• More mods are out for DLSS 5
• They allow for the tech to be easily used with many more PC games
• One of these mods also alters the way in which DLSS 5 is applied to improve performance considerably — at a cost

As you've no doubt seen, modders have been having a field day messing about with Nvidia's DLSS 5, and the latest experiments include a trick to boost performance in a big way, and a method of easily running the tech in a lot more games.

Let's start with the latter, which as TweakTown reports is the DLSS 5 Swapper app which appeared on GitHub courtesy of developer Rakan Alkhaldi.

This takes the pain out of having to manually fudge DLSS 5 to work in unsupported games by automating the process, adding all the required files in the blink of an eye. You just drag and drop the game folder into the app, and it takes care of everything from there.

Swapper can even detect games on the PC it's installed on which can have DLSS 5 modded in. Not every game is supported, of course, but plenty are — and any given title doesn't necessarily have to have DLSS support at all, in any form (this is achieved via another community mod called DLSS 5 Feeder which is included with Swapper).

A similar tool, DLSS 5 Autopilot, published by 'Kizzuwatnaa' and also on Github, offers one-click DLSS 5 setup (via Feeder) along with an additional trick in the form of the 'neural upstream' add-on (from 'matiasLombo'). This runs the neural rendering (AI) process before the DLSS upscaling happens.

Normally, the AI polishing that DLSS 5 applies is performed as the last step of the rendering process to the upscaled final frame, but if you choose this option with Autopilot, it's happening earlier in the chain of events.

Based on experiments detailed on Reddit (posted by ToxicFatee), this makes a major difference to performance. The Redditor has an RTX 4080, and ran Assassin's Creed Shadows at 4K which went from 63 frames per second (fps) to 31fps with DLSS 5, but it was around 50fps with the neural upstream take on DLSS 5. That's a 20% loss, and a far more palatable hit on the frame rate rather than it being cut in half.

Others have aired similar results on Reddit, and there's plenty of excitement about what's being achieved with this mod (and the automated implementation of DLSS 5 across all manner of games). As one Redditor put it: "Absolutely amazing time to be a PC gamer."

Analysis: tread carefully with unofficial mods

All these latest developments with modding are great to see, but for me, it ends at just seeing this progress. By which I mean I wouldn't advise jumping in and installing these kinds of mods – as wonderful as they seem – and I'm content to merely observe, and see the frame rates and visual results, that others are getting. And we aren't short of these observations of late.

Why do I take that view? Well, for starters, I'm not keen on installing third-party software from unknown sources as a rule, because of the concerns around security that this involves. Granted, these are open-source tools (so can be checked over), and I'm sure they're on the proverbial level; but nevertheless, I'd still rather be careful around the risks of viruses and the like.

The second note of caution here pertains to the idea of messing with the rendering pipeline in terms of having DLSS 5 applied earlier in the process (with the Autopilot mod). This will likely involve image degradation or artifacts to some extent — or generally messing with the graphics more than Team Green intended — and I'm sure if this really was a genuinely better way of doing things, Nvidia would've used this route itself. As per observations on Reddit, there does appear to be a quality trade-off for the improved performance here.

All that said, perhaps there will be some kind of official option along these 'performance or quality' lines in the future, as some gamers are already hoping. However, DLSS 5 is, for now, officially designed to work with just one supported title, NBA 2K27, and it does an excellent job with that basketball game.

Following the leak of the tech and a raft of unofficial mods, this week saw Nvidia's official launch of DLSS 5, with the company showing it off in NBA 2K27 at Gamescom 2026 and providing some further illuminating details.

Before, after Nvidia's initial DLSS 5 reveal in March, I was skeptical on some points, but I wasn't tearing holes in the idea like some gamers were. However, this week, we've seen a rapid shift in opinions and the general online sentiment around DLSS 5 — and I'm a good deal more excited about this AI trickery myself.

Indeed, I think there are a number of reasons to be hopeful that DLSS 5 could prove to be a compelling step forward for PC gaming, from Nvidia's clarification on support for GPUs, through to what modders have shown that the tech can achieve since it was leaked — some of which is truly eye-opening.

Here are my five reasons why Nvidia's incoming neural rendering model could turn out to be a very literal game-changer.

1. Nvidia has clarified that DLSS 5 won't just be for RTX 5000 GPUs

While DLSS 5 is currently only supported by RTX 5000 graphics cards — the tech went live this week in NBA 2K27 — Nvidia has confirmed that it will come to older GeForce GPUs. Indeed, we won't have to wait that long before wider support is ushered in, which is good news.

VideoCardz spotted an update from an Nvidia rep on Reddit which stated: "Our current focus is on optimizing performance for the GeForce RTX 50 Series with model updates expected later this fall. Once RTX 50 Series performance is more fully tuned, we plan to work on expanding official support to the GeForce RTX 40 Series."

So, we could be looking at early 2027 for work to begin on bringing DLSS 5 to RTX 4000 models — and possibly previous generations of GPUs will be in line for the same treatment. Modders have already got the tech working on RTX 3000 and 2000 models, after all — although the performance levels could well be the sticking point here.

At any rate, this puts paid to fears that DLSS 5 could remain locked to just the latest Nvidia RTX 5000 graphics cards.

2. Continual optimization should improve performance a good deal

I just touched on performance, and this is the area which has proved to be the biggest downer with the mentioned unofficial experiments that have been conducted with DLSS 5.

As Tom's Hardware observes, the performance hit with DLSS 5 is a nasty one, and it's generally causing a 40% to 50% drop in frame rates. In some reports, it's less than this (more like 30%), and what we have to remember is that all these unofficial figures are based on a pre-release version of DLSS 5 being fudged into play by modders.

The final version of DLSS 5 will likely provide better performance, and in any case, optimization is going to be high on Nvidia's list of priorities. I'd be surprised if there weren't major strides taken in this department as 2027 rolls around and more games are supported.

3. Experimental results with DLSS 5 are pretty incredible

Those modders playing with the leaked version of DLSS 5 have clearly shown us that this tech can be used to produce seriously impressive results. Of course, on the official front, the demo of NBA 2K27 at Gamescom 2026 proved the case that this AI-powered graphics uplift can work wonders, too.

That said, the benefits of DLSS 5 are situational to an extent, and it's not a silver bullet for making all graphics better. It really shines in certain use cases, though. For example, even if you don't want the main character models in a game to have the tech applied because you hate that idea, it can still make a huge difference to background details, and the likes of the faces of NPCs in the lurking atmospheric crowds which are the backdrop for open world games.

As one Redditor points out: "NPC crowd faces are one of the best use cases for it [DLSS 5]. It sometimes takes you out of the game when you're talking to a character model that's clearly been hand crafted with a lot of effort, and as you said then there's some janky smooth skinned ghoul walking by you lol. Watching an LTT [Linus Tech Tips] vid where they showed the difference in random NPCs was actually super impressive."

DLSS 5 can also transform lighting and shadows to make graphics look far more realistic, including character models — some of the results shared by modders in a megathread on Reddit make that crystal clear. I was blown away by some of these examples, frankly. When it works, DLSS 5 works really well — although it doesn't always come off.

That said, some of the wonkier examples that have been aired are down to modders being daft with the sliders and options on offer, which brings me onto my next point.

4. Tuning options are key for DLSS 5

As noted, some of the more stomach-churning moments from the various modders messing around with DLSS 5 have come from those folks ramping up the intensity of the sliders — sometimes intentionally just to provoke an anti-AI reaction.

There's a decent level of granular control over various aspects of what DLSS 5 does (including intensity, tone, and structure), and when a game developer properly tunes the tech for their particular release, the effect is going to be more subtle, appropriate, and in line with the overall art direction. (Well, hopefully — you'd assume this will be the case, anyway).

Used judiciously, it's clear enough that DLSS 5 can really enhance the visuals of a game — modders have proved that in some cases, and NBA 2K27 is a great official example of how this works, too.

Yes, it is very possible to get 'uncanny valley' kind of effects with character models if you're extravagantly flinging sliders up towards their maximum limits — and not every game's art or graphics style suits DLSS 5, by any means. But we come back to the last point — when it works, it really does work.

5. DLSS 5 will probably age like a fine wine (ahem)

My final point is a simple — but important — one. And okay, I've said this before, but I think it bears repeating. Rewind time back to when Nvidia revealed the original DLSS, the very first take on this tech that was purely about upscaling, and it had some quite pronounced flaws. Problems like blurriness, ghosting and artifacts proved a blight on the upscaled graphics, but these were issues that Nvidia resolved with the next iteration of the tech.

I'd expect there will be examples of DLSS 5 which show the visuals going off the rails in a similar kind of way, although it already looks off to a far better start than DLSS 1. The point being that whatever we think now, at launch, may change quite drastically in a year or two, and there's a genuine potential for DLSS 5 to be revolutionary in polishing up gaming graphics — albeit that caveats around its misuse and situational nature aren't going to go away.

• The Lexar Muse SSD gets as thin as 1mm (0.04 inches)
• It comes with a proprietary connection mechanism
• 512TB and 1TB storage models of the drive will be available

Every year at the IFA tech expo, there are claims of gadgets being lighter, thinner, faster, and smarter than ever before — but amid the usual crop of claims we've seen in 2026, the Lexar Muse particularly stands out.

This is officially the thinnest portable SSD on the market, measuring a mere 1mm (0.04 inches) at its thinnest points around the edges, and a not-exactly-chunky 3.8mm (0.15 inches) at its thickest point in the middle.

It's not unlike a credit card in terms of its looks and dimensions, and Lexar seems particularly keen to promote the idea of it being used strapped to the back of a MagSafe iPhone to provide some additional storage space on the go.

The unibody metal enclosure around the drive has been formed from a single piece of metal to minimize gaps and seams, while some space saving has gone on inside with custom PCB architecture and high-density NAND stacking.

Speeds and storage

What's a little unusual here is the connectivity, which has to happen via the magnetic pogo-in connector on the back of the drive — there's no traditional USB-C port that you can plug an existing cable into.

You do get a bespoke cable included with the drive, as well as a carry case for easily attaching the drive to the back of something like an iPhone. However, the magnetic connection might not be the most robust.

The Lexar Muse offers some respectable read and write speeds of up to 1,050MB/s and 1,000MB/s respectively (so good enough for 4K 120fps Pro Res video on an iPhone), and there are going to be 512GB and 1TB models available.

As is often the case at IFA, there's no word on pricing yet, but you can expect the Lexar Muse to hit shelves before the end of the year. If you prioritize thinness and lightness over everything else, it may be worth checking out.

If you're looking for 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM, you might be tempted by Newegg's Labor Day deal on the 32GB (2 x 16GB) Corsair Vengeance kit for $490 (was $605).

That's a reasonable deal given the list price, but I've found a much cheaper alternative that offers the same capacity and memory speed.

The Patriot Viper Venom RGB kit is $410 at Newegg, a solid $80 cheaper. For your money, you get two 16GB DDR5-6000 modules with CL36 timings, Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO support, aluminum heat spreaders and customizable RGB lighting.

Why we recommend it

The Patriot kit supports both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO profiles, making it easier to configure its rated memory settings on compatible Intel and AMD systems.

You also get an aluminum heat spreader, thermal sensor and RGB lighting that can synchronize with compatible Asus, ASRock, MSI and Gigabyte motherboards.

Patriot provides its own Viper Venom RGB software as another option for controlling the lighting.

Price context & historical value

Viper Venom's $2 reduction from $411.99 to $409.99 isn't much of a Labor Day discount on its own, so I wouldn't buy this kit because of the sale label.

