Graphics Cards

AMD's Radeon RX 9060 XT has reached another extreme-overclocking milestone, with overclocker Bill "Sampson" Alverson pushing an engineering sample of the GPU to 4,643 MHz, about 48% above AMD's listed boost clock. The result is reportedly the second-highest GPU frequency ever recorded, just behind the current world record of 4.769GHz.

That world record belongs to AMD and overclocker Splave, set on the same card at 4.769GHz. Sampson did not beat that record this time, but the result still puts him in rare company. Only two discrete GPU overclocking runs have ever exceeded 4.0GHz, and both involve the RX 9060 XT.

The card used for this run was an engineering sample, and the screenshots show custom AMD internal software being used for liquid-nitrogen overclocking. One visible command references "L1N2control.exe" with settings targeting 4,650 MHz and 1,610 mV. These appear to be non-public AMD utilities, firmware, or BIOS modifications that allow far greater control over voltage and frequency than standard tools like MSI Afterburner would ever permit. The motherboard used was reportedly an MSI board, though the exact model has not been confirmed.

ASUS is taking a page from EV vehicle designers and testing a higher operating voltage with the 12V-2x6 power connector. ASUS demoed a modified RTX 5090 at Computex 2026 featuring a 12V-2x6 power connector running at 48 volts with a 1200-watt power limit.

Images from ComputerBase show the modified GPU running 3DMark while consuming over 1000 watts of power. The GPU is able to do this thanks to the higher-voltage architecture, allowing the RTX 5090's 16-pin power cable to operate at significant wattages without overheating. ASUS also had to modify the power supply to run at 48V, noting (in a press release) that it has developed a unit that can adapt between 12V and 48V automatically when the PSU detects a compatible (48V) GPU.

In scientific terms, higher voltages translate into lower amperage. ComputerBase did the math, noting that at 48 volts, the 12V-2x6 power connector's individual wires only need to operate at 3.5 amps to achieve a blisteringly high 1000 watts of power delivery. By contrast, at 12V (the power connector's official operating voltage), each wire needs over 12 amps to achieve just 600W of power delivery.

ASRock is one of AMD's key Radeon gaming partners, so much so that our flagship review of the new Radeon RX 9070 GRE was released this week, focused on the company's impressive all-new dark Steel Legend design. A rare 2026 gaming GPU release, as the focus gradually shifts to the next generation of Radeon graphics powered by RDNA 5.

Although the current market is pretty bad for consumers, with seemingly all capacity going to building AI factories and data centers, RDNA 5 is still on the horizon and should debut. Current rumors point to a mid-2027 release, with the design for AMD's next-gen graphics architecture reportedly in its final stages. Of course, the 2027 window is due to the current DRAM crisis, with previous reports indicating that RDNA 5 could have been ready by the end of this year.

With that in mind, it's not outside the realm of possibility that companies like ASRock are already developing and finalizing GPU designs, cooling, and specs for the next generation of Radeon graphics cards. And with that, relatively hidden in ASRock's booth at Computex 2026, behind a highly reflective tempered glass panel, we spotted a next-generation Radeon GPU design for its Phantom Gaming series.

Intel used its Computex 2026 stage time to pull back the curtain further on Crescent Island, its upcoming data center GPU built on the Xe3P architecture. The chip is aimed squarely at AI inference workloads, and the headline detail from the presentation is that board partners will be able to build configurations with up to 480GB of LPDDR5X memory onboard.

The 160GB figure that Intel had already confirmed represents the reference configuration, while the 480GB ceiling opens the door for AIB partners to build much denser variants, similar to how add-in board partners approach gaming GPU memory configurations.

What makes Crescent Island stand out from the competition is its choice of memory. While conventional AI accelerators from NVIDIA and AMD rely on expensive high-bandwidth HBM memory, Intel's chip uses consumer-oriented LPDDR5X DRAM and is designed to run in air-cooled servers rather than liquid-cooled setups.

NVIDIA's five-year-old RTX 3060 has made a comeback sooner than expected. Earlier reports pointed to a July return, but the Ampere-based GPU has already appeared on shelves in China, presumably ahead of a wider global rollout. According to ChannelGate, the GeForce RTX 3060 12GB is now available in mainland China.

