Hardware

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• Latest news High-severity CVE-2026-8917 affects Asus Armoury Crate, GPU Tweak and AI Suite

  A new high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2026-8917, 8.4/10) was found in components used by Asus Armoury Crate, GPU Tweak II, GPU Tweak III and AI Suite 3. The flaw is an IOCTL issue that allows a local attacker to write a specific value to an arbitrary memory address, potentially enabling privilege escalation. Updates are available: Armoury Crate can be updated from within the app, while GPU Tweak II/III and AI Suite 3 require downloads from Asus support pages. This matters because the vulnerability gives local attackers a concrete path to escalate privileges on affected systems.

• Latest news SteamOS beta adds preliminary Steam Frame wireless-adapter support, signaling launch progress

  Valve pushed 'preliminary support' for the Steam Frame Wireless Adapter to SteamOS Beta and Preview channels, a sign of continued development for the company’s upcoming standalone VR headset. This update follows earlier launch indicators — Valve’s summer 2026 target, import sightings, a 'Great on Frame' Steam tag, public Frame-related software, and FCC photos and teardowns — and suggests the headset is moving toward release. The change may only add the adapter’s ability to wake Steam Machines from sleep, prompting community skepticism, and supply could be constrained by a global LPDDR5 memory shortage.

• Latest news Sovereign Tower: time-travel visual novel/RPG management game launches Aug 6, 2026

  Sovereign Tower is a visual novel, RPG and management game from Wild Wit Games and Curve Games releasing August 6, 2026 for $17/£12.74 on Steam (Steam Deck Verified). Players control an itinerant leper who becomes the ruler and must send knights on quests, balance citizen class satisfaction and manage treasury resources. The game extends a Reigns-like throne-management format with time-travel mechanics, deeper roleplaying systems and elaborate storylines, creating constant resource and timing pressure.

• Latest news Valve warns EU Steam Machine and Controller customers after hardware partner hack

  Valve has notified owners of Steam Machine and Steam Controller in Europe that one of its hardware partners was hacked. Valve's own servers were not compromised, and the company warns affected customers to expect fake messages and phishing attempts following the breach.

• Latest news Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2026) impresses on specs and battery but is hamstrung by high price

  The 2026 Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is a well-built 16-inch gaming laptop with a 240 Hz OLED screen, strong portability and excellent battery life, and it can beat the MSI Stealth 16 AI+ in some gaming benchmarks. However, flagship configurations are very expensive: a 64 GB DDR5 model with an RTX 5080 is listed at $4,800 and a 32 GB/1 TB variant at $4,400. A similarly equipped Razer Blade 16 with the same Intel Panther Lake chip and RTX 5080 is $400 cheaper, and ongoing memory shortages are keeping prices high. That price gap makes the G16 hard to recommend until it appears at lower sale prices.

• Latest news Fields of Mistria 1.0 launches with rideable chicken, marriage, new quests

  NPC Studio has moved Fields of Mistria out of early access with a 1.0 release that adds a rideable chicken mount and finishes previously incomplete content. The update makes romance systems first-class by adding proposal events, weddings, marriage and children, and raises progression caps for town renown and NPC heart levels. Steam Achievements are now available and awarded retroactively, and beta localization for seven languages has been added to open the game to more international players. These changes complete long-promised features and expand endgame progression and accessibility for both new and veteran players.

• Latest news Corsair Cove: Limbic’s pirate city-builder launches July 31, 2026

  Corsair Cove is a pirate-themed city builder from developer Limbic Entertainment and publisher Hooded Horse, due July 31, 2026. Players lead a colony of escaped prisoners on a skull-shaped island, balancing logistics-heavy vertical construction with sea expeditions that bring loot and upgrades. The game pairs whimsical activities — drinking, dancing pigs and ziplines — with a core resource loop of harvesting, refining and manufacturing to keep residents happy. It was tested on a high-end PC (RTX 4090, i9-13900k, 32GB RAM) and is playable on Steam Deck.

• Latest news Colorfire ME26A cat-themed PC case: 435 mm GPU clearance, tool-less panels

  Colorfire's ME26A is a compact, cat-themed PC case with subtle feline styling and a tactile 'toe bean' power button. It supports microATX and Mini-ITX motherboards, standard ATX power supplies, and GPUs up to 435 mm. The case accommodates nine fans or a 360 mm top radiator and offers tool-less dust filters and side panels. Pricing and regional availability have not been announced.

• Latest news Redditor rigs Steam Deck with spiky case, camera and taser to deter family

  A Steam Deck owner on Reddit built a DIY security system to stop family members from using their handheld. The setup uses a 3D‑printed spiky side case, a Raspberry Pi with an object‑detection camera and speaker, and a taser mounted above the device that triggers after an audio warning. The builder says it’s meant as a deterrent and an experiment, and notes the solution is cumbersome rather than a practical lock.

• Latest news Valve replaces stolen Steam Machine for UK customer after doorstep theft

  A UK buyer reported a Steam Machine was stolen from their doorstep after Royal Mail left it at the property. Steam Support sent a free replacement after the customer reported the theft and checked with neighbours at the company's request. The item cost about £1,000 and the case highlights UK rules that place delivery responsibility on sellers.

• Latest news Redditor props GPU with gallium-filled vial despite risks

  A Reddit user shared a photo of a gallium-filled vial used to support a sagging GPU. Gallium melts at low temperatures and can corrode metals like aluminium, so a leak could damage a PC. The poster said the metal is contained in an HDPE vial and acknowledged the danger; conventional GPU supports remain safer alternatives.