The value comes when you compare it with the Corsair Vengeance alternative (I've detailed that right here). Even after applying Newegg's coupon to bring that kit down from $604.99 to $489.99, you're still paying $80 more than you would for the Patriot RAM.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5 kit if...

You want 32GB of fast DDR5 memory and don't see a good reason to spend another $80 on the Corsair kit. Both give you 32GB across two 16GB modules running at DDR5-6000, making Patriot the much cheaper route to the same capacity and rated speed.

❌ Skip the Patriot Viper Venom RGB DDR5 kit if...

You want the tighter memory timings offered by the Corsair Vengeance kit. Patriot's RAM is rated at CL36 with 36-36-36-76 timings, whereas the Corsair alternative runs at CL30, so the extra money does buy you lower latency.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

Compatibility is the important limitation here. Newegg specifically states that the Viper Venom kit isn't compatible with Intel Core Ultra Arrow Lake processors, so don't buy it for a newer Intel system without checking your motherboard and CPU compatibility first.

For supported systems, Patriot lists compatibility with AMD 600 and 800 Series platforms alongside Intel 600 and 700 Series motherboards, including Z690 and Z790.

• Shop all products in Newegg's Labor Day sale

Western Digital's WD Red Pro NAS drive line is designed for businesses small and large looking to max out their storage. Having benchmarked several, it remains one of our favorite internal drive brands - and right now, the WD Red Pro 16TB NAS drive is now $690 (was $705) at Amazon, so long as you tick the coupon box.

Designed for demanding environments, Western Digital rates this model for workloads of up to 550TB per year and continuous 24/7 operation. I've also spotted the NAS drive for the same price here at Newegg when you use code LDSF324.

• The WD Red Pro 16TB is also $690 (was $705) at Newegg with code LDSF324

Why we recommend it

The WD Red Pro is specifically designed for demanding NAS environments, with a 7,200 RPM spindle speed, 512MB cache and CMR recording. It's rated for continuous 24/7 operation, with workloads up to 550TB per year.

It can be used in RAID-optimized NAS systems regardless of the number of drive bays, and NASware technology is designed to improve performance and compatibility. There's also a five-year limited warranty.

In his 4-star review of the smaller 14TB model, our expert Mark said it was "difficult to argue with the resilience of this drive," adding that "lots of resilience tricks and low power consumption are the hallmarks of this design."

Similarly, the 24TB model received 4 stars in his review, where he praised Western Digital's Red Pro line as offering "good performance and massive capacity. And, if the business can afford them, these are a good choice."

For more options, take a look at our roundups of the best NAS hard drives, and the best 167 hard disk drives worth buying.

Also consider

Price context & historical value

At $689.99 after the Amazon coupon, you're saving $15 against the current $704.99 price. That's only a little over 2%, so this is only really worth snapping up if you desperately need to upgrade early.

The WD Red Pro 16TB has been considerably cheaper over the past year, dropping to around $270 in late 2025 before prices began climbing sharply in 2026.

You can also get the drive for the same $689.99 price at Newegg. It's currently $704.99 but you get $15 off when you apply promo code LDSF324.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the 16TB WD Red Pro HDD if...

You have a heavily used NAS and want to add a substantial amount of storage without occupying several additional bays. Its high workload rating also makes more sense for an always-on NAS than using a standard desktop hard drive.

❌ Skip the 16TB WD Red Pro HDD if...

Your storage requirements are relatively small. or you have several empty drive bays available. Smaller-capacity NAS drives could give you the space you actually need for less.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The obvious problem is the size of the discount. Saving $15 on a $704.99 hard drive isn't massive and this model has been considerably cheaper before. Unless you need another 16TB of NAS storage now, there's a strong argument for waiting to see if a better discount arrives shortly.

• Shop all internal hard drives at Amazon

• CD Projekt Red's joint CEO Michal Nowakowski has confidence in game consoles coping with the RAM crisis
• Nowakowski is convinced consoles will 'weather the storm', as analysts expect shortages to continue through 2027
• Sony isn't just facing the RAM crisis, but also a major backlash over its decision to end physical game discs

The RAM crisis is continuing to cause havoc with the hardware market, affecting component prices, PC makers, and potentially delaying next-gen console launches. However, it's not so bleak as you might think, at least in the eyes of CD Projekt Red's boss.

As reported by IGN, CD Projekt Red's (CDPR) joint CEO Michal Nowakowski was interviewed by The Game Business and voiced his confidence that next-gen consoles will survive the RAM crisis despite the prospect of high pricing.

This comes amid concerns and projections from industry insiders and analysts that RAM shortages are going to get worse in 2027 and beyond. The big three memory chip makers — Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron — are expected to increase combined capital spending to nearly 340% from 2024 to 2027.

It doesn't look like RAM shortages and high hardware prices will die down anytime soon, but this doesn't faze Nowakowski, at least when it comes to ensuring CDPR delivers the best possible content.

"Consoles are still necessary to broaden the audience on the casual or semi-casual level. It's important to have easy to plug in and enjoy gaming," Nowakowski says.

"I'm a big believer that they're [consoles] going to weather the storm. Pricing is the objective challenge. And the rumors... we hear them about the next-gen being delayed. I don't know if they're true."

RAM isn't the only worry for Sony

Besides the RAM crisis pushing up prices and causing potential console launch delays, Sony in particular may have an uphill battle ahead. Its recent decision to end production of physical game discs for PlayStation consoles, starting in January 2028, already has gamers in the ecosystem protesting and planning alternatives to escape the impending doom of discs.

An all-digital future means any form of game ownership will cease to exist, as digital content can theoretically be taken away from gamers at any time, and that has led to a loud (and justified, I think) reaction from the console community.

The Game Business didn't question Nowakowski directly about physical game ownership, but did probe further on the effect that delayed next-gen consoles might have, with Nowakowski making CDPR's stance very clear.

"If the next-gen gets delayed, it could be the case that some ideas [for games] are put on a shelf for the future. We'd have to adjust. We're not worried on the commercial side. Consoles are here to stay."

It's fair to say that Nowakowski's last statement is a realistic assessment. Even given Sony's dismissal of physical game discs, this isn't going to lead to a complete collapse in the popularity of consoles.

However, Sony may not make life easy for itself and publishers such as CDPR, as from 2028, when the discs are dumped with the PlayStation ecosystem, a hit to games sales is far from impossible — especially if the ongoing backlash from gamers is anything to go by.

• Nvidia's latest graphics driver has a frustrating bug
• Version 616.56 is causing distracting screen flickers and color corruption
• A patch is coming, and there are potential workarounds — but gamers are getting fed up with the prevalence of bugs in GeForce drivers

Nvidia's latest graphics driver is causing chaos for some GeForce GPU owners in the form of a glitch that makes the screen flicker.

Wccftech spotted the bug with Nvidia's Game Ready Driver version 616.56, and as flagged by Renan Maniero on X, Team Green has said it's testing a fix for the issue (as revealed on the GeForce forums).

The screen is reportedly flickering white or black and exhibiting other brief flashes of color corruption, and this is happening in certain games (The Last of Us and Minecraft are mentioned, among others) or on the Windows desktop. It's also occurring in web browser sessions and while playing YouTube videos, based on Reddit reports — of which there are plenty.

There's no shortage of gamers losing their temper with Nvidia, too, and blasting Team Green for the quality of its graphics drivers. Many are venting with an observation that GeForce drivers just haven't been the same since the launch of the RTX 5000 series.

For example, this Redditor says: "It's been particularly bad since Blackwell [RTX 5000] release. Just on Blackwell alone, between the whole DisplayPort 2.1 not working with HDR, screen flickering, and black screens on the initial release, it's been a complete mess."

Another gamer complains: "It is pretty shocking seeing this from a trillionaire company on a stable build. Nothing about this driver is stable."

Yet another Redditor grumbles: "It's crazy how things are now. You used to be able to update each time or be one driver behind at worst. Now I'm half a year outdated and thinking I'll just leave it."

Analysis: more drivers, more problems? There are possible workarounds though

This seems like quite a widespread issue and one that affects modern Nvidia graphics cards all the way back to RTX 2000 models.

If you're getting frustrated by this bug — random screen flickering gets pretty old, pretty fast, if it's happening regularly — Maniero also shared an apparent potential workaround on X that you can try while waiting for the official fix.

Seemingly, this is a bug that mostly affects monitors in 8-bit mode, and if you switch to 10-bit color (assuming your display supports this), the problem may disappear. Maniero also suggests that you try turning on Windows Auto Color Management (ACM).

Other folks on Reddit have shared various possible remedies, including switching from DisplayPort to an HDMI connector instead, and disabling Multi-Plane Overlay (MPO) in Windows 11, as one Redditor suggested. Nvidia provides a Registry file for turning off MPO (and enabling it again), but as ever with anything in this area of Windows, proceed at your own risk. (Although this method should be much safer than trying to edit the Registry directly yourself).

Your other choice is simply to roll back driver 616.56 to an earlier version, and there's no shortage of gamers who've done exactly that and report that the problem vanishes.

Hopefully Nvidia's official flicker-begone patch will be coming soon enough in the form of a hotfix, because this is an unduly annoying gremlin in the GeForce works that needs to be sorted out promptly.

If you just need extra storage without paying for features you won't use, this is worth a look. The WD 6TB Elements Portable External Hard Drive has dropped to $260 (was $320) at Amazon.

WD Elements strips out the backup software and encryption tools you get on WD's My Passport line, which keeps the price down and the setup dead simple: plug it in, and it works.

Why we recommend it

WD Elements drives have been a reliable, bloat-free choice for external storage for years, and this 6TB model continues that.

The USB 3.2 Gen 1 connection is plenty fast for backups and media transfers, and the compact, half-pound enclosure makes it easy to toss in a bag or leave connected to a desktop as an always-on backup target.

Because it skips the bundled software and encryption of WD's My Passport series, this is squarely a budget-focused pick: you're paying for capacity and reliability, not extras.

For anyone who already has a backup workflow in mind, whether that's Time Machine, File History, or a NAS-adjacent setup, that's a sensible trade-off.

Price Context & Historical Value

A $60 drop from $319.99 to $259.99 works out to about 19 percent off, a solid but not blowout discount. It's in line with what we've seen on other capacities in WD's Elements Portable line during recent sales, and puts this 6TB drive at a competitive cost per terabyte for anyone who needs bulk storage.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the WD 6TB Elements Portable if... you need a lot of extra storage for backups, media libraries, or overflow files; you want something that works out of the box with no software to install; or you're after the lowest cost per terabyte in WD's portable lineup.

❌ Skip the WD 6TB Elements Portable if... you want built-in backup software or hardware encryption, you need SSD speeds rather than a traditional hard drive, or you're carrying it around daily and want something more rugged.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This is a traditional hard drive, not an SSD, so transfer speeds and durability won't match solid-state storage, and it's more sensitive to drops and knocks if you're moving it around often. It also doesn't include bundled backup software or hardware encryption, so you'll need your own backup plan and, if data security matters to you, your own encryption solution.

• See all hard drive deals at Amazon.

There aren't many internal SSDs that score the full five stars in our reviews, but this one did it - and smashed all our expectations in tests. Right now, the Samsung 2TB 990 Pro SSD is at $390 (was $640) at Amazon.

That's a near record-low price for a drive that's been the default answer to “which NVMe should I buy” for the better part of two years. And it undercuts most 1TB competitors on a per-terabyte basis. Speaking of, both the 1TB and 4TB models are also on sale, but for my money, of the three the 2TB drive offers the best value for money.

