October 2025

Retro Misc Pics (38 Comments) (link)  Friday, 31-October-2025  12:18:07 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Friday again ! 1st March 2013: 8th March 2013: 15th March 2013: 22nd March 2013: 29th March 2013: Misc Newsy Stuff (3 Comments) (link)  Friday, 31-October-2025  12:14:32 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Matt B sent word on this delightful nugget of news on the next update to Win 11 - unavoidable AI assistance in the settings page. Since you're interacting with an AI model, you can use plain, natural language to explain what's wrong or what you're trying to do, and the feature should understand your intent and surface the relevant setting or automate the necessary steps to apply the changes. callan gives a laptop a run for its money. But, the CPU is ARM based. I really hope this machine (and ones like it) will finally help bring about processor agnostic computing again. I think RISC V has a ways to go (but I'm still rooting for it), but this machine shows that ARM, outside of the embedded/mobile market has finally come of age, and is a credible alternative to the AMD64 instruction set market. The packaging strikes me as an all-out effort. TSMC gives an ultra-rare video look inside its fabs. The opening sequence shows the so-called 'silver highway,' TSMC's automated material handling system (AMHS), consisting of overhead tracks transporting front-opening unified pods (FOUPs) carrying 300mm wafers. Hundreds of FOUPs are shown in motion to demonstrate meticulous logistics of wafers around the fab, something that is critical for maintaining cycle times in a high-volume manufacturing (HVM) environment. Central to the video are ASML's EUV scanners (likely the Twiscan NXE:3600D), depicted 'printing' patterns on wafers in a Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer-style video. Backblaze disk drive failure stats suggest the “bathtub curve” effect may be imaginary. The idea is that disk drives fail either early on in their life or after many years, and a plot of failure rate over time shows a U-shaped curve with higher rates at the start and end of working life and few or no failures between these points. However, a Backblaze blog shows that the bathtub curve effect is absent as the company builds up more lifetime failure data. This story is a bit concerning, BitLocker reportedly auto-locks users' backup drives. The best part is that this isn't even the extent of BitLocker's overreach. We found out that BitLocker is surprisingly resource-intensive as well. In our testing, it slowed down random read/write speeds of the affected SSDs by up to 45% because it forces your CPU to encrypt and decrypt every single thing. This can genuinely slow down performance and make your PC feel sluggish. Thirsty Thursday News (0 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 30-October-2025  23:00:57 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Microsoft in court for allegedly misleading millions of Australians over Microsoft 365 subscriptions. The ACCC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court against Microsoft Australia and its parent company Microsoft Corporation for allegedly misleading approximately 2.7 million Australian customers when communicating subscription options and price increases, after it integrated its AI assistant, Copilot, into Microsoft 365 plans. You wouldnt be a fly on the wall with this. No, you'd need to be a fly near a power outlet. Using the unique liquid cooling solution that can run the handheld at a 120W TDP, the results seem truly impressive, although actually using this handheld with liquid cooling is certainly stretching the definition of "handheld gaming", since the device will need to be attached to a liquid cooling base with sizable coolant tubes. Qualcomm buys Arduino, and the open-source community is sceptical to say the least. The announcement came out of nowhere. Arduino wasn’t known to be courting a buyer, and no hint or rumor of the deal leaked beforehand—a rarity for any tech acquisition brokered in 2025. It left fans of Arduino and open-source hardware concerned about what it means for Arduino’s future. “It was a great surprise,” “To have them be bought out by a huge tech company like Qualcomm