The specific model making its entry is the Colorful Battle-Ax GeForce RTX 3060 DUO 12GB V2. The bulk wholesale price is 2,199 yuan, or around $325, while VideoCardz highlights that Colorful's official store lists it at 2,349 RMB, which comes to approximately $347. For context, the card's original MSRP back in 2021 was $329. The listing also shows shipment starting this week, with delivery expected before June 5.

The initial allocation is reportedly very limited, with some regions receiving only a few dozen units. Colorful is reportedly planning weekly restocks to build toward a stable supply, but it will likely take a couple of months before the GPU is fully available again at scale. Apart from Colorful, previous reports also named ASUS, MSI, and GALAX among the board partners expected to receive allocation.

With the arrival of the GeForce RTX 50 Series last year, and the new flagship RTX 5090, ASUS introduced a brand-new premium Republic of Gamers GPU design with its new Astral series. In addition to the stylish and robust physical design with impressive cooling, the notable thing was its inclusion of four fans in a new quad-fan cooling system. And with ASUS celebrating 20 years of ROG at Computex 2026, the company is introducing the new ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5090 Edition 20.

The company notes that this new model, which sports a stylish black-and-gold look, "pushes both performance and visual expression to new extremes," and it's not hard to see why. And that's because it features a curved AMOLED display that wraps around the sides and rear of the card, and can be configured to display real-time hardware information, custom animations, or dynamic 3D visuals crafted by the ROG team. As the 4.7-slot thickness makes it one of the thickest GPUs on the market, adding a large screen does add a new and impressive aesthetic layer to the Astral design.

And it pairs perfectly with ASUS's new 20th-anniversary-themed AIO cooler, letting users synchronize the displays of both pieces of new hardware to create a visually striking build. As an Astral GPU, you've also got 20% improved airflow thanks to the fourth fan visible on the backplate, plus premium cooling for overclocked performance with its vapor chamber and liquid-metal GPU cooling.

AMD introduced the Radeon RX 9070 GRE GPU, or Golden Radeon Edition, last year as a China-exclusive. Utilizing the same Navi 48 GPU as the Radeon RX 9070 and Radeon RX 9070 XT, albeit in a cut-down form with 12GB of GDDR6 memory instead of 16GB, it was positioned as a more affordable entry point to 1440p gaming, leveraging the company's latest RDNA 4 architecture. Cut to June 1, 2026, and the Radeon RX 9070 GRE is getting a global release with an MSRP of $549 USD.

The announcement and launch arrive alongside AMD's Computex 2026 announcements, coming at a time when we weren't expecting any new GPU releases due to the current memory, chip, and storage crisis. In fact, the current market reality means that it replaces the baseline Radeon RX 9070 16GB GPU at the $549 price point, which is seeing its official MSRP increase to $619 USD. Based on current GPU pricing, the $549 Radeon RX 9070 GRE makes the GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB its closest GeForce competitor, not the GeForce RTX 5070.

And with that context, AMD notes that the Radeon RX 9070 GRE, a GPU built for 1440p gaming, is 22% faster than the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB at this resolution across 40 titles, with and without ray tracing. This is something we've been able to confirm as we're publishing two Radeon RX 9070 GRE reviews today, providing a detailed look at its performance and features across two models from AMD partners ASRock and Sapphire. Plus, our reviews highlight how the new FSR 4 and FSR 4.1 add even more value to the GPU thanks to its fantastic image quality at 1440p and 'free' performance boost.

COLORFUL has unveiled a new Limited Edition graphics card with a design inspired by the recent release of 007 First Light, the new James Bond action-adventure from the creators of the Hitman series, IO Interactive. The new, limited-edition COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 5070 Ultra OC x 007 First Light Edition features a black-and-gold look, with a custom backplate sporting the game's art, showcasing the titular character and the 007 logo.

