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AMD is winning over PC gamers from Intel, suggests new report

Intel’s traditional dominance in the PC gaming market could be under serious threat if a new report is to be believed, with the results suggesting that 41% of PC gamers now use AMD processors.

The report, which is a collaboration between  Jon Peddie Research, Antikythera Intelligence and Research, and the Wccftech website, surveyed PC gamers visiting Wccftech about their current gaming hardware and their future buying plans.

The survey was launched in October 2019 and garnered 4,477 responses, and the results have now been published in a 55-page report. As the report is aimed at OEMs, shops and component suppliers, you’ll need to pay $9,000 for the full thing, but Wccftech has kindly posted some of the results on its site.

Perhaps the biggest surprise included in the report is the high percentage of PC gamers which are using AMD processors, with 41% of respondents saying they rock a chip by Team Red.

Traditionally, Intel has had a huge market lead when it comes to gamers, but if these results are accurate, it looks like AMD is catching up to Intel – and fast.

Should Intel be worried?

So, how worried should Intel be? First of all, we need to remember that these results are of a relatively small sample of a website’s visitors. Wccftech is a very techy website, which means its audience is going to be skewed towards enthusiasts, so it’s likely not representative of mainstream PC gamers.

Still, if AMD is proving to be so popular with enthusiast gamers and tech fans, then that should be cause for concern for Intel. They can be some of the loudest voices on the internet, and if AMD is getting a lot of positive word of mouth from them, that could sway other gamers when buying a new CPU.

As Windows Central reports, a Steam hardware survey from October 2019, which asked Steam users what hardware they are using, suggested that only 19.39% of Windows users who use Steam have an AMD CPU.

That certainly gives Intel a larger lead, and while it’s only surveying Steam users, the popularity of Valve’s software means the sample size will be a lot larger. However, it does show that AMD growing its market share there as well.

AMD’s certainly had a great run recently, and we’d love to see Intel respond with some truly innovative products in 2020 to make sure that PC gamers stick with its chips.

Source: Techradar

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Microsoft’s next Xbox is Xbox Series X, coming holiday 2020

Microsoft’s next-generation Xbox is officially called Xbox Series X. Microsoft revealed the name and console design on stage at the Game Awards today. The console itself looks far more like a PC than we’ve seen from previous Xbox consoles, and Microsoft’s trailer provides a brief glimpse at the new design.

The console itself is designed to be used in both vertical and horizontal orientations, and Microsoft’s Xbox chief, Phil Spencer, promises that it will “deliver four times the processing power of Xbox One X in the most quiet and efficient way.”

Microsoft used the Xbox Series X to showcase Hellblade 2, a new game from Ninja Theory that is being developed for its next Xbox console. While Microsoft has revealed the design here, the company isn’t revealing exact specs beyond what has been discussed previously.

The Xbox Series X will include a custom-designed CPU based on AMD’s Zen 2 and Radeon RDNA architecture. Microsoft is also using an NVMe SSD on Xbox Series X, which promises to boost load times. Xbox Series X will also support 8K gaming, frame rates of up to 120 fps in games, ray tracing, and variable refresh rate support.

Microsoft isn’t talking GPU performance specifics just yet, but Spencer has dropped some hints in an interview with GameSpot, and the graphics you see in the Hellblade 2 trailer were supposedly captured in a game engine, running on the console, in real-time. “We wanted to have a dramatic upgrade from the Xbox One base console,” says Spencer. “So when we do the math, we’re over eight times the GPU power of the Xbox One, and two times what an Xbox One X is.” The Xbox One X is 6 teraflops of GPU performance, so the Xbox Series X could be capable of 12 teraflops.

GameSpot also saysthe console is roughly as wide as Xbox One controller and roughly three times as tall.

Speaking of controllers, Microsoft also revealed a new Xbox Wireless Controller today. “Its size and shape have been refined to accommodate an even wider range of people, and it also features a new Share button to make capturing screenshots and game clips simple,” explains Spencer. It’s slightly smaller, but will retain the rumble triggers according to GameSpot. The updated controller will work with existing Xbox One consoles and Windows 10 PCs, and will ship with every Xbox Series X.

Microsoft’s Xbox Series X console will also include Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM) and Dynamic Latency Input (DLI) that will “make Xbox Series X the most responsive console ever.” Spencer says the Series X is “designed for a future in the cloud,” and it will combine hardware and software to “make it as easy as possible to bring great games to both console and elsewhere.”

Microsoft hasn’t addressed reports of the company’s plans for two next-gen consoles, but the Xbox “Series” X naming does suggest there won’t be just a single console. We understand Microsoft is planning two new consoles for Series X, with a second lower priced and less powerful console planned alongside the more powerful main console.

Microsoft has been working on Xbox Series X under the name Project Scarlett previously, and today’s naming follows confirmation from Sony that it’s choosing PlayStation 5 for the name of its next console. Microsoft is also claiming Xbox Series X will be the “fastest” and “most powerful,” in what could be a reference to having a more powerful console than Sony’s PlayStation 5.

We’ll have to wait and see which console comes out on top, though. Sony has not yet revealed the design of its PlayStation 5, but that hasn’t stopped Microsoft from surprising everyone with this naming and hardware reveal.

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Twitch’s top streamer exodus continues as CouRage announces YouTube Live deal

Twitch is losing another major streamer: Jack “CouRage” Dunlop — one of the most popular Fortnite streamers on the site with over 2 million followers — has announced he’ll now exclusively stream on YouTube Live. Dunlop’s first YouTube stream will start tomorrow on November 5th.

