprise acquisition of Activision Blizzard last week, Xbox CEO Phil Spencer confirmed what a lot of gamers were worried about. Spencer tweeted that Microsoft intends to honour “all existing agreements” and confirmed that it would be keeping Call of Duty on PlayStation. While that may seem like great news, especially if you’re a PlayStation CoD player, it doesn’t mention anything about other titles. Will Overwatch and Diablo receive the same treatment? What about future titles outside of the “existing agreements”?
As nice as Phil Spencer says Microsoft’s intentions are, it is a business after all. A business that really likes making money. If your platform is the only one that offers certain games, fans of those games will have to adapt your platform to play their favourite games. The other question is how this will affect the price of Xbox Game Pass. Don’t be surprised if a price increase is announced before too long.
Source: Phil Spencer via Twitter
Bitcoin price drops amid investor scramble and Russian rumours
The price of the biggest cryptocurrency in the world, bitcoin, dropped again over the weekend, the lowest it’s been in six months. And it isn’t the only one to fall. Many other coins and tokens have lost value as well. Analysts and investors are pointing at two reasons for this. Firstly, investors have been dumping their high-risk assets ahead of a forecast that the Federal Reserve Bank will be increasing interest rates. That means that the higher yield on low-risk assets makes the volatility of crypto unappealing.
The other reason could be that the Russian central bank announced last week it was seeking to ban all cryptocurrency trading and mining. That would include crypto investments by banks and any exchanges for traditional currencies in Russia, home to some of the largest crypto miners in the world.
Source: Ars Technica