just floored me. I don’t think anyone saw that coming.” Does your workplace use Microsoft Teams? Be wary, because the House of Windows is testing a new Teams feature that can automatically update your work location based on the Wi-Fi network you're connected to. Oh M$, wont you ever learn ? Microsoft frames the feature as a way to "reduce confusion at the workplace," helping colleagues identify who's on-site or remote—though the privacy implications speak for themselves. With that said, the feature will apparently be off by default, and tenant admins will have the privilege of deciding whether to enable location reporting and also whether to require end-user opt-in. Of course, given how these things usually go, it wouldn't be shocking if most corporations quietly made it mandatory for everyone. Aftahours wanted to let you know DDR5 has just surpassed 13,020 MT/s for the first time. That's a lot of 0's and 1's. Overclocker Salty Croissant has become the first to break DDR5 memory overclocking at 6510 MHz. This translates to 13020 MT/s, the highest frequency achieved so far. Blinky sent word he only uses 508GB a month and would be happy on dial up. As of June 2025, the average Australian household pulls down 508 gigabytes of data per month through the National Broadband Network. And finally, this Windows trackpad caught my eye. Why you wouldn't just buy the Apple track pad and run this beautiful open source driver by imbushuo is beyond me. Wednesday Reviews (4 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 29-October-2025  18:31:14 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Keyboard, Hub: HYTE Powered USB Hub @ ThinkComputers Razer BlackWidow V4 Low-Profile HyperSpeed Gaming Keyboard @ Madshrimps Cases: Montech King 45 Pro @ TechPowerUp Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini V2 Flow Case @ ThinkComputers Gigabyte C500 Panoramic Stealth Mid-Tower Chassis @ FunkyKit Corsair Air 5400 LX-R RGB iCUE LINK Mid-Tower Chassis @ TweakTown Storage: Corsair MP700 Micro 4TB SSD @ TweakTown Corsair MP700 PRO XT 2TB SSD @ guru3D Biwin Black Opal X570 2TB SSD @ TweakTown KIOXIA Exceria Plus G2 2TB USB 3.2 Gen 2 Portable SSD @ NikKTech SSSTC PJ1 3.84TB M.2 22110 SSD @ TweakTown Motherboard: Colorful iGame Shadow II DDR5-6000 32GB @ FunkyKit SAPPHIRE NITRO+ B850A WIFI 7 AMD @ guru3D ASUS ProArt Z890-Creator WiFi @ TweakTown Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 5050 Shadow 2X @ HotHardware Gigabyte X870I Aorus Pro Ice @ TechPowerUp Software, Benchmark: The Outer Worlds 2 Handheld Performance @ TechPowerUp Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Handheld Performance @ TechPowerUp Misc: Project SD Gundam STEALTH @ FunkyKit DXRacer Martian Gaming Chair @ TechPowerUp Misc Pics (18 Comments) (link)  Friday, 24-October-2025  15:16:48 (GMT +10) - by Agg Friday again! Friday Afternoon Reviews (1 Comments) (link)  Friday, 24-October-2025  14:23:26 (GMT +10) - by Agg Motherboard & CPU: Gigabyte X870 AORUS STEALTH ICE Motherboard on FunkyKit. ASRock Z890 Taichi Lite on TechPowerUp. Video Cards: PNY GeForce RTX 5070 Ti OC (ARGB EPIC-X) 16GB Graphics Card on FunkyKit. Vampire The Masquerade Bloodlines 2 Performance Benchmark Review - 30+ GPUs Tested on TechPowerUp. Memory: COLORFUL iGame Shadow II 2x16GB DDR5-6000 C28 Memory Kit on MadShrimps. Crucial Pro OC DDR5-6400 32 GB CL32 on TechPowerUp. Storage: QSAN XN4226D Unified Storage on StorageReview. TerraMaster F4-425 Plus on TechPowerUp. Micron 9550 MAX SSD on StorageReview. Micron 7600 MAX SSD on StorageReview. Asustor Nimbustor 4 Gen2 AS5404T NAS on TechPowerUp. KIOXIA EXCERIA PLUS G4 PCIe 5.0 2TB M.2 SSD on MadShrimps. Lexar PLAY 2280 SE 4TB PCIe 4.0 SSD on FunkyKit. Input Etc: SCUF Valor Pro Wireless Performance Controller Review - A Pro Pad for PC and Xbox on Tweaktown. Keychron K8 HE Wireless Special Edition Keyboard on ThinkComputers. Fanatec Gran Turismo DD Pro Wheel on Tweaktown. Epomaker HE68 Lite Hall Effect Keyboard on APHNetworks. Epomaker HE80 Hall Effect Keyboard on APHNetworks. Portable & Prebuilt: NVIDIA DGX Spark AI appliance on StorageReview. GIGABYTE GAMING A16 laptop on Vortez. Dell Pro Max 14 Premium Review: Potent Portable on StorageReview. Lenovo Yoga 9i Aura Edition Review: 2-In-1 OLED Beauty on HotHardware. XMG