As has become the tradition with big streaming platform changes, Dunlop announced the move in an elaborate video featuring fellow 100 Thieves members Matt “Nadeshot” Haag and Rachel “Valkyrae” Hofstetter that also makes it clear that Dunlop will still be saying with the e-sports organization.

“I’m very excited to continue expanding my relationship with my YouTube audience, as well as leverage the platform for new collabs and experiences,” commented Dunlop in a press release. “This deal with YouTube allows me to create more content and engage with my fans in real time. I am very fortunate to do what I do on a daily basis and welcome my fans to join me on the next phase of my journey.”

Dunlop’s switch to YouTube marks the latest high-profile departure of top talent on the popular streaming site. In the past few weeks, Twitch has also seen Tyler “Ninja” Blevins, Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek, and Cory “King Gothalion” Michael all move over to Microsoft’s Mixer platform.

YouTube isn’t as big of a force when it comes to live-streaming as other sites like Mixer are (to say nothing of Twitch), but it has recently been building up a base of exclusive streaming. Along with Dunlop, YouTube Gaming also recently announced that Fortnite streamer Lachlan Power would be exclusively live-streaming on the platform.

YouTube has benefitted greatly from hosting replay content from other streaming sites like Twitch, meaning that it hasn’t had to focus as much in the past on attracting content creators exclusively to the platform. That strategy appears to be changing with the recruitment of names like Dunlop and Lachlan, though, indicating that YouTube is looking to try to make its way as a live-streaming site again.

Souce: The Verge, Engadget

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Razer’s new Viper is a light and fast ambidextrous wired gaming mouse

The $79 Razer Viper is the lightest wired gaming mouse I’ve ever used. It weighs just 69 grams, which I learned is the weight of two standard-sized light bulbs. What are the benefits of such a feather-light gaming mouse? It depends on who you ask. Those who prefer a hefty mouse with added weights won’t want much to do with it, but during my week with the Viper, I really liked how easy it was to flick along the mouse pad whenever the in-game moment demands some brisk, twitchy movement.

The relative weightlessness — at least compared to the Logitech G502 Lightspeed I’ve been using, which weighs 130 grams with all of its added weight installed — doesn’t come at the expense of ergonomics. The Viper molds well to my hand, and its ambidextrous design accommodates both left- and right-handed people with two macro buttons on each of its sides. It also doesn’t come at the expense of innovative hardware features.

The Viper uses optical switches in place of mechanical ones under its main left and right mouse buttons. These improve on standard mechanical switches in some important ways. Physical switches have to hit a metallic contact to send a signal to your PC, and that signal is inherently slower and sometimes more prone to accidental misfires due to the fact that they bounce several times when you press them. Optical switches are more responsive, says Razer, and more reliable than their physical counterparts.

This is Razer’s first mouse with optical switches, though it’s not the first to market on the technology. Razer says that it helps to boost the Viper’s lifespan to an impressive 70 million clicks, which is 20 million more than the mechanical switches in Razer’s DeathAdder Elite (which is featured in our best gaming mice roundup) are capable of, and generally, well ahead of where its competitors are.

Razer is also making a big deal of its new braided “Speedflex” cable leading off of the mouse. It’s lightweight, like the mouse, and its smooth texture aids in preventing snags as it glides along your mouse pad. Razer says that it’s especially useful if you use a low DPI setting and really like to make large, sweeping arm movements when you play. The fabric that wraps around the cable looks similar to what’s used on most other braided cables, but the Viper’s cable is far more bendy, and it feels more like actual fabric than other braided cords that I’ve used.

The Viper is lean in terms of features, but, unsurprisingly, Razer squeezed a Chroma LED inside. The color and lighting pattern of the Razer logo on its top can be customized in Razer’s Synapse companion app, and it’s easy enough to find a setting that looks subdued, or if you want, the complete opposite of that. The only other LED on this mouse is on the bottom where you’ll find a textured button next to it that switches DPI settings. I’m accustomed to this button being on the top of most mice that I use, but Razer said that the overwhelming majority of professional gamers wanted it on the bottom to avoid accidental toggling it during a match.

The five DPI levels default at 400, 800, 1,200, 1,800, 2,400, and 3,200 DPI, though each can be customized in Synapse (up to 16,000 DPI). Reaching for this button might take some getting used to, but Synapse helps you stay focused on the screen with a small pop-up window that tells you what DPI selection that’s been made.

Personally, I do miss having the button on top, since I don’t play games with thousands of dollars at stake (or any dollars, for that matter), but Synapse lets me remap the buttons to my liking. Since I’m right-handed, the side buttons reserved for left-handed players are perfect candidates to handle DPI switching. It’s still a little cumbersome, but Razer’s software mostly solved this problem for me.

Like most gaming PC peripherals, the new Razer Viper is built with professional gamers, and those who aspire to be one, in mind. But this one isn’t built for all gamers. For some, its lack of a customizable weight and a small selection of macro buttons might be deal-breakers. Though, if you’re not in that crowd, the Viper’s lightweight, ambidextrous build makes it a fun addition to Razer’s lineup. And, with its optical switches advertised 70-million click limit, the $79.99 investment should last you quite some time.

The Razer Viper will be available for purchase at Razer.com and Best Buy starting today, August 2nd.

Source: The Verge