• Latest news Arthurian open-world RPG Tainted Grail 50% off after major patch

  Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon is a dark, first-person Arthurian open-world RPG that launched in May to generally positive reviews. It's currently 50% off on Steam and a demo is available. The discount coincides with a major patch and free DLC adding new items, an "ultra+" graphics preset, new gear and a romance option. The game runs on Steam Deck at roughly 30–45 fps and blends Bethesda-style open-world design with darker visuals and refined melee combat.

• Latest news Community method lets you run Morrowind on dual-screen handhelds

  Modders have found a way to run The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind on dual‑screen handheld devices. The approach is community‑developed and requires manual setup and technical effort. It provides an option to replay Morrowind while The Elder Scrolls VI is still in development.

• Latest news Valve: memory shortages still worsening, hardware prices likely to rise

  Valve engineers told Bloomberg the memory shortage is worsening and hardware prices are expected to rise in the short to medium term. Retail availability trails bulk supply by about three to six months, impacting device launches. Valve says Steam Machine production has been constrained by memory capacity but it will continue with its plans and measures success by offering an open-source living-room PC option rather than raw sales.

• Latest news New Total War: Warhammer 40,000 footage shows dynamic cover and heavy effects

  A new gameplay video shown at BiliBili World offers a detailed look at an Armageddon Theatre battle between Astra Militarum and Orks. The clip highlights a dynamic cover system where infantry split into smaller squads and use multi-level cover while larger units break barricades. It also shows heavy visual effects that may be demanding on PC hardware.

• Latest news Valve releases Proton 11 (rebased on Wine 11) with Resident Evil support

  Valve has released Proton 11, a new version of its Windows-on-Linux compatibility layer rebased on Wine 11. It’s available in Steam’s compatibility settings or per-game compatibility options. Proton 11 includes various fixes (notably KDE window maximization) and a list of newly playable titles, including Resident Evil (1996) and Resident Evil 2 (1998).

• Latest news China-only RTX 4080M pairs laptop GPU with desktop board and draws low power

  An unofficial China-only "RTX 4080M" uses laptop GPU silicon on a custom desktop PCIe board and has no official Nvidia support or warranty. A Bilibili tester recorded a 3DMark Time Spy graphics score of 18,614 while the card drew about 100 W. It costs roughly 2,700–2,800 RMB (~$400) and showed mixed gaming results versus similarly priced rivals.

• Latest news Steam Machine with 'red line of death' recovers after apparent graphics fault

  A Steam Machine that showed a 'red line of death'—initially thought to indicate a serious graphics card failure—has started working again. The owner, who advised others not to panic, reported the recovery to Eurogamer. No further technical diagnosis was provided in the follow-up.

• Latest news Valve releases SteamOS 3.8.14 to fix Wi‑Fi speed limits from router bug

  Valve released SteamOS 3.8.14 over the weekend. The update fixes a bug that could limit Wi‑Fi speeds on routers that misadvertise MCS requirements, which should improve download rates for devices using a Wi‑Fi antenna. The changelog lists only two changes.

• Latest news Commodore's Callback flip phone matches early C64 Ultimate sales after price cut

  In 2025 YouTuber Chris "Peri Fractic" Simpson bought Commodore and steered the brand back into hardware and merch. Last month Commodore launched the Callback, a flip "dumbphone" that blocks social media, email and a web browser while offering WhatsApp, maps and built-in retro games. The company cut the phone's price from $500 to $400 ahead of presale and said on X that Callback matched the Commodore 64 Ultimate's first-month sales in three days; the announcement was posted to an app the device itself blocks.

• Latest news Fenris open-sources Carbon Engine used by EVE Online and Frontier

  On July 1 Fenris Creations (formerly CCP) released the Carbon Engine source code on GitHub. The engine underpins EVE Online and early-access EVE Frontier. Fenris has also delivered other prior promises for Frontier and is developing the FPS Vanguard using Unreal Engine.

• Latest news Cinder City drops 64GB RAM requirement, raises GPU spec instead

  Cinder City, an online co-op shooter from South Korean publisher NC, has revised its PC system requirements. The game no longer lists a 64GB RAM requirement and instead increases GPU performance demands. The update comes after player feedback following the game's announcement.

• Latest news LDLC briefly sold sub-€1,000 compact PC called LDLC PC Box

  French retailer LDLC briefly listed a compact gaming PC initially dubbed the 'Stim Machine' and later renamed LDLC PC Box. A 500 GB DIY kit was priced at €1,000 and a short-lived pre-built option at €1,040; listings are no longer available. The system used standard PC parts and shipped with a SteamOS installation tutorial.

• Latest news Valve investigating Arm-based Steam machines and expanding FEX support

  Valve engineers say the company is considering Arm-based hardware for future Steam Machines. An Arm-specific SteamOS is planned alongside the Snapdragon-based Steam Frame VR headset later this year. Valve is also developing FEX, a translation layer to run x86 games on Arm, and cites price-performance and user choice as drivers for support.

• Latest news SteamOS 3.8.20 beta improves performance for GPUs with limited VRAM

  SteamOS 3.8.20 beta includes a RADV driver change that alters how Linux allocates VRAM and the GTT. The update reduces costly evictions from VRAM, improving performance on discrete GPUs with limited dedicated memory. Systems using integrated GPUs are unlikely to see significant gains.