Pro 16 (E25) laptop on TechPowerUp. Lenovo Yoga 7 2-in-1 Gen 10 (Krackan Point | Radeon 860M) Laptop on Tweaktown. Wokyis Retro Docking Station on OCInside. Power Supply: COUGAR GLE 1000W PSU on Vortez. DJI Power 1.8 kW Solar/Car Super Fast Charger and solar setup video by FunkyHome. DJI Power 1000, Expansion Battery 2000, 1.8 kW Solar/Car Super Fast Charger and Solar Video by FunkyHome. MSI MEG Ai1600T PCIE5 ATX 3.1 Power Supply Unit on NikKTech. Cooling: Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 and NF-A14x25 G2 fans on StorageReview. CPS PCCOOLER F7 X120 ARGB Fan on TechPowerUp. Valkyrie V360 LCD AIO Liquid Cooler on TechPowerUp. Cooler Master Hyper 212 3DHP Black ARGB CPU Cooler on Tweaktown. Misc: Corsair VOID v2 MAX WIRELESS Gaming Headset on FunkyKit. be quiet Light Base 500 LX tower case on Guru3D. Misc Pics (16 Comments) (link)  Friday, 17-October-2025  14:15:49 (GMT +10) - by Agg Thanks to metamophosis and Simon this week! Friday Afternoon Reviews (2 Comments) (link)  Friday, 17-October-2025  13:40:27 (GMT +10) - by Agg Motherboard & CPU: Gigabyte B850 Aorus Elite Wi-Fi7 on TechPowerUp. Intel Panther Lake Technical Deep Dive on TechPowerUp. Inside Intel Tech Tour 2025: Panther Lake And Clearwater Forrest Built On 18A on HotHardware. Input Etc: Endorfy Thock V2 Compact Wireless Keyboard on FunkyKit. Dream Machines DM9 Skill Wireless mouse on TechPowerUp. Turtle Beach Rematch Wireless Controller Switch Gamepad on APHNetworks. RAWM SH01 Pro mouse on TechPowerUp. Epomaker HE80 Wired Hall Effect Keyboard on MadShrimps. Cases: Antec C8 Curve Wood Full-Tower Chassis on Tweaktown. Cougar OmnyX on Guru3D. XPG Valor Air Pro Mid-Tower Chassis on Tweaktown. Cooler Master MasterFrame 600 Mid-Tower on Tweaktown. GAMEMAX Blade Concept Mid-Tower on Tweaktown. Storage: Toshiba Canvio Flex 2025 4TB USB 3.2 Gen 1 Portable Storage on NikKTech. XPG Mars 980 Blade 2TB Solid State Drive on APHNetworks. Audio Visual: SteelSeries Arctis Nova 3P Wireless Gaming Headset on MadShrimps. Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 G60SD on TechPowerUp. Elgato Facecam 4K Webcam on ThinkComputers. SteelSeries Arena 7 Illuminated 2.1 Gaming Speakers on NikKTech. Reolink TrackMix WiFi Dual-Lens PTZ Security Camera on Guru3D. Portable & Prebuilt: NVIDIA DGX Spark Review: A GB10-Infused Mini AI Development Powerhouse on HotHardware. Lenovo Legion Tower 7i (Gen 10) Desktop PC on ThinkComputers. Lenovo Yoga Slim 7i Aura Edition (Gen 10) on HighPerformanceLaptops. LattePanda IOTA Palm-sized x86 Single Board Computer on MadShrimps. HP Omen Max 16 (2025) on HighPerformanceLaptops. Lenovo Yoga 7i 2-in-1 (Gen 10) on SMBTech. Best Laptop Group Test (October 2025) on SMBTech. Laptops for Work, School and Play: Group Test on SMBTech. ALLIWAVA H90Pro prebuilt PC on TechPowerUp. Memory: OLOY Blade Performance RGB DDR5-6000 32 GB CL30 on TechPowerUp. Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 CKD DDR5-9600 48GB kits on FunkyKit. Misc: Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16GB video card on FunkyKit. Endorfy Fortis 5 Black ARGB CPU Cooler on ThinkComputers. Battlefield 6 Performance Benchmark Review - 40+ GPUs Tested on TechPowerUp. Misc Pics (45 Comments) (link)  Friday, 10-October-2025  15:37:57 (GMT +10) - by Agg Thanks to metamophosis this week! Slightly delayed by kitchen drain mini-disaster.. Thursday Afternoon Reviews (0 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 9-October-2025  16:25:05 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Audio Visual: ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27UCDM @ TechPowerUp Teamgee S1 14-inch Portable Monitor @ TweakTown Keyboard, Mouse: Corsair MAKR 75 Barebones DIY Mechanical Gaming @ HotHardware MCHOSE x Unbox Therapy UT98 Mechanical Keyboard @ ThinkComputers Logitech MX Master 4 Wireless Mouse @ NikKTech Rapoo VT7 Max @ TechPowerUp Corsair VANGUARD PRO 96 Gaming Keyboard @ TweakTown Corsair MAKR 75 Mechanical Keyboard @ APHnetworks Chassis: HAVN BF 360 Flow Mid-Tower Chassis @ TweakTown Arctic Xtender VG @ TechPowerUp Storage: Crucial P510 2TB M.2 PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD @ OCinside Biwin Black Opal NV7400 2TB SSD @ TweakTown Crucial X10 2TB Portable SSD @ Madshrimps SK Hynix P51 Platinum 2 TB @ TechPowerUp Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X870E-H Gaming Wi-Fi @ TechPowerUp ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Apex @ TweakTown ASRock Phantom Gaming X870 Riptide WiFi @ ThinkComputers Software, Benchmark: Get Faster, Safer Wi-Fi At Home With This Optimization Guide @ HotHardware Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Early Access Multiplayer 4K & 1440p @ TweakTown Portable, Prebuilt: EUROCOM Raptor X16 @ TechPowerUp Google Pixel 10 Pro Fold @ HotHardware Misc: PECRON E2400LFP Portable Power Station @ NikKTech Engenius ECW520 Cloud7 @ guru3D Seasonic PRIME TX-1600 1600W Noctua Edition @ FunkyKit Fundraising for MoMaN69 (0 Comments) (link)  Saturday, 4-October-2025  20:19:16 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Long-standing Forums member MoMaN69 is in a bit of a tough spot at the moment. There is a GoFundMe page if you wanted to help out with his expenses etc. There is no expectation, but if anyone wishes to help Mark through this time, I know he would be forever grateful for your support. All proceeds will go directly to Marks relocation expenses. Wishing all the best to MoMaN69. Retro Misc Pics (12 Comments) (link)  Friday, 3-October-2025  10:45:38 (GMT +10) - by Agg Currently in Tasmania playing hockey, so here's Retro Misc Pics from February 2013 - back to normal next week. Enjoy the long weekend if you're having one! 1st Feb 2013: 8th Feb 2013: 15th Feb 2013: 22nd Feb 2013: Thursday Night News and Ramblings (3 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 2-October-2025  23:23:36 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Raspberry Pi Foundation have released a new SKU, The Pi 500+ It’s a complete desktop computer, a love letter to the machines of our childhoods, and our most polished product yet. Raspberry Pi 500+ boasts a high-quality mechanical keyboard with removable keycaps and individually addressable RGB LEDs, an internal M.2 socket pre-fitted with a 256GB Raspberry Pi SSD, and 16GB of RAM. And, if a Pi 500+ isnt enough power under the hood then maybe the LattePanda IOOTA is for you. Anker gets to recall half a million power banks. Anker is issuing another recall over potentially defective power banks following dozens of reports of incidents involving fires and explosions. Unlike the last recall, which affected around 1.1 million Anker PowerCore 1000 power banks, this new one includes multiple different models. The PC Gaming Hardware Market Is Exploding ! Again ! Are they using those Anker Power Banks or what ? Valve want you too buy a LCD model Steam Deck. But all the cool kids say the OLED is the one too get. But if you are starting to run out of storage on your Steam Deck, this might be the answer too your problem. I'd rather be able to afford this Apple I There were a number of factors in this sample’s favour that allowed it to significantly leapfrog the estimate. Beyond the vintage physical computer equipment, this machine also had some extra provenance. It is known as the ‘Moore Apple-1’, which is “a complete and working setup owned by the first female graduate of Stanford Law School, June Blodgett Moore." I'm not sure I can even afford a New V4 Apollo A6000 The Apollo Team behind the Vampire V4 just launched pre-orders for a new, all-in-one modern Amiga, dubbed the Apollo V4 A6000, which is built atop the Apollo V4 platform. The V4 platform, like other standalone boards and Apollo accelerators, offers what the team calls a 68080 processor with AMMX support, which is a 100% code compatible evolution of the latest 68000 series processors, that corrects many of the bugs of the original 680x0 designs, while also adding additional features to increase performance. Although it was just announced last night, the initial batch of Apollo V4 A6000s has already sold out. Back with newer tech, Apple are making chips. Apple has locked up fully half (and potentially more) of TSMC's 2nm production capacity. I am going to go out on a limb here and will assume its the new M5 chip they'll be making. Current-generation processors are largely built on 4nm-class and 3nm-class technology, and the next jump is going to come from 2nm-class processes, of which there are four on the way: TSMC's N2, Intel's 18A, Samsung's