For more demanding professional workloads, I recommend upgrading to the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD for $400 at Amazon.

Why we recommend it

The 990 PRO is still one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 drives you can buy, and TechRadar's own testing backs that up. We called it an absolutely stellar M.2 SSD for both professional users and gamers, and praised how quickly it handled large file saves in our benchmarks. That combination of proven real-world performance and Samsung's five-year warranty is hard to match at this price.

Samsung builds its own NAND flash, DRAM cache, and controller in-house, which is part of why the 990 PRO has held its position at the top of the PCIe Gen 4 hierarchy for so long in a market where flagship drives usually get leapfrogged within 18 months. With over 12,000 reviews and a 4.8-star average on Amazon, it's a well-proven choice for gaming rigs, content creation machines, and general-purpose PC builds alike.

Also consider

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB if... you want a proven, high-performance PCIe 4.0 SSD for gaming, video editing, or general PC builds, you're upgrading a PS5 and want a heatsink-compatible drive, or you want 2TB of fast storage without paying flagship Gen5 pricing.

❌ Skip the Samsung 990 PRO 2TB if... your motherboard supports PCIe 5.0 and you want to make full use of it, you don't need anywhere close to 2TB of storage, or you're on a tighter budget and could make do with a 1TB drive instead.

Price Context & Historical Value

The $639.99 list price shown on this listing is an inflated reference that doesn't reflect what this drive has typically sold for. Street pricing on the 990 PRO 2TB has more realistically run $420 to $480 even during major sale events, so treat the $639.99 figure as a nominal anchor rather than a genuine recent price. Even against that more realistic street price, $389.99 is a meaningful cut and lands close to this drive's lowest price in months.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This is a PCIe 4.0 drive, not PCIe 5.0, so if your motherboard supports the newer standard, you won't get the full speed a Gen5 drive like Samsung's own 9100 PRO can offer. It also doesn't include a heatsink in this configuration, so if you're installing it in a system that runs hot or you want PS5 compatibility out of the box, budget for one separately. For most desktop and laptop builds without dedicated M.2 cooling requirements, that's a minor caveat rather than a dealbreaker.

If you're after a compact four-bay desktop NAS with modern networking for work and media backups, the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro NAS system has dropped to $680 (was $800) at Amazon

We've tested this exact configuration, and found it's a genuine upgrade over its predecessor with dual 5GbE and a third M.2 slot. But it's not for everyone.

Why we recommend it

In our review, we awarded this NAS device 4 stars, praising the move to dual 5GbE over the previous generation's 2.5GbE as a real, tangible upgrade for large file transfers and multi-user environments. The third M.2 slot gives more flexibility for caching than most four-bay NAS units in this price range offer. The new N350 processor also runs cooler and more efficiently than its predecessor, which matters for a device meant to run 24/7.

TOS 7 is the most polished version of TerraMaster's operating system yet, with solid Docker and VM support, a comprehensive backup suite, and the TRAID hybrid array mode that lets you mix drive sizes more efficiently than standard RAID.

Our review was direct about where it falls short compared to competitors, calling it a NAS hamstrung by PCIe lanes, since both the M.2 slots and networking share a limited nine-lane PCIe budget. If you don't need to push past those limits, it's still a capable, efficient NAS for the price.

Price Context & Historical Value

This deal cuts the 16GB configuration's $799.99 list price by $120, about 15 percent off. That's a modest but genuine discount rather than an inflated anchor price, and it narrows the gap with TerraMaster's own store, which has periodically discounted this same configuration to around $640 to $670 during promotions.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro if... you want a flexible four-bay NAS with modern 5GbE networking and don't need 10GbE speeds, you value low power consumption and quiet, cool running over raw compute power, or you like the idea of experimenting with AI-assisted NAS administration.

❌ Skip the TerraMaster F4-425 Pro if... you want a 10GbE port or Thunderbolt/USB4 connectivity, you plan to fill all three M.2 slots with fast NVMe drives for local storage, or you want to run demanding local AI workloads on the NAS itself.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

The three M.2 slots are limited to PCIe Gen 3 x1 bandwidth, capping NVMe performance at roughly 1GB/s regardless of the drives you install, so there's little benefit to using expensive high-end SSDs here. There's no 10GbE port, not even as an upgrade option, and no Thunderbolt or USB4 for fast external expansion. The single RAM slot also means upgrading beyond the included 16GB requires removing it entirely rather than adding a second module. On top of that, the drive trays still lack physical locks or number labels - a longstanding TerraMaster quirk our reviewer has flagged across multiple generations.

PC memory prices remain seriously high, making even a straightforward 32GB DDR5 upgrade far more expensive than it would have been just a year ago.

Sadly, I don't have a time machine, so there's nothing I can do about that, but there are still decent discounts to be had. I've found one on a 32GB (2 x 16GB) kit of Corsair Vengeance DDR5-6000 RAM for $490 (was $605) at Newegg when you use code LDSF234.

It's already got a small discount, but the code knocks even more off the list price.

Why we recommend it

It combines DDR5-6000 speeds with 30-36-36-76 timings and a CAS latency of 30. The two 16GB modules give you 32GB in dual-channel mode, which is a good capacity for everyday work, creative tasks, and more demanding applications.

Intel XMP 3.0 support also makes getting the advertised performance relatively straightforward on a compatible motherboard. Corsair uses a low-profile aluminum heat spreader, so the modules should also play nicely with larger CPU coolers.

There’s no RGB lighting, which could actually be a plus if you prefer a clean build without turning your PC into a miniature nightclub.

Price context & historical value

The regular Newegg price of $605 is very high, but with a discount and the promo code, $490 is a much more affordable option and works out at $15.31 per GB. This obviously is nowhere near an all-time low. The same kit was available for $229.99 in November 2025 and dropped as low as $99.99 in July 2023, showing just how dramatically memory prices have risen.

For more savings, we've picked out this week's best RAM deals.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM if...

You need 32GB of fast DDR5 memory now and have been waiting for a decent discount. DDR5-6000 and CL30 make it worthwhile and the low-profile design and XMP 3.0 support add to its appeal.

❌ Skip the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 RAM if...

You already have 32GB of reasonably quick DDR5 memory. Unless your existing RAM is particularly slow, replacing it with this kit probably won’t produce enough of a noticeable everyday performance improvement to justify the upgrade.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

This is a decent deal for someone building or upgrading now, but if you're not in any rush, it's worth waiting for memory prices to come back down. You should also check your motherboard and CPU compatibility before ordering. This particular kit supports Intel XMP 3.0 rather than being marketed as an AMD EXPO kit.

• See all desktop memory at Newegg

• Nvidia unveiled DLSS 5 at Gamescom 2026, showing it off in NBA 2K27
• DLSS 5 will launch alongside NBA 2K27, and be available from September 3, 2026
• DLSS 5 is exclusive to RTX 5000 GPUs, but Nvidia is working to eventually make it available on older GeForce cards

It's no secret that Nvidia's reveal of DLSS 5 earlier this year led to instant controversy and a backlash from gamers, not to mention game developers. The technology was branded as generative 'AI slop', effectively changing the look and style of character models, notably Leon S. Kennedy and Grace Ashcroft in Resident Evil Requiem.

Since then, Nvidia has worked on developing its neural rendering tech, and DLSS 5 is now ready for launch — and it's arguably being used in the game that's most appropriate for it.

DLSS 5 will debut on September 3, 2026, and will be first available in NBA 2K27 on September 4. The new tech will be exclusive to RTX 5000 GPUs, but Nvidia made it clear that it will explore ways to bring DLSS 5 to older generations of GeForce graphics cards eventually.

At Nvidia's Gamescom 2026 booth, I was treated to a brief hands-on sample of DLSS 5 running in NBA 2K27, on multiple systems including an RTX 5060 gaming laptop and also on GeForce Now.

Much to my surprise, DLSS 5 looks absolutely amazing with NBA 2K27's environments and character models, providing a level of realism that can only be described as the next leap in visuals for gaming.

The level of detail in character faces in terms of lighting and shadows is truly next-level, and it's all possible thanks to AI-enhanced lighting on the rendered frame, which Nvidia states is trained to 'preserve artistic intent'.

When DLSS 5 was first revealed in March, I was bewildered by what Nvidia was attempting, which appeared to be generative AI used to make everything in-game more lifelike. If it wasn't clear already, I have strong feelings against generative AI in gaming, but my initial fears were misplaced, as this isn't what DLSS 5 is about.

DLSS 5 uses three different models, with each including options for structure intensity, tone intensity, and masking. Structure and tone are both responsible for aspects such as ambient occlusion, contact shadows, reflections, and broader lighting.

Masking allows manual or automatic control of where each effect is applied, and Nvidia has designed DLSS 5 for developers to have full control over the final frame that's rendered.

The DLSS 5 model running in NBA 2K27 was fine-tuned directly by the game's developer, not Nvidia, and the result is way different from the first glimpse of DLSS 5 in March. What was illuminating here is that the team at Nvidia stressed that the initial reveal had the sliders for each of those models at maximum levels.

As I saw with NBA 2K27, when put in the hands of developers, it's easier to see just how great DLSS 5 is when used appropriately. Developers will be able to adjust the intensity for each scene for both the environment (foliage and other objects) as well as character models.

Performance is a different ball game too

DLSS 5 isn't exactly easy to run, which isn't a huge surprise considering how realistic the results are. However, Nvidia has made significant progress in six months: DLSS 5 required two RTX 5090 GPUs to function at the initial reveal, and now works with any RTX 5000 series GPU.

The RTX 5060 gaming laptop running NBA 2K27 displayed very smooth performance, only using Frame Generation x2 with DLSS 5 enabled. This was a big surprise to say the least, and suggests that it may not take as long as expected to introduce this new tech to RTX 4000 series GPUs (and older).

My only concern at this stage isn't related to Nvidia at all, in fact. DLSS 5 on its own now looks very useful for producing lifelike visuals, and seems set to be the future for impressively detailed graphics.

Visual Concepts, the developer behind NBA 2K27, has done enough here to quell my fears that DLSS 5 would somehow mess with game art and design direction in a negative way.

However, we're yet to see how other developers will implement the tool in their games. I'm somewhat worried that many could fall into the trap of using DLSS 5 as a shortcut for great game visuals, rather than an added bonus on top of already well-crafted graphics.

I shared similar concerns regarding Nvidia's Multi Frame Generation, and how developers may rely on this very useful tool as a band-aid for poor game optimization.

Fortunately, though, if NBA 2K27 is anything to go by in terms of what to expect from the likes of Capcom, Bethesda, and Ubisoft, then I'm excited to see DLSS 5 implemented in upcoming games. After all, it is an optional game setting, so if you don't like it, you don't have to use the tech.

Nvidia's DLSS 5 has been nothing short of a bubbling cauldron of controversy ever since the next-gen gaming tech was first aired. That initial reception shocked Nvidia as what seemed like a legion of PC gamers took up arms and vowed, well, all sorts of colorful things — most of them involving the term 'AI slop' in some fashion.

However, there are signs that this overwhelmingly negative tide of opinion is turning courtesy of a fresh revelation this week. This comes in the form of a leak rather than anything official from Nvidia, with Team Green's only DLSS revelations at Gamescom 2026 pertaining to the current incarnation of the feature (namely DLSS 4.5 Ray Reconstruction for better quality ray-traced graphics, alongside some interesting GeForce Now announcements).