This particular GPU design from the company is relatively new, as we recently reviewed the COLORFUL iGame GeForce RTX 5070 Ultra OC earlier this month. In our review, we highlighted the stylish design, excellent cooling, and impressive 1440p gaming performance. In 007 First Light form, the vibrant colors are replaced with darker tones and a more sophisticated look befitting the game and the character.

As an OC model, it ships with a Boost Clock speed of 2557 MHz, and even though it features a triple-fan cooler, the 314 x 135.2 x 50.4mm dimensions make it compact enough to fit in most cases and builds. COLORFUL hasn't confirmed availability or pricing for this new limited-edition graphics card, but it will be on display at the COLORFUL Showroom during Computex 2026.

Last year, AMD launched the Radeon RX 9070 GRE in China with a starting price of 4,199 yuan. Like other GRE cards before it, the launch was China-exclusive. However, rumors now suggest that AMD may be preparing to launch the graphics card globally.

Videocardz has obtained a picture of the English box art for a Sapphire Pulse version of the card, which immediately stands out since Sapphire typically uses Chinese product names for its China-market cards.

Adding weight to the rumor, Videocardz has also spotted Newegg listings for prebuilt systems featuring the Radeon RX 9070 GRE, alongside unofficial listings for the card itself. The PULSE and PURE RX 9070 GRE models are both listed on Newegg, though these are currently from Chinese third-party retailers rather than official US distributors. This suggests that these GPUs are already available to distributors and system integrators in the US.

Market pressure is finally softening for AMD's flagship RX 9070 XT, as sluggish demand forces retail prices to align more closely with MSRP. This downward shift, largely attributed to lackluster demand, has seen UK retailers list cards at around £600. Select variants in Japan have fallen below the ¥90,000 threshold, according to VideoCardz.

The RX 9070 XT had a rocky debut last year, struggling to meet AMD's $599 MSRP for months. When prices finally stabilized, the ongoing DRAM supply crunch took effect. However, it seems that pricing for a handful of models in several regions is finally cooling down.

As noted by OC3D, several UK retailers, including Overclockers UK, have a selection of triple-fan models from ASUS, XFX, and PowerColor priced at £599.99 ($800). This puts them just 5% shy of AMD's official £569 ($750) MSRP. While these variants are a welcome shift, it's worth noting that they remain the exception. The majority of premium board partner models continue to trade well into the £700 ($950) territory. Note that these prices include the VAT.

NVIDIA's latest Security Bulletin details several new high-severity security vulnerabilities covering its wide range of GeForce RTX, Quadro, Tesla, and NVS products, related to its drivers for Windows and Linux. The high severity relates to potential "denial of service, escalation of privileges, information disclosure, data tampering, and code execution."

The good news is that these vulnerabilities have been addressed as long as you're running GeForce Game Ready Driver 596.36 or newer. 596.36 dates back to April 28, 2026, so if you haven't updated your graphics driver in a while, consider this a call to update your driver as soon as possible. The latest release, GeForce Game Ready Driver 596.49, adds support for Forza Horizon 6.

Data tampering and code execution are high-severity vulnerabilities for a reason, and the issues extend to older GPU hardware covering Maxwell, Volta, and Pascal GPUs. For those gaming on older GeForce GTX hardware, you'll want to ensure you're running driver version 582.53 or later to receive the security update.

For those who have been tracking NVIDIA as it becomes a $5 trillion company that leads the world in chips and hardware built for modern AI data centers and workloads, it probably wasn't a surprise to learn that the company's latest financial report showed record revenue. Namely, with its Data Center segment accounting for $75.2 billion of the record $81.6 billion for the first quarter of the company's fiscal 2027.

For those out there who best know NVIDIA as the company behind GeForce and as a leader in the PC gaming hardware market, it's not a surprise to learn that the company's Gaming revenue has become a small slice of its overall revenue. And for those thinking that GeForce is now an afterthought for NVIDIA, and not a focus in any meaningful sense, the latest financial report only reinforces this stance.

And that's because the company is no longer reporting Gaming revenue as a separate line item. Previous financial reports from the company have grouped Gaming and AI PC revenue under a single umbrella covering PCs, GeForce RTX GPUs, laptops, and workstation hardware for enthusiasts and consumers. Now, gaming falls under the catch-all Edge Computing banner that covers AI PCs, GeForce RTX GPUs, game consoles, workstations, AI-RAN base stations, robotics, and automotive.