SF2, and newcomer Rapidus' 2HP. Of those, Intel isn't taking external orders, Samsung isn't quite ready yet, and Rapidus isn't even planning to be be ready until 2027. That leaves TSMC's N2 as the only 2nm-class fab available to fabless customers, yet one customer in particular is getting priority treatment. Brave Browser hits 100 million monthly users. The privacy-focused browser surpassed the milestone on September 30th, and says it’s attracted an average of 2.5 million new users each month over the last two years. “Across the globe, users are choosing privacy and control over their online experience, instead of Big Tech’s tracking and abuse,” said Brave CEO Brendan Eich. With just days remaining until Microsoft discontinues free support, Windows 10 still accounts for 40.5 percent of the Windows desktop market. Despite Microsoft's relentless push to migrate users, Windows 10 remains remarkably resilient, however, the trend line does show movement. A year ago, Windows 10 held 62.75 percent market share while Windows 11 languished at 33.42 percent. This shift hasn't been nearly steep enough. After October 14, a number of users will no longer receive free security updates. For those who remain on Windows 10, the end of support brings a bitter trade-off: no more monthly anxiety about what Microsoft might break — but also no assurance that vulnerabilities will be patched. And if you are a Windows 11 OS user, here's 11 useful registry hacks to help ease the pain. Thursday Evening Reviews (0 Comments) (link)  Thursday, 2-October-2025  22:04:26 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN Audio Visual: Edifier MR5 Studio Monitor Speakers @ NikKTech AVerMedia CamStream 4K BU113G2 External Capture Card @ APHnetworks Corsair VOID WIRELESS V2 Gaming Headset @ FunkyKit Dangbei DBOX02 4K Projector @ Neoseeker Keyboard, Mouse: be quiet! Dark Mount Keyboard @ HardwareAsylum NuPhy Air75 V3 Low-Profile Wireless Keyboard @ Vortez Epomaker Cypher 81 Mechanical Wireless Keyboard @ Madshrimps be quiet! Dark Mount Gaming Keyboard @ ThinkComputers CHERRY XTRFY K5V2 + GP6 NORTHERN LIGHT BUNDLE @ Madshrimps VAXEE Zygen NP-01S Ergo Wireless @ TechPowerUp Case, Cooler: NZXT Kraken Plus 360 RGB @ OCinside Einarex Prisma S800 @ TechPowerUp be quiet! Pure Rock Pro 3 @ TechPowerUp Scythe Mugen 6 Black Edition CPU Cooler @ TweakTown Storage: SK hynix Platinum P51 Gen5 Solid State Drive @ ThinkComputers Sandisk WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB Solid State Drive @ APHnetworks Motherboard, Memory: ASRock Phantom Gaming X870 Nova Wi-Fi @ TechPowerUp ASrock X870 Roundup (for thoose that need to kill X3D chips faster) @ Vortez Adata XPG Lancer Blade RGB 64GB DDR5-6000 @ FunkyKit Adata XPG Lancer Blade RGB 48GB DDR5-6400 @ FunkyKit ASUS ROG Strix B850-E Gaming Wi-Fi @ TechPowerUp Sim Racing: Asetek Racing Initium Bundle 1 @ TweakTown Trak Racer TR120S V2 Sim Racing Chassis @ TweakTown MOZA Racing R5 Direct Drive Base & Pedal Bundle @ TweakTown Misc: be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 1000W ATX 3.1 Power Supply Unit @ NikKTech Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Benchmarks @ HotHardware MSI Titan 18 HX AI @ HotHardware Blacklyte Atlas Lite Standing Desk @ TechPowerUp Retro Gaming October 2025 (0 Comments) (link)  Wednesday, 1-October-2025  10:09:34 (GMT +10) - by MUTMAN This month's "Retro Let's Play" for October is Fallout Tactics from 2001 Most players never really gave Tactics a chance due to the terrible reviews, but if you stick with it, there’s a really nice game underneath it’s sometimes clunky, canon and buggy reputation. It is different, and sometimes difficult, but also very very rewarding. The story revolves around a group known as the Brotherhood of Steel, established in the post-War United States, spreading from the former state of California eastward. The isolationist, technology-focused group found itself at odds with its ideals once the need to recruit outsiders became a reality. The players character is a recruit to the Brotherhood called the Warrior, tasked to lead a squad of soldiers made up of their peers against several threats in the surrounding Chicago area starting in the year 2197. click for the thread!

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