To refresh your memory and recap — in a nutshell, as there's a lot more to it than this — Nvidia has billed DLSS 5 as a 'real-time neural rendering model' that polishes up a game's visuals using AI (without altering the game assets, and with the developer being given a decent level of control over the exact implementation).

What actually happened here was that on Friday, VideoCardz spotted that following NBA 2K27's early access going live, a DLSS 'neural rendering' DLL was discovered in the build. It didn't take long at all before modders (in the RenoDX community) fudged things to get this working in games ('SpeedLemur' being the principal modder who "made this happen").

So, in theory this is effectively our first glimpse at DLSS 5 in the wild, with those modders demonstrating what it looks like by using the third-person fling-stuff-about action-adventure Control – as seen on Reddit. However, do note that the tech is only working for application to character models for now (not the environment or objects).

Nuts and bolts

There have been some very interesting revelations from those experimenting with this apparent leak of DLSS 5 in terms of how it works, how it runs — and perhaps most telling is the broad reaction to this spillage, which I'll return to shortly.

First, the nitty-gritty. In this leaked form — so add a whole heap of seasoning, because nothing here is remotely official — DLSS 5 seems to have a small set of adjustable parameters, including seven different 'styles' and various sliders to play with intensity, tone and structure. We're told that neural rendering doesn't need much in the way of data to do its stuff, and works off much the same inputs as regular DLSS (basic upscaling – where all this started, remember?).

It's also for Nvidia RTX 5000 GPUs only (although that's still not fully confirmed, it was always likely to be the case anyway). The news on the performance front goes a bit awry, though, with the discovery that in Control the frame rate is cut in half by the AI polishing up the visuals. With an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti running Control at 4K with ray tracing on high and DLSS (Quality), the frame rate was 71 fps and it dropped to 35 fps with neural rendering.

That is, of course, a nasty hit indeed. However, this is a piece of leaked code – in an unknown state as far as the stage of development is concerned (one clue suggests that the model may date back to the start of July) — extracted and fudged to work on an old game. Given all that, we can't take this as anything like an indication of what the finished version of DLSS 5 might be like performance-wise.

Although it's at least comforting that it works in a playable (enough) manner on a single RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, because if you recall, Nvidia's demos used not one, but two, RTX 5090 GPUs. Clearly a 50% frame rate drop won't fly, granted, but Nvidia wouldn't release this neural rendering trick if the hit was anything like that, because no gamer would use it in that state.

Change in tone

What we can really take from this leak and the modding efforts thereafter is quite limited, then. But what's clear is that as mentioned, there's been a marked turnaround in the commentary and debate on the image quality on offer with neural rendering.

As one Redditor observes: "Remarkable difference in tone of the reactions compared to when the [initial] Resident Evil footage was released."

Someone replying to that says: "People freaked out about what was obviously just a bad demo, and failed to see what was actually going on with the underlying tech.

"There were a few talking about how different tone mapping fixed the issue with minimal effort, or how it wasn't actually adding/changing details, and it turns out they were correct. People freaked out over nothing imo."

Another gamer notes: "This looks like legit magic. I was saying this when the reveal happened and people wanted to burn Nvidia down: the tech is amazing, the demo might be off because it's too heavy handed, but the tech itself is incredibly impressive."

And a further Redditor enthuses: "Insanely huge graphical update. There's no going back."

You get the idea, then, and it's quite an eye-opener how many comments there are along these lines. Quite a lot of gamers are impressed by this leaked spin on DLSS 5 — and I can see why, frankly, at least with the Control material presented here.

And remember, this is with DLSS 5 working on character models, with the facial tinkering and tweaking being one of the main causes of concern with Nvidia's initial demos. The likes of Flight Simulator addicts are positively drooling about what this might mean for the graphics of the landscapes beneath their virtual wings.

And there's a lot of excitement about how the tech might be applied to older games like Control to make them look a good deal better.

Skeptics remain

Naturally, not everyone is convinced. The detractors remain and are unswayed by the material which has popped up around this leak so far. They argue that the AI-enhanced Jesse (Control's protagonist) is still all too 'uncanny valley' in appearance, and that DLSS 5 is still very much a visual downgrade.

Others also worry that there aren't enough fine-grained controls for the developer in what we see here. Although again, we can't take this leak as evidence of what DLSS 5 will turn out to be eventually, whether that's the end result of the graphics themselves or the suite of dev controls under the hood.

The performance hit has been seized on, too — as noted, though we can't judge on that yet, not with an early leak — and some feel that while screenshots might look good, this doesn't hold up in motion.

Simply put: it is still too early to judge, and we need to grab large handfuls of seasoning with all this. But the general sentiment on DLSS 5 appears to be turning around in quite a sizable shift of opinion — and Nvidia may yet convert PC gamers to its AI-enhanced vision of the future (providing any performance hurdles are cleared, of course).

• Nvidia GPUs are about to run out of road in Windows 10
• Game Ready Driver support finishes in just two months
• With the last such driver coming in October, you need to bear in mind issues around game performance optimization and fixes – but you'll still get security updates

Gamers running Windows 10 need to be aware that if they have an Nvidia GPU, they're only two months away from that graphics card running out of road for support with drivers.

VideoCardz reminded us that Nvidia's deadline for ditching Windows 10 support is now nearly upon us, with the final Game Ready Driver that supports the older operating system arriving in October 2026.

Does that mean you need to be thinking about upgrading to Windows 11 if you have an Nvidia graphics card?

No, it doesn't – well, not necessarily, although there is a major downside to remaining on Windows 10 after October of this year. In case you're at all unsure, let's dive into the exact ins-and-outs of what's happening here – as well as touching on the subject of whether Nvidia might just have a change of heart here.

You'll still be secure with an Nvidia GPU

The key point to remember is that while the Game Ready Driver that comes out in November 2026 won't support Windows 10, Nvidia will still provide security updates for your graphics card. As Team Green explained in a short FAQ: "Windows 10 driver support will transition to a quarterly security update for a period of three years where critical bug fixes will be delivered to end users through October 2029."

That means Windows 10 users will get an update every three months to fix any critical bugs or security flaws with the Nvidia drivers. This will continue for another three years, so effectively to the end of the decade.

At that point, when 2030 is about to roll around, you will then potentially be risking exposure to a vulnerability as any driver security holes will no longer be patched. But that's still a good long way off.

So what does the end of Game Ready Driver support really mean?

After October, Windows 10 PCs will only get the benefit of these quarterly security updates, and they won't be covered by Nvidia's regular Game Ready Driver packages. That means as new games come out, Windows 10 users won't get the performance optimizations that these driver releases contain – or bug fixes for these titles.

As time goes on, then, more and more PC games will be left out in the cold in terms of that tweaking and optimization. That's bad news, of course, although it doesn't mean those games will be somehow unplayable. In fact, in many cases they might be just fine – but there are no guarantees, and you may get subpar frame rates (indeed, that's quite likely to be the case to some extent).

Of course, existing games will continue to run just as they always have, and you shouldn't run into any issues on that score.

Could there yet be a reprieve from Nvidia?

If you're not happy about the idea of not getting the latest patches, tweaks, and optimizations for new PC games, then you'll have to seriously start to think about planning your upgrade to Windows 11.

Assuming you have an upgrade path, that is, because your PC may not meet the hardware requirements of the newer OS. (Although bear in mind that a simple BIOS tweak may be all that's needed to ensure compatibility with the TPM requirement). If you're looking at a major PC upgrade, or an entirely new rig, that's a painful prospect given the RAM crisis and all the price hikes around that.

As one Redditor puts it: "'This is terrible news considering PC prices."

However, as another gamer on that Reddit thread observes, there may yet be a glimmer of hope of a reprieve from Nvidia. If you recall, just a couple of months ago, Microsoft quietly extended consumer support for Windows 10 for a further year, through to October 2027.

Now, when Nvidia announced the end of driver support for October 2026, which happened last year, as far as Team Green was concerned, it was aligning the curtailment of Game Ready Driver releases for Windows 10 with Microsoft's original consumer support extension. But now Microsoft has pushed out extended support for another additional year to October 2027 – could Nvidia mirror this move?

It doesn't seem likely, in all honesty, and I'd think Nvidia would have announced this already if it was the intention. Concrete driver plans are likely already in place that can't be changed. That said, you never know – and we can't fully rule out the notion of a last-minute reprieve. Watch this space.

TP-Link BE6300 One Minute Review

I liked TP-Link’s BE3200 range extender, which helped to tackle the Wi-Fi deadspot in my office quickly and easily, and at a competitive price.

However, the BE3200 is very much an entry-level option for Wi-Fi 7, with a relatively modest top speed of 3.2Gbps. If you’re looking for something a little faster for gaming or streaming 4K video then you could consider the BE6300 model, which doubles that speed without doubling the price.

Both range extenders keep the price down by sticking with dual-band Wi-Fi, which uses just the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands, but omits the high-speed 6.0GHz band that is available with the fastest Wi-Fi 7 models.

But, as the name suggests, the BE6300 is still almost twice as fast as the BE3200, stepping up to a top speed of 6.3Gbps, which should be more than fast enough for most home users.

As you’ve probably guessed, the term ‘BE6300’ refers to the speed of the range extender, but it’s also known by the model number RE403BE, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re buying online.

TP-Link BE6300 review: Price & release date

• Where is it available? US-only
• Available Now
• Price: $149.99

The BE6300 is currently only available in the US. You can’t buy it direct from TP-Link either, so you’ll need to shop around online, with the average price sitting at around $149.99.

Oddly, though, there is a similar model called the BE6500 (model RE605BE) available in the UK and Australia. This is slightly faster than the BE6300 that we review here, with a top speed of 6.5Gbps, and costs £188.00/AU$265.

TP-Link BE6300 review: Specs

TP-Link BE6300 review: Design

Unsurprisingly, the BE6300 looks very similar to its little brother, with a chunky, white rectangular design that plugs straight into any convenient mains power supply.

However, the extra speed of this model means that it requires a little more power and the BE5300 is therefore quite a bit larger, and also sprouts an extra pair of antennae – four in total - to boost performance.

The body of the BE6300 measures 161mm high, but unfolding the top and bottom antennae extends that to a full 261mm. It’s wider too, at 81mm, which means that the bulky device could block any adjacent power sockets if you have two or more sockets that sit close together.

You’ll also need plenty of room if you want to use the Ethernet port that's located on the right-hand side of the range extender. Mind you, it’s possible to plug the BE6300 into a mains extender, rather than plugging it straight into a wall socket, although that’s not a very neat solution as it leaves you with additional cables trailing on the floor.

TP-Link BE6300 review: Features

As mentioned, the BE6300 provides dual-band Wi-Fi 7, using the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands with a top speed of 6.3Gbps.

It may not support the high-speed 6.0GHz band, but it does include a Wi-Fi 7 feature called MLO – multi-link operation – that allows computers and mobile devices with Wi-Fi 7 to boost performance by transmitting data on both bands simultaneously. The Ethernet port on this model is faster too, now running at 2.5Gbps.

As we’ve seen before, TP-Link’s Tether app is well designed and easy to use, making it easy to get started even if you’ve never used a range extender before. It recommends that you initially plug the BE6300 into a power socket close to your main broadband router in order to avoid any interference during the initial set-up process.

The app is then able to automatically detect the range extender and guides you through the process of connecting it to both the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz networks set up by your main router.

If you want to keep things simple then you can tell the range extender to just use the same network name and password as your original network, or you can give the range extender a new name and password for extra security.

Once that’s done you can unplug the range extender and move it closer to the room where you need to boost the Wi-Fi signal. The app can help here too, by checking the strength of the Wi-Fi signal so that you can find the best spot to place it.

