US Moves to Strangle Chinese Chipmaker SMIC With New Sanctions

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The US governments' attempts to cripple Huawei's business have wreaked havoc on the company, but those efforts are part of a broader, concerted and long-standing strategy to deny China access to critical chipmaking technology . That strategy entered a new stage today as, according to Reuters and the Financial Times , the US slapped SMIC, China's largest chipmaker, with sanctions that will prevent it from attaining critically-needed equipment and design tools.

The US government cites the potential use of


Newly Uncovered AMD Radeon RX 6000 Specs Imply Significant Performance Uplift

AMD Radeon RX 6000 (Image credit: AMD)

Nvidia's GeForce RTX 30-series are the reigning champs on our best graphics cards standings, but they might not be there for long. A Redditor has discovered the potential specifications for the Radeon RX 6000 series in Apple's macOS Big Sur 11 beta, and they look promising.

The Redditor has a good track record with leaks, but we should still exercise caution with the specifications. For starters, Apple is fond


MonsterLabo's "The Beast" Lets You Passively Cool Up To 400W Of Heat

The Beast (Image credit: MonsterLabo)

According to a FanlessTech report, fanless case manufacturer MonsterLabo is gearing up to launch a new ATX case titled "The Beast." The pricing is unknown, but preorders will go up on October 9.

The Beast arrives with dimensions of 450 x 380 x 210 mm. MonsterLabo doesn't specify the exact weight, but it's going to be heavy, for sure. The case's construction includes 2.5mm steel, 6

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TSMC Mulls Another Fab for 2nm & Two Fabs for Advanced Packaging

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TSMC yet has to disclose details about its N2 (2 nm) fabrication process, but apparently the world’s largest contract maker of semiconductors is confident that demand for this node will be so strong that it is already mulling building an extra fab to meet it, according to the company’s chairman. In addition, TSMC reportedly plans to build two fabs for advanced chip packaging.

TSMC’s N2: One Fab Planned, Another Is Considered

Officially, TSMC’s N

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Western Digital Blue SSDs Discounted up to 25% on Newegg

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For the next few hours, you can save up to 25% on Western Digital Blue internal SSDs. The 1 TB edition offers the best discount, saving you a total of $25 for a final price that amounts to $0.10 per GB.

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Razer Blackshark V2 Pro Review: Untethered Audio in a Quality Headset

Our Verdict

The Razer BlackShark V2 Pro takes everything good about the BlackShark V2 and cuts the cord. Synapse software means you can tweak the sound just how you like it, and the 2.4 GHz wireless connection lets you walk away from your game while still jamming to the soundtrack. This understated headset puts in the work, but non-premium materials could hamstring it in terms of the competition.

For

  • Lightweight, comfortable fit
  • USB or 3.5mm connection options
  • Great customizable audio
  • Amazing noise cancellation

Against

  • Some
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Intel

Best PC Builds for Gaming, Streaming and Productivity

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While you can buy one of the best gaming PCs and resolve your dilemma about whether to buy or build a PC that way, putting together your own system is less expensive and more rewarding. When you build a system yourself, you get total control of everything from the exact make and model of motherboard to aesthetics of the chassis and how many RGB fans you want.

Depending on what type of computer you create, you may also be saving a few hundred dollars over the

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Icy Box ‘Big Block’ Cooler for Tiny M.2-2280 SSDs: Heatsink, Heat Pipes, Fan

(Image credit: RaidSonic)

High-end M.2-2280 solid-state drives are small and fast, but some of them tend to get hot and require cooling. Some suppliers of enthusiast-grade SSDs have introduced drives with rather large heat spreaders, and even active cooling, and there are similar aftermarket cooling solutions too. But RaidSonic wants to beat them all both in terms of performance and in terms of… dimensions.

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Acer Predator Triton 300 Review: Thin, With Dynamic Boost

Our Verdict

The Acer Predator Triton 300 is a lightweight gaming laptop with solid gaming performance and Max-Q Dynamic Boost. But it’s swimming in bloatware and offers lesser productivity performance than some competitors.

For

  • Lightweight for a gaming laptop
  • Strong port selection
  • Max-Q Dynamic Boost usually adds a few frames

Against

  • Way too much bloatware
  • Mixed productivity performance
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EVGA Says Nvidia RTX 3080 Cap Issues Caused Crashes, Confirms Stability Issues

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EVGA has seemingly confirmed that issues with a certain type of capacitor are the source of an increasing number of reports of crashes associated with factory-overclocked Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 graphics cards.

These capacitors were cited in a recent article by Igor's Lab as the probable source of the issues that have spawned complaints in enthusiast forums and Reddit about unexplained RTX 3080 crashes.

EVGA's statement, which comes in the form of a forum post ,