Back in February 2026, Intel released an introductory video indicating that its next-generation Xe3P architecture would follow the Xe2 architecture. Later, it was reported that Xe3P would not appear in consumer Celestial gaming graphics cards, and Intel canceled the product entirely. Instead, Intel plans to use the architecture in Crescent Island.

Crescent Island is Intel's next data-center GPU, targeting AI inference rather than a consumer Arc graphics card. Intel confirmed the product in October, featuring the Xe3P graphics architecture, 160GB of LPDDR5X memory, and targeting air-cooled data centers and workstations optimized for AI inference workloads.

Now, the upcoming Crescent Island accelerator has appeared in a first PCB leak from YuuKi_AnS, spotted by Wccftech. The leaked PCB gives us a look at the large Xe3P GPU die and its LPDDR5X memory configuration.

ZOTAC GAMING is celebrating its 20th anniversary, and in the lead-up to Computex 2026, the company is giving away a wide range of impressive hardware, from GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards to PC cases and all-in-one mini PCs built for gaming, like the ZBOX MAGNUS ONE. And in keeping with the anniversary theme, the giveaways are all custom 20th-anniversary-edition hardware.

On the official promo page for the event, ZOTAC notes that it plans to unveil and showcase several "exciting new products" at Computex this year, and that this little competition is part of the company's initiative to give back to the community. There are 20 prizes up for grabs, with new items given away weekly. And, the company says that each week the "prizes only get better," so be sure to bookmark the competition to maximize your chances of winning something cool.

The celebration is currently in its third week, and this week (May 18 through to May 24), ZOTAC is giving away two very cool GPUs, the ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5070 Twin Edge (20th Anniversary Edition) and the ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 5070 Ti SOLID SFF (20th Anniversary Edition).

It's always going to be an uphill battle when it comes to performance and compatibility for any new player creating and releasing a new discrete graphics card for PC gaming. Even Intel required months, if not years, to fine-tune its Arc Graphics drivers and architecture to deliver a noteworthy alternative to NVIDIA's GeForce RTX and AMD's Radeon RX offerings. The latest player to join the lineup of PC gaming GPUs is Lisuan Technology, a Chinese company that is on the cusp of releasing the new Lisuan LX 7G100 gaming GPU.

What makes this release interesting is that it has officially earned Microsoft WHQL certification, the first for a Chinese GPU manufacturer. This essentially means that official driver support for the Lisuan LX 7G100 gaming GPU will receive the all-important Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certification tick for Windows.

Game support for the first-generation GPU will be broad, including popular APIs such as DirectX 12, Vulkan 1.3, OpenGL 4.6, and OpenCL 3.0. Lisuan Technology has previously stated that performance would be comparable to the GeForce RTX 4060, but in-game performance will depend on driver support and optimizations. On that note, the company says that right out of the gate, over 100 titles will run as intended on the GPU.

A new open-source project is giving Linux users a chance to experience low-input-latency gaming, finally closing a gap that Windows has long held over Linux. Called "low_latency_layer", it adds support for NVIDIA Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag 2 to AMD and Intel GPUs on Linux.

The project (available on GitHub) essentially adds a Vulkan layer that implements VK_NV_low_latency2 and VK_AMD_anti_lag device extensions, bypassing official driver-level support from AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA to expose latency-reduction technologies directly to games.

Low-latency methods keep the CPU from falling too far behind the GPU. When frames linger in the pipeline, input appears older by the time it shows on screen, which is crucial in competitive shooters. NVIDIA Reflex and AMD Anti-Lag 2 address this by improving the synchronization between the game engine, CPU, and GPU.

PC gamers playing the latest titles will be more than aware of shader compilation, a process that can take a few minutes to complete, and one that's a requirement before you can jump into the action. Microsoft's Advanced Shader Delivery, part of the DirectX ecosystem, is designed to remove this requirement by creating hardware-specific profiles that download and install alongside a game, reducing initial load time by up to 95%.