The app can also show you all the devices that are connected to the range extender, and allows you to block devices, such as a child’s tablet or smartphone at night-time. There’s also an Eco mode that helps to reduce power consumption, and you can schedule a time for the range extender to turn itself off as well.

TP-Link BE6300 review: Performance

I have a Wi-Fi deadspot in an office at the back of my building, and when I tested the less expensive BE3200, I found that its 2.4GHz band couldn’t quite achieve the full speed of 150Mbps provided by my office broadband service.

That was no longer a problem when I set up the BE6300 in a nearby hallway, and it was easily able to maintain a smooth 150Mbps for both the Ookla Speed Test and for file downloads from Steam. Needless to say, the faster 5.0GHz band worked equally well, cruising along at 150Mbps throughout all my tests.

Not everyone will need a range extender with a speed of 6.3Gbps, so many homes will still get perfectly good performance from a less expensive range extender such as the BE3200. But, if you do need strong performance for gaming or streaming video, then the BE6300 fits the bill at a competitive price.

Should you buy the TP-Link BE6300?

Buy it if…

Don’t buy it if…

Also consider

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed August 2026

• GPU price hikes are coming later this year, PC Partner Group warns
• The parent company of Zotac notes that entry-level GPUs will suffer 'more severe shortages'
• A manufacturer of gaming monitors, KTC, has also warned on price hikes

PC gamers should be aware that there are further signs that GPUs could get more expensive, and gaming monitors too, so you might want to consider buying now rather than waiting.

First off, the gloomy GPU news which comes from PC Partner Group (PC PG), an Asian graphics card giant based in Singapore and the parent company of Zotac, Inno3D, and Manli.

VideoCardz reports that PC PG just published its latest fiscal results that came with a warning on GPU pricing as part of the trends and conditions which are likely to affect the company's finances in the upcoming year.

PC PG notes that "graphics memory costs are expected to rise further, leading to a substantial increase in VGA Card costs in the second half of the year." VGA Card simply refers to discrete PC graphics cards, and although it's a well outdated term now, it's one still used behind the scenes in the industry.

PC PG says that shipments of GPUs "declined substantially" in the first half of this year, and that they're likely to drop further in the second half of 2026. The firm writes that: "Beyond the price increases, entry-level VGA Cards are expected to face even more severe shortages, which may further drive ASP [the 'average selling price'] upward in the second half of 2026."

The company also highlights that other PC components, including system RAM and CPUs, are taking longer to get hold of.

VideoCardz also noticed that monitor pricing could be on an upward trajectory, too, as manufacturer KTC has issued a notice of a likely 'product price adjustment' in the future.

KTC observes that the "production cost of monitors has increased significantly" and that it can no longer absorb those pressures, therefore: "KTC's monitor product line may see a price increase in the future."

While that's just a 'may' rather than a 'will' or a certainty, it sounds like there's a high likelihood of it happening. Particularly because KTC advises: "For users with a clear need to purchase a device [monitor] in the near future, the current pricing window offers excellent value for money, and we recommend planning your purchase time accordingly."

And at the end of its statement, KTC talks about price adjustments being a "necessary measure", so it sounds pretty much like they're coming no matter what.

Analysis: is anything immune to the component crisis?

This isn't the only warning on monitor price increases, as AOC recently said that the rising cost of components for its products will mean price hikes starting from this month. Is this the start of a growing trend? The bigger monitor producers will, of course, have more financial wherewithal to weather component rises, but it may only be so long before even those firms start to jack up prices.

The way things are going, I wouldn't bet against it, and this latest news has people on social media asking what isn't immune to the RAM crisis – and what might we expect to see hit next?

How about pricier PC cases, one Redditor jokes: "Wouldn't you enjoy a simple case costing like $300?"

The crisis does feel rather relentless at this point, but the clearest worry is now GPUs. PC Gamer is tracking graphics card prices on a weekly basis, and there have been some clear cost increases coming through in the last few weeks, which suggests that PC PG's prediction is on the money here. And there are multiple other rumors of late warning that graphics cards are set for considerable price hikes. For me, this noise is becoming too consistent to ignore.

As I recently advised, if you need a graphics card upgrade, or think you will in the next year or two, I believe now is the right time to get in and buy. It's particularly notable that according to this latest rumor, entry-level GPUs are mentioned as apparently coming under more pressure, meaning that mainstream buyers are going to be suffering.

The effects of pricier video RAM, and other pressures besides, are no longer going to be mostly about high-end (or 16GB) cards becoming ridiculously expensive, and we could see some unfortunate hikes with lower-end GPUs.

There's very little good news of late across the gamut of PC components, and as we've already seen today, RAM and SSDs are getting even more expensive.

• DDR5 RAM pricing has risen swiftly again in Germany
• That means two months of sharp increases, backing up recent rumors that memory is going to get pricier
• An exec from the storage world has also said that SSD-related pricing pain is seemingly going to last until 2030

I've recently been writing about how the RAM crisis appears to be reaching new levels of severity, and unfortunately there's more evidence that the situation is worsening with the price of system memory and storage.

Wccftech noticed that 3D Center has a new set of monthly figures for the German retail market which shows that as of mid-August, DDR5 RAM pricing has risen to 486% of the cost it was in July 2025. So, effectively it's five times pricier than before the crisis began a year ago.

That's a substantial jump from the 445% level seen last month, and an even bigger increase than the previous month, in which prices were at 419%. To look at it another way, prices have risen 16% in August compared to the cost of DDR5 in mid-June.

Internal SSD prices have also increased 7.7% month-on-month in the German retail market – and those drives are now 2.2 times as expensive as they were pre-crisis – and Wccftech also picked up another interesting but bleak storage revelation.

Pua Khein-Seng, the CEO of Phison, which makes controllers for SSDs, observed that the NAND market (flash memory chips for SSDs) is in deeper trouble than was previously believed in terms of the time needed to ramp up production.

Taiwan's Commercial Times reports that Pua said he recently had a conversation with senior executives from a NAND manufacturer, and that he asked about how long it would take from investment (being made now) to actual mass production being realized.

The CEO noted (bear in mind translation issues): "He originally estimated it would take about two years, but the answer they gave was 'four years.'"

What this means is that the expectation is now that NAND supply difficulties are going to persist through to 2030 (rather than 2028).

Analysis: there may be trouble ahead…

That's an unsettling prediction from the storage world, coming as it does on top of a lot of other recent bad news suggesting that the RAM crisis will last a long time, and possibly to 2030 and beyond – and that the remainder of this year, and 2027, are going to see matters get worse.

The German retail market appears to be a clear indicator of how things are going, seeing as DDR5 pricing had dropped slightly and then plateaued (more or less) since the beginning of 2026, but started a sharp climb in July as noted. Yes, this is just one source of info, but it's a snapshot of the market of a large European country, and it correlates with all the gloomy predictions we're hearing of late.

As 3D Center points out (again, this is translated): "The bigger picture now points to a worrying price trend, which is likely to break exorbitant levels very soon, unless this trend is halted – for which there are currently no indications."

Sadly, it seems that RAM and storage prices really are going to increase as 2026 rolls on. While there would appear to still be room for further hikes to SSDs (sadly), with system RAM it's arguable how much more consumers can take before they completely refuse to buy until costs come down at least somewhat. That said, new desktops and laptops are still going to be sold, so this isn't just about refusing to upgrade your home PC's memory, of course.

TP-Link BE10000 One Minute Review

Wi-Fi 8 may be looming on the horizon, but routers and range extenders that use Wi-Fi 7 can still be pretty expensive.

One way of keeping prices down is to provide basic dual-band support, which uses the 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz frequency bands while omitting the high-performance 6.0GHz band.

Dual-band routers and range extenders can still perform well, though, as we’ve seen with TP-Link’s BE3200 and BE6300 extenders. But, if you want to pay a little extra in order to get maximum performance then you could step up to its top-of-the-range BE10000 model.

This is a tri-band range extender that adds support for the 6.0GHz band, boosting the maximum Wi-Fi speed to a blazing 10Gbps. You’ll need computers or mobile devices that have Wi-Fi 7 – or Wi-Fi 6E, which also supports the 6.0GHz band – to get the full benefit of the BE10000, but it could be a great option for boosting the Wi-Fi connection for gaming or streaming video in one or two rooms that suffer from a Wi-Fi ‘deadspot’ within your home.

TP-Link BE10000 review: Price & release date

• Where is it available? US-only
• Available Now
• Price: $199.99

The BE10000 is currently only available in the US, and you can’t buy it directly from TP-Link’s own web site so you’ll need to shop around online or try to find it in a local bricks-and-mortar retailer. Online prices also seem to vary a lot too. TP-Link quotes a price of $199.99, but we’ve seen prices ranging from $149 - $249, so it’s definitely worth comparing prices before buying.

The BE10000 is not available in the UK or Australia, although there is a similar model called the BE11000 available in those regions that – you won’t be surprised to find - runs at 11Gbps.

However, this is priced at a rather hefty £299.99/$449, which is considerably higher than the price of the BE10000 in the US, even if you take into account the slightly faster speed of 11Gbps.

TP-Link BE10000 review: Specs

TP-Link BE10000 review: Features

At first glance, the BE10000 looks very similar to the dual-band BE6300, with a bulky rectangular design and four large antennae. However, the BE10000 is even larger, with the body of the range extender measuring 161mm high, although this increases to a full 350mm with the antennae fully extended.

You’ll need a power socket with plenty of free room around it in order to plug in the BE10000, and I found that it was so wide – at 81mm – that it also blocked the adjacent power socket in my office as well. You’ll also need a bit of extra space if you want to plug an Ethernet cable into the Ethernet port on the side of the range extender.

It may be big and bulky, but the tri-band BE10000 certainly earns its keep. The name implies a Wi-Fi speed of 10Gbps, although it’s actually 10.2Gbps, which is more than fast enough to handle gaming and streaming video, while the 2.5Gbps Ethernet port provides a high-speed wired connection as well.

As always, TP-Link’s Tether app makes it easy to get started. You do need to initially plug the BE10000 into a power socket close to your main broadband router, but the Tether app can then automatically detect the range extender and guide you through the process of linking it to your existing Wi-Fi network.

The app allows you to connect to the 2.4GHz, 5.0GHz and 6.0GHz bands separately, perhaps to devote the fastest 6.0GHz band to a gaming PC that needs maximum performance.

The app’s security features allow you to set different network names and passwords for each band, or you can simply carry on using the same name and password as your main Wi-Fi router. Other features include the ability to boost the power supply to the BE10000 in order to increase the range of its Wi-Fi signal, or you can use Eco Mode to save power instead.

TP-Link BE10000 review: Performance

I have an office that suffers from a Wi-Fi deadspot in my building, but I almost feel that I should apologise to the BE10000 for asking it to tolerate my puny office Wi-Fi.

I placed the range extender in a hallway, about halfway between my main broadband router and the office with the deadspot, and the BE10000 seemed to roll its eyes – or, rather, its blinking LEDs – as it picked up my feeble 150Mbps Wi-Fi signal and boosted it into that office.

Unsurprisingly, the BE10000 was able to hit the full 150Mbps on all three frequency bands, when running the Ookla Speed Test and also downloading large game files from Steam.

Ironically, though, that effortless performance is the only real disadvantage of the BE10000. Its 10.2Gbps Wi-Fi 7 is so fast that few homes really need that level of performance. But, if you have a gaming PC with Wi-Fi 7, or that is used for streaming 4K video, then the BE10000 will eliminate any troublesome Wi-Fi deadspots with no trouble at all.

Should you buy the TP-Link BE6300?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

Also Consider

• Read TechRadar’s reviews guarantee
• First reviewed August 2026

The RAM crisis is everywhere you look these days, and it’s impossible to go a day without seeing more headlines predicting doom and gloom for tech lovers worldwide. But there’s another side to this grim situation — one that I wouldn’t even have thought about if it wasn’t directly affecting me.

It all comes down to the hidden costs of upgrading your PC, costs that sky-high memory prices have stretched to breaking point. Because for certain people, picking some new components for your computer is more complicated than simply wincing as you add a new set of memory to your online basket. When one new part necessitates changing several others, costs can balloon and upgrading becomes a whole lot more daunting.

There’s not been much conversation about this, but it’s a very real problem for a lot of people. And with the RAM crisis showing no signs of abating any time soon, it’s likely to claim more victims as the months roll on.

A galling prospect

My gaming PC is starting to show its age. Aside from a new Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti that I somehow managed to get at below retail price last year (don’t @ me), it’s not exactly running on the newest hardware.

It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU from 2020, a B550 motherboard, and 32GB of DDR4 memory. I’ve noticed it slow down and struggle in certain tasks, so I’ve been thinking about upgrading. The problem for me, though, is that this is a much more involved process than simply buying a new CPU or a fresh set of RAM.

Because my 5600X CPU is part of the final desktop AM4 generation, any upgrade would mean stepping up to AM5. And because we’re talking about a different platform, I’d also need to purchase a new motherboard and set of memory modules to ensure that everything is compatible (AM5 only supports DDR5 RAM).

And now my problem becomes apparent. This is not just a simple swap out situation — I need to rip out and replace half of my rig if I want to freshen things up. I can’t just snap up a speedy new CPU and be done with it.

In any ordinary timeline, that would be a costly undertaking, but not one that could potentially bankrupt you. Now, though, it’s a very different situation — and a substantially more expensive one — because my existing DDR4 memory would need to be replaced, opening me up to a whole new world of pricing pain.

Tot up the combined outlay for all the new components and it’s enough to put anyone off. Thanks to the RAM crisis, my mooted upgrade is a far more galling prospect than would normally be the case — and it doesn’t look like things are going to get better any time soon.

Work out the true costs involved

For people like me who are looking to change from one hardware platform to an entirely new one, the memory shortage takes on a whole new level of pain. It’s a hidden cost that not everyone thinks about when they look at the soaring costs of RAM.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, you’ve got two choices: wait it out and accept lower performance than you’d like for longer than you’d like, or stump up a much weightier pile of cash than you’d ever hoped to. It’s not exactly a win-win scenario, but we’re short of options at the moment.

If you can upgrade other parts of your rig, as I did with my graphics card, take that opportunity to lock down gains where you can. Of course, even that is a money-gouging endeavor, but GPU prices haven’t quite kept pace with those of RAM or storage in recent months — although recent reports suggest they’re about to get much worse. Now could well be the time to act.

And if you’re considering changing any part of your PC setup, think carefully about all the costs involved. That means looking beyond the one component you want to upgrade and considering any knock-on effects that might be created thanks to compatibility issues.

That could lead to a rather unpleasant dose of sticker shock when you work out the true cost of your PC upgrade. But the last thing you want is to be surprised when you go to pull the trigger and see how much you really have to spend.

As many attendees of this year’s DEF CON hacker conference departed Las Vegas recently, many unsuspecting passengers on Delta Flight 591 attempted to access an onboard Wi-Fi network.

What they didn’t know was that ‘Delta WiFi Fast’ was actually a fake network, allegedly set up by a fellow passenger intended to mimic the actual onboard Wi-Fi network and scam other users.

The unknown passenger was able to disable the legitimate Wi-Fi networks for 30 minutes while they launched the attack, and in doing so, may have violated United States federal law.

How did the attack take place?

According to Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) messages, the situation was first brought to light by the crew of the flight, who shared the following message:

“HEY ALERT CORP SECURITY WE HAVE A PAX [passenger] ON THAT HAS CREATED A SCAM WIFI CALLED DELTA WIFI FAST WE BELIEVE THEY ARE TRYING TO SCAM THE OTH PAX”

Another message read:

“NO INFO AS OF NOW WE HAVE A BUNCH OF PAX THAT WERE AT A CYBER CONFRENCE IN LAS THE WERE ABLE TO JAM OUR WIFI AND BRODCAST THERE SIGNIAL”

The actual details of what happened on the flight outside of these messages isn’t clear, but according to Monika Hathaway, head of press for DEF CON, similar attacks happened in Las Vegas: “Our conference this year also suffered from multiple similar ‘deauthorization’ Wi-Fi attacks and it impacted some of our operations.”

Delta airlines confirmed that no aircraft operating systems were affected and flight safety was never in question.

Wi-Fi deauthorization attacks can be launched with cheap, widely available ‘deauth boards’ which are small, battery powered devices that send deauthentication frames to devices within their range. On board a plane, these could easily reach most devices.

Once the legitimate Wi-Fi has been jammed and the other users booted from the network, the attacker can then set up an ‘evil twin’ network that users will attempt to connect to, which can be used to snoop on their internet traffic, steal credentials, and perform other malicious activities.

Expert perspectives on the Delta Wi-Fi attack

‘Evil twin’ attacks and the risks of connecting

Aras Nazarovas, Senior Information Security Researcher at Cybernews:

An evil twin attack is when hackers create fake Wi-Fi networks with the goal of stealing sensitive information from people, or exploiting known vulnerabilities present on victim devices. The fake networks often have a very similar (or identical) name to the legitimate network, which was the case here.

Once a person connects to the hacker’s Wi-Fi network, the hacker may be able to see what the victim is doing online and what data they transfer. However, since most websites have HTTPS/TLS encryption, much of what the user does, even on the rogue network, is private.

The risk here is that the hacker may attempt to redirect the victim to a phishing website – for instance, in this case, it may have been a fake Delta login page asking for personal data like name, email, address, etc. Or, the hacker may even go further and provide fake login pages for banks, social media, and try to extract login details from the victims.

Connecting to such a network comes with some risk in itself. Connecting to a network controlled by a threat actor allows them to probe your device for potential vulnerabilities and maliciously redirect your internet traffic to their own servers.

If a person entered credentials into a Wi-Fi login page, noticed security warnings popping up after visiting a website, downloaded something, or entered payment information into an unfamiliar page, then they may have had their data stolen. In that case, the victim should immediately change any passwords that were transmitted, do a thorough scan of their device for malware, and if bank details were transmitted, freeze the bank account until new credentials are received.

However, if a user just connected and disconnected to the Wi-Fi without entering any details or clicking suspicious links, they should be fine.

Who would launch the attack?

Seemant Sehgal, Founder & CEO, BreachLock:

Flying out of Vegas after Black Hat myself just a few days before this incident, I can tell you the security conference crowd that passes through that airport is unlike any other, and the crew on Flight 591 made the right call with the information they had in front of them.

Rogue access points impersonating a legitimate network are one of the oldest tricks in the book, and doing it on an aircraft to scam passengers is a federal crime regardless of the sophistication involved.

The people most likely to pull something like this on a DEF CON departure flight are the ones who know exactly where that line is, which makes crossing it a choice rather than a mistake. Disabling the Wi-Fi and investigating was exactly the right instinct.

Denis Calderone, CTO, Suzu Labs:

Hackers will hack. I go to DEF CON most years, and it's pretty common to have a terrible wifi experience on those flights because everyone is playing with their WiFi Pineapples and whatnot. That said, my flight home this year had no rogue SSIDs that I could see, and although, as usual, the wifi was shoddy, I never took the time to analyze the radio signals in the cabin, but if a few deauths were flying around, I wouldn't have been too surprised. It is concerning to hear about attempted credential harvesting on the flight though, and I feel that that's taking the expected hijinks way too far.

The deauthentication and evil twin combination used on Flight 591 is a well-documented attack that the security community has been demonstrating for a good two decades. These sorts of wifi threats are very common. DEF CON still displays their famed Wall of Sheep which displays the sniffing clear text credentials on the conference network, and every year the WiFi Pineapples have been selling out at the Hak5 booth.

But there's a significant difference between demonstrating a technique at a conference and deploying it against 199 unsuspecting passengers on a commercial aircraft. Last November, an Australian man was sentenced to seven years and four months in prison for running the exact same attack on domestic flights using a WiFi Pineapple and now the FBI is already involved in this case. There is definitely a legal exposure here.

For anyone who travels for work, in-flight WiFi should be treated as an untrusted network, period. The enterprise advice is encrypted DNS through your MDM and always-on VPN with captive portal remediation configured. But honestly, a VPN is something every traveler should be using, not just corporate road warriors. I make sure mine is on whenever I travel, and my family does the same.

Beyond that, if a WiFi network on a plane doesn't match what the crew announced or what's printed on the seat card, don't connect to it. If a network asks you to log in with your Google account or email credentials to get WiFi access, that's not how airline WiFi works. Airline captive portals ask for a credit card or a loyalty account, not your personal email password. If you're being asked for something that doesn't make sense for the context, you're probably not on the real network.

Reputational harm for the cybersecurity industry

Jacob Warner, Director of IT, Xcape, Inc.:

While a rogue Wi-Fi access point on a commercial airliner poses zero direct risk to air-gapped flight safety controls, it creates a serious enterprise security hazard for business travelers relying on inflight networks.

Dismissing an onboard network impersonation as a harmless prank ignores the reality of man-in-the-middle attacks, credential harvesting, and fake authentication portals targeting captive passengers connecting to the Internet.

Given that the flight departed Las Vegas immediately following DEF CON, it requires little imagination to conclude an attendee deployed the unauthorized access point.

This juvenile behavior is precisely why hackers suffer such a poor reputation among non-technical audiences and why security professionals struggle to build mainstream trust. Enterprise security teams must mandate always-on virtual private networks or zero-trust network access, disable automatic connections to open SSIDs on corporate endpoints, and instruct travelers to treat cabin wireless environments as untrusted networks.

Setting up an evil twin at 30,000 feet does not make you a clever researcher; it just proves why we cannot have nice things.

John Strand, Owner, Black Hills Information Security, Inc.:

This one hits differently because this is my community. These are my people. When security professionals engage in this kind of behavior, they’re betraying the very community they’re claim to represent.

There’s nothing impressive about it. It doesn’t make you look clever, and it certainly doesn’t make you an elite hacker. In most cases, these attacks aren’t even technically sophisticated. They’re simply people with enough technical knowledge taking advantage of others who don’t have the experience to recognize what’s happening. That isn’t skill. It’s bullying.

I hope the people responsible are held accountable. This isn’t funny, it isn’t clever, and it doesn’t demonstrate technical excellence. It’s just people abusing their knowledge to prey on those who are at a disadvantage. That’s not what this profession should stand for.

• Apple's MacBook Air is facing supply constraints, as delivery estimates last up to a month
• The delivery delays are a direct result of the ongoing RAM crisis
• Consumers may have to look at Windows alternatives, as the RAM crisis gets worse

PC hardware manufacturers can't catch a break from the ongoing RAM crisis, and unfortunately, Apple arguably knows that more than anyone.

As reported by 9to5Mac, MacBook Air shortages are worsening, as delivery estimates for configurations on Apple's online store are longer than usual. Nearly all configurations have a 2-3 week shipment estimate, while those with 32GB of RAM have up to 4-5 weeks.