In addition, like the shader compilation process, it eliminates shader stutter for a smoother gaming experience. In partnership with AMD, Advanced Shader Delivery (ASD) was first deployed and available for ROG Xbox Ally handheld gamers in preview form, and this week that partnership is expanding to Windows 11 PCs with discrete Radeon GPUs. And it's already available for Forza Horizon 6.

Microsoft notes that on compatible GPUs, it reduces initial load times by up to 95%, getting you into that first race in seconds rather than minutes. "With Advanced Shader Delivery, Forza Horizon 6 loads in 4 seconds, as compared to almost 1.5 minutes - that's an overall 95% time savings," the announcement confirms, noting that this refers to running the game on a Radeon RX 7600 GPU.

Leaker @harukaze5719 on X (spotted by Wccftech) exposed unusual listings of the RTX 5090 and RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell available for sale on the popular Chinese storefront JD. What makes these listings stand out is that both GPUs are officially banned from sale in China, where NVIDIA instead offers China-specific variants such as the RTX 5090D v2.

The listings, which have since been removed, included the RTX 5090 32GB Blower at 35,999 CNY, the RTX PRO 6000 96GB Server at 91,999 CNY, and the RTX PRO 6000 96GB Desktop at 76,999 CNY. The RTX 5090 32GB is among the most advanced consumer GPUs available in the market and is still officially subject to export restrictions.

All three appeared under a storefront called the "AI Hardware JD Self-Operated Zone." Since these listings were on a third-party storefront, this implies that NVIDIA isn't directly involved in their sales. According to MEGAsizeGPU (@Zed__Wang) on X, the JD AI flagship store is not an official JD-operated storefront but a third-party seller operating under the JD platform.

MSI has launched a very limited-edition Star Wars-themed GeForce RTX 5080 to celebrate the release of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu. Limited to only 500 units in Europe, the MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G The Mandalorian and Grogu Edition OC Graphics Card takes the company's impressive Gaming Trio design and gives it a Mandalorian and Grogu overhaul, with a stylish brushed metal finish that recreates the titular bounty hunter Din Djarin's (Pedro Pascal) armor.

The Star Wars aesthetics extend to the inclusion of the Mandalorian's iconic helm on the metal backplate's vent (that is interchangeable with the New Republic and the Imperial Remnants emblem), and a little add-on that's both funny and cute. And that's a GPU holder or brace in the form of a Baby Yoda or Grogu figurine. MSI's announcement says that it combines "functionality and cuteness," and we're inclined to agree - it's pretty adorable.

As for the limited-edition GeForce RTX 5080's specs, we have to assume it'll sport a similar Boost Clock speed of 2715 MHz to the Gaming Trio OC model, which should deliver a notable performance improvement over the reference or Founder Edition design. In addition to this, the Mandalorian and Grogu Edition of the Gaming Trio features the same TRI FROZR 4 Thermal Design with the company's latest STORMFORCE fans, nickel-plated copper baseplate for the GPU and Memory, and more.

Intel has released a new optional Beta graphics driver for Arc GPUs, but it's a notable one for those jumping into some of the biggest game releases of the year. The latest Intel Arc Graphics driver 32.0.101.8801 adds support for a trio of big new PC game releases: Forza Horizon 6, LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight, and Subnautica 2. This covers all Arc graphics, from A-Series to B-Series, as well as integrated Arc GPUs on Core Ultra processors.

The other notable addition comes on the software and performance monitoring side, with Intel finally adding a 'Performance Metrics Overlay' to its Intel Graphics Software. The overlay appears detailed, too, with several customization options, styles, and features to play with. And like similar overlays, it can be accessed via a simple keyboard shortcut. And with Forza Horizon 6 and Subnautica 2, both visually impressive titles, it's a welcome addition for Arc gamers looking to optimize performance with real-time feedback.

Another handy feature added to the Intel Graphics Software package is the ability for users to report issues and bugs directly via the app, which should make it easier for both Intel and the Arc community to stay on top of things. And on that note, the full Intel Arc Graphics driver 32.0.101.8801 still lists several Known Issues across all Arc graphics products.