It's increasingly clear that RAM shortages are causing supply issues for Apple, and the extended delivery estimates come shortly after Apple's recent slate of price hikes on Macs and iPads. Notably, the MacBook Air M5 saw a $200 price increase earlier in June, and despite that, shortages remain.

Supply is so bad that 9to5Mac notes that Apple retail employees state that the MacBook Air shipments are "more constrained than they can ever recall", and that's a fitting statement since the PC hardware market is possibly at its worst state ever.

Fresh rumors also point to Apple being set on a price increase for its iPhone 17 — so without a doubt, proceedings aren't looking great for the tech giant (and several other hardware companies) in terms of supply stability.

Apple also has a history of rarely dropping prices for its devices, so the only other options consumers have are to buy MacBooks from other retailers or consider Windows alternatives.

What now?

Outside of Apple's online store, Amazon currently has the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air available at a lower price ($1,256) and a shorter delivery window using Prime. The same applies to several other configurations, including the 15-inch model.

Apple's RAM and supply constraints won't end anytime soon, so Windows alternatives are also sensible for consumers to aim for. The Lenovo Yoga Slim 7x, Yoga Slim 7i Aura, and even Dell's XPS 13 are solid laptop options. They may not all match the MacBook Air in performance, but they are enough to get the job done.

There's no better time than now for consumers to act on purchasing a new laptop, as insiders like Mark Gurman and even Apple chief financial officer Kevan Parekh indicate that Apple's supply constraints aren't set to improve, but only worsen — and that likely extends to 2027 and beyond.

• DapuStor's R6060 packs 512TB into a single E2 form-factor drive
• The drive doubles the capacity of E3.S and U.2 alternatives
• PCIe 5.0 and NVMe 2.0 protocols power this massive drive

DapuStor has unveiled a massive 512TB NVMe SSD at the FMS 2026 storage trade show event, pushing enterprise storage capacity into half-petabyte territory for demanding data center applications.

The drive, officially named the R6060, belongs to the company's high-capacity family and uses its newer E2 form factor design for enterprise storage systems.

At 512TB, the R6060 holds exactly twice the storage capacity of E3.S or U.2 drives, which top out near 256TB.

DapuStor packs half a petabyte into one drive

The 512TB SSD belongs to DapuStor’s high-capacity NVMe family and measures approximately 200 × 76 × 9.5 mm, giving it substantial capacity within a relatively compact enterprise storage form factor for NAND placements, allowing manufacturers to pack substantially more flash memory inside each device.

The drive pairs DapuStor's in-house DP800 controller with PCIe 5.0 connectivity and the newer NVMe 2.0 protocol standard used industry-wide.

DapuStor uses QLC NAND because modern workloads increasingly require huge storage capacity rather than maximum performance from every individual drive.

Artificial intelligence workloads require large repositories for training datasets, while inference systems can also generate substantial demand for high-capacity cache storage.

Video, audio, and other rapidly expanding datasets are creating similar demands, making high-capacity drives increasingly useful for data centers managing enormous volumes of information.

A server equipped with 36 E2 drive bays could theoretically accommodate 16PB of raw storage using these 512TB drives.

That density could reduce the number of servers, processors, memory modules, and networking components required for certain storage-heavy deployments.

The approach is particularly relevant to systems designed around 1PB and beyond, where physical infrastructure can become substantial.

Bigger drives could also reduce infrastructure requirements

The E2 approach can add more storage capacity to a single-CPU or dual-CPU server, potentially reducing overall system requirements.

Fewer processors, memory modules, chassis and network interfaces could also lower power consumption when storage capacity remains the primary requirement.

However, NAND pricing has become an increasingly important factor in determining the overall economics of extremely high-capacity solid-state storage.

Higher flash memory costs can make smaller drives more attractive, as multiple lower-capacity devices may offer greater flexibility in some deployments.

E2 could nevertheless offer another option by accommodating more NAND locations while using lower-density flash components in certain configurations.

That flexibility could potentially create lower-cost capacity points without requiring manufacturers to rely exclusively on the highest-density NAND available.

The 512TB R6060 therefore tries to increase storage density for systems handling rapidly expanding datasets and AI infrastructure demands.

DapuStor has not provided a confirmed price, although current NAND pricing suggests the drive will sit in the premium segment of enterprise storage.

The DapuStor R6060 arrives as NAND and DRAM suppliers report stronger market conditions following periods of weaker demand.

Via ServeTheHome

• A new 8-in-1 smart display dock is now on Kickstarter
• Cabletime's ScreenDock features a 5.5-inch screen which can be used as a secondary display
• The device could prove an interesting alternative to Corsair's Xeneon Edge thanks to its extra docking capabilities

Multi-tasking on a PC is made easier using Corsair's Xeneon Edge touchscreen LCD as a secondary display — but now this solution seemingly has some strong competition.

As reported by Notebookcheck, the Cabletime ScreenDock is a new 8-in-1 smart dock with a 5.5-inch built-in display, and it could be ideal as a secondary display alongside a desktop PC or laptop. This device is a Kickstarter project with an early-bird price of $119.

There are some marked differences in comparison to Corsair's Xeneon Edge. The ScreenDock has a much smaller 5.5-inch display (with a 1080 x 720 resolution) instead of 14.5-inches, and it lacks any touchscreen capability. The latter is what gives the Xeneon Edge its Stream Deck-style functionality (Elgato's shortcut command center with programmable keys), especially with the official virtual Stream Deck widget.

However, the ScreenDock serves the same broad purpose as Corsair's handy display, allowing PC owners to use it for overlays, third-party applications, or simply as an extended screen on Windows 11.

And the ScreenDock has two major advantages itself. Unlike the Xeneon Edge, Cabletime's device is also a dock, with multiple USB-C, USB-A, and Ethernet ports, as well as an HDMI port (4K 60Hz). The ScreenDock has a foldable design too, helping users preserve desk space, with brightness and power on/off buttons which aren't present on Corsair's display.

Caution first

If you're liking the look of Cabletime's ScreenDock, bear in mind that it's still at a relatively early stage. A lot could go wrong with a crowdfunded device as we've seen in the past, between potential manufacturing issues or shipping delays, so be suitably cautious about committing your cash.

If this crowdfunding effort is successful, it could serve as a strong competitor to Corsair's device, which has been considered overpriced (starting at $249.99 / £219.99 / AU$389).

The ScreenDock is only at early-bird pricing right now, so naturally it will be more expensive at its full price. With its 8-in-1 smart dock capabilities, it will be interesting to see how it stacks up against Corsair's premium device.

Seeing the red 'limited-time deal' banner on some DDR5 RAM at Amazon should elicit some excitement given the rarity of price cuts lately. But when you click through and see the price for this 32GB Corsair Vengeance kit, you'll wonder if there's genuinely a deal here at all — and other wannabe buyers aren't wholly convinced, either.

"It's 'only' 4x the price it should be," wrote one user named Technikal on HotUKDeals, a community that shares deals from across the web and asks the community to vote whether they think they are hot or cold. "The current average is 5x," he continues, "so, in that sense it's a good deal...I guess."

A muted response, that's for sure. And while it may be true that the deal price of the RAM kit is technically one of the lowest prices available right now, it's so far from the much lower prices we saw before the RAM crisis turned buying memory for your PC into a depressing exercise.

"Blimey, just checked my receipt for mine from 2 years ago - cost £85..." says another HotUKDeals user named Jacko_1975.

In fact, even just a year ago, this very same RAM kit was available for £99.99 when it wasn't even on sale, according to price history information from Keepa.

Given that, it's no surprise that shoppers have reacted negatively to Amazon's flash deal. Unfortunately, though, it doesn't look like things are getting any better when it comes to RAM prices. A report from Samsung suggests the RAM crisis is just getting started, and it could extend to other components in the near future.

If you're looking at these deals and are trying to convince yourself to purchase any RAM in the near future, we've got a PC gaming expert delivering advice on what to do if you're considering buying memory, a GPU, or other components.

Sadly, the news is grim, and these prices could be with us for a while yet. So, yes, it may be difficult to feel happy about seeing supposed RAM deals like this, but from what I'm seeing and hearing, I don't think they're going to get any better, either.

It appears that the RAM crisis is getting worse than ever as we head further into 2026. I've been closely watching and reporting on memory price hikes — which were soon followed by other PC component cost increases — since this crisis first began, and the worrying thing is, I can't recall a gloomier stream of negative news than I've witnessed over the past few weeks.

That includes Samsung recently declaring that the RAM crisis is going to become more severe in 2027, and rumors that even mighty Apple is floundering in its attempt to secure new RAM supplies from China (as other notebook makers consider this alternative route to the three main memory chip giants: Micron, Samsung and SK Hynix).

Previous to that, we saw laptop maker Framework break news of a truly eye-opening cost increase for mobile RAM, just as one gauge of DDR5 pricing saw it jump in price to a new all-time high (after plateauing earlier this year). On top of that, the boss of SK Hynix voiced the opinion that 2027 will be the worst year in the RAM industry's history, and that the crisis is likely to be drawn out to the next decade.

This isn't just about RAM, of course, but other components, including CPU price rises, and devices themselves — PCs and laptops (and phones). But most notably over the past month it's been graphics cards in the crisis limelight. We've witnessed the resurrection of old GPUs to try to bolster stock levels of more affordable cards, and more recently we've been subjected to what seems like an endless parade of negativity about imminent price hikes.

Apparently, Gigabyte is set to increase the price tags of its graphics card to the tune of 20% to 40% in Japan, and MSI is going to jack up prices of Nvidia GPUs in China by 20% or more. Asus is supposedly preparing a similar 20% hike (as Wccftech reported).

Another recent gloom nugget is the assertion that Nvidia RTX 5000 models will get hikes of 30% in South Korea this month, and all of this pain is mainly rooted in the increased price of video RAM, of course. (Those cost increases are the reason the RTX 5000 Super refreshes have been delayed, according to the grapevine, as those rumored cards are packed with VRAM).

While a good deal of this is individual pieces of regional activity with GPU pricing, it's obvious that these hikes are happening as part of a concerted shift, one that will surely be reflected globally — it's not like Asian markets are in a bubble of their own.

The overarching theme is a worsening of price hike misery, and that the pricing storm is likely to intensify this year, and probably in 2027, too. While previously the RAM crisis has been more of a light-and-shade affair, now it feels like the depression has been turned up a notch. Whereas before, there was certainly more darkness than light, we've had notable spots of relief where an exec in the memory industry stepped forward and theorized that maybe things aren't as bad as we think. But lately those embers of optimism appear to have burned out.

To me, it feels like there's a shift underway towards a full acknowledgement that we really are going to experience a lot more pricing pain in the foreseeable future. If it's so bad that even Apple is purportedly scrambling to secure RAM supplies, and is having trouble doing so, I think it's time to turn up the worry meter by a notch or two.

What should you do?

Here's my advice on the current landscape with PC components and hardware (season it appropriately). Obviously, worrying isn't going to help you, but awareness of what might be sensible upgrades or purchases to make now will, based on the likelihood of hikes (we could call it the 'hike-lihood' – or maybe not). Nothing is certain about the future of components, of course, but it does feel like there's a clear area in which the potential price hikes are a bigger threat: GPUs.

As I discussed above, there's a lot of recent evidence that graphics card pricing is going up. Yes, it's a collection of rumors in the main, but there's a lot of it all pointing in a very similar direction — and a video RAM toll was always going to be exacted in the end. We've seen it already with higher-end graphics cards, and now I believe we're going to see it in the mid-range, and even budget models. Indeed, top-end GPUs are likely to get even more expensive as well.

If you're thinking about a GPU upgrade for this year or next, given all this, I think now really is the time to buy — especially with a lower-tier model, as you can still get more affordable graphics cards at their MSRP. Ditto for mid-rangers, although it's tougher to recommend higher-end Nvidia boards when they are already so expensive.

As noted, though, that could get worse. And granted, you may still want to wait for Black Friday — it's not that far off, and there might be some GPU deals then. However, I wouldn't bank on anything hugely compelling (or discounts that aren't offset by the price rises which are predicted to take hold in the next few months).

So, if there's one PC component that I think you should buy now, it's a graphics card. I think the signs are pretty clear on that (and see here for my recommendations on different models to consider). By extension, higher-end gaming laptops could also be a wise move for purchasing sooner rather than later. That's for the same reason, really — they have beefy (mobile) GPUs (with plenty of VRAM in some cases).

I don't think it's a bad move to buy any laptop, by the way, gaming or not (away from the higher-end), come your earliest window of opportunity. I think we'll see further price rises here, too, and RAM is going to cause more upward pricing pressures for notebooks — just look at Framework's recent revelation as mentioned.

What about RAM and SSDs themselves? While system memory kits and storage have already seen huge price rises, it now looks like there's worse to come (somehow).

On the other hand, there's a ceiling as to how expensive this stuff can get before buyers withdraw from what they see as an increasingly unrealistic and out-of-touch market. This is a much more difficult call to make, but if you can find something that looks relatively reasonably priced, I don't think you'll regret the purchase in the next couple of years. But that said, I can't recommend a RAM upgrade in particular at current pricing levels, unless it's unavoidable, frankly.

Above all, though, consider a GPU upgrade if you're in the market for a new card, or you think you'll need one in the next couple of years (yes, I think it's wise to be looking quite far down the road here).

The other thing to bear in mind is that there's a danger there will be a rush for GPUs, a flurry of buying that puts further strain on supply and therefore prices. As VideoCardz reports, one Japanese retailer has warned of Nvidia RTX 5000 graphics card sales increasing "sharply", even just with the news of rumored price increases — let alone the confirmation. Prices are already rising and restocks of the RTX 5070 Ti and RTX 5080 are already being labelled as "unstable", hinting that inventory could start to dry up quickly.

That's just one report, of course, and it pertains to the high-end of the market, so it's not something to start panicking about yet. But it does make some sense that if pricing begins to creep up, more PC owners may start to act on GPU upgrades. I wouldn't blame them, frankly.

• Someone made a tool for Asus Astral RTX 5080 and 5090 GPUs
• It's designed to prevent a melting connector, shutting down the PC before this happens
• This third-party utility – and the response to it – shows the level of paranoia out there when it comes to this issue

Do you have a high-end Nvidia Blackwell GPU, and if so, are you worried about the perils of a melted power connector? It appears that definite concerns remain in this area, to the point that a new utility has been crafted to address those worries.

An enterprising Redditor has made their own open source tool for Windows which is designed for Asus Astral RTX 5090 and 5080 graphics cards, acting as a monitoring app that will (hopefully) step in to prevent any melting disasters before they happen.

The creator, Humza Khalid, tells us how the small utility, which is available to grab on GitHub, works: "It reads per pin 12VHPWR current straight from the card's own sensor chip and force shuts down your PC if any pin stays over 9.5A for 15 seconds, before the connector can melt."

The idea is that it's a lightweight and standalone app which is an easy way to defend against the situation where there's a sustained level of too much current flowing to the Nvidia graphics card.

As noted, the PC is forced to shut down in these cases (in a safe manner, with any running or interfering apps being force-closed, we're told), before any damage is done.

The creator has taken a suggestion on board from the comments, and Khalid notes that the tool will be changed from initiating a shutdown to dropping the power limit (via the Nvidia management API) for a much faster response. (Shutting down can take a while). That change will happen in a future version of the utility, Khalid tells us.

The creator also reminds us: "This only works on Astral 5080/5090 cards because those are the only ones with per pin sensors. Windows only, needs Python. And it doesn't replace seating your connector properly, it's a last line of defense not a first one."

Analysis: default paranoia

That's all good in theory, of course, but I'd always be careful about what you're installing on your PC. Not to say this isn't a trustworthy app – I don't know whether it is or not, and that's the point. However, it is open source, so that's good, as it provides visibility into what it's doing under the hood.

Another point to note is that a co-creator of the app is listed as 'Claude', meaning that this AI has been used in making the tool. Khalid explains that they wrote the original utility, but it was based on HWiNFO, so they wanted the app rejigged to be standalone, and Claude "did a lot of the rewrite".

At any rate, Asus Astral GPU owners can make their own decision about what's worth installing, or not, although I wouldn't personally recommend installing a third-party utility from an unknown developer. As ever, if you do install such software, you do so very much at your own risk.

Regardless, what this does show is the clear level of concern about Nvidia's RTX 5090 and 5080 GPUs. One Redditor sums it up: "As a 5090 owner, I can confirm the card comes with a default paranoia about bursting into flames."

That received some pushback from other Redditors who said their overclocked RTX 5090s were just fine, and in turn, there was a further story relayed about a melting incident. Obviously, all that is anecdotal (on both sides of the coin), but the paranoia is real enough.

Cable melting worries began with the RTX 4090, of course, before the RTX 5090, and when we looked into the issues with the Blackwell flagship back at the start of last year, Nvidia firmly denied that any of this is its fault. Cable melts remain a controversial topic, though, and more recently we've even had a report of an exploding RTX 5090, no less, which PC gamers who run these high-end graphics cards probably didn't take much comfort from.

• MSI's Nvidia GPUs are rumored to be getting price hikes
• They'll be 20% more expensive (or worse) in China, and that kind of increase will surely be seen elsewhere
• This is happening against a backdrop of wider price hikes for graphics cards – although Nvidia is offering a rare chance at an RTX 5080 or 5090 at MSRP

As fresh rumors reveal that another graphics card maker is set to hike prices, Nvidia has a plan to let you buy a Founders Edition Blackwell GPU at the MSRP, even in the case of the RTX 5090 — although you'll need to travel.

And you'll need to move very fast, attend QuakeCon in Texas, which starts today, and get yourself to the GeForce booth (hat tip to VideoCardz) before supplies of RTX 5070, 5080, and 5090 Founders Edition graphics cards run out. And I don't think that they will last for long (a matter of minutes, at a guess, although hopefully that won't be the case).

Nvidia describes this as 'Verified Priority Access' in real life, and at least it does give gamers a chance to buy an RTX 5080 and 5090 at the intended price, which is not something you can get anywhere near when purchasing one of these high-end Nvidia GPUs at retail.

As for the most recent news on GPU price hikes, Wccftech spotted that MSI is the latest graphics card maker to announce that its products will be considerably more expensive.

This is just a rumor, one that arrives via the Board Channels in China, and so should be served with some seasoning — but the theory is that MSI's Nvidia GPUs are set for price hikes of 20% or more. This is due to rising memory prices, of course, and what Nvidia charges its partners for video RAM modules (as Team Green is paying more, it passes that bill on, of course).

The price increase is in the order of $300 (£220 / AU$420) for the RTX 5080 over in China (converting from RMB), around $200 (£150 / AU$280) for the RTX 5070 Ti, and approximately $100 (£75 / AU$140) for RTX 5060 models (and not far off that for the RTX 5050).

Sadly, not only will current-gen Nvidia GeForce graphics cards be affected, but also RTX 4000 and 3000 models (with GDDR6 video RAM getting costlier, as well as GDDR7).

Analysis: pricey times

While this is a rumored cost increase for MSI products in China, these exact same pricing pressures are, of course, happening globally, so there's no reason to believe that MSI's GPUs in other regions won't follow suit.

What's more, this isn't just a problem that pertains to MSI, but Nvidia's other card-making partners, and those companies are also rumored to be implementing hefty price hikes. For example, just this week we've heard that Gigabyte GPU prices will jump between 20% and 40%. Also, on a regional basis, Nvidia RTX 5000 models in South Korea are looking at price hikes of up to 30%.

So, this is a coherent picture of hikes, and those percentages are all in a similar ballpark, indicating increases of at least 20% or a good deal more. They are also backed up by more general chatter from the grapevine about Nvidia's VRAM increases and AMD's Radeon GPUs becoming pricier.

I fear that getting any kind of current-gen graphics card at, or near, the MSRP could be a much tougher task before long, and those at QuakeCon better make the most of Nvidia's GeForce offerings at the firm's booth. As noted, I expect this to be the definition of a flash sale — as in they'll be gone in a flash — although you do have another shot at winning an RTX 5070 in the Quake III Arena RTX Remix and Doom: The Dark Ages challenges.

• Microsoft is eating humble pie over its unrealistic RAM recommendations
• It has deleted articles that pushed 32GB as an ideal or 'no-worries' loadout
• Apple is also feeling the heat in the RAM crisis, with rumors that it's struggling to secure an alternative source of memory supply from China

There are some fresh twists with the RAM crisis hitting some big tech companies, as Microsoft has backtracked on its previous memory recommendations, and even Apple is apparently finding it difficult to cope with the scarcity of memory.

Let's discuss Microsoft first, and as Windows Latest pointed out, the company has been busy backpedalling on previous memory recommendations now that the RAM crisis – which just keeps getting worse – has made those suggestions look foolish.

Microsoft previously had support documents in its Windows Learning Center which have now been removed, and Windows Latest highlights two of them. One was about optimizing your gaming PC, and it advised that "32GB is ideal for serious players who run the most demanding titles" (albeit the article also said 16GB was "plenty" for most games).

Another piece said that 32GB of RAM was the "no-worries zone", and that article was also quietly deleted as there was some backlash against this, given that it was published when the price of system memory had become ridiculous. (And buying a 32GB kit was very much a worry for your wallet).

The links to those articles now redirect to the home page of the Learning Center, and Microsoft is evidently trying to forget about pushing 32GB of RAM as an 'ideal' or 'worry-free' target for memory on your PC.

More broadly, since Copilot+ PCs were launched and the AI features for these devices made them require 16GB, Microsoft has obviously been keen to have that as a baseline memory configuration. Except now, a change of stance is necessary, as with the RAM crisis reaching alarming new heights, Microsoft has been forced to enact huge price hikes with its Surface devices.

And of course, the latest twist with that Surface hardware is that Microsoft has brought back 8GB models with last year's Surface Pro and Surface Laptop. Which makes it kind of difficult to push 16GB as a minimum, let alone make suggestions that 32GB is where it's really at for properly smooth performance.

The abandonment of these Learning Center articles is hardly surprising, then, and Microsoft is also addressing how speedily Windows 11 runs with 8GB of memory (not quickly enough currently). One of its promises with fixing the OS was better performance with a leaner RAM loadout, and Microsoft just made it clear that the company is now actively working to make Windows 11 run better with 8GB before the end of the year.

This has become a vital goal, really, when you consider that Apple has pulled off a commendable showing of performance with its MacBook Neo that packs 8GB of RAM. That was effectively a gauntlet thrown down for Microsoft – something of a declaration that macOS is coming to try to take Windows 11's market share – and one that the Windows maker had to respond to (which became clear enough when Microsoft went on the attack against the Neo).

Apple turnover: China play rumored to end in a fumble

Speaking of Apple, Microsoft isn't the only tech giant being buffeted by the rising costs caused by the RAM storm. While it has had a big success with the Neo, the challenge for Tim Cook's firm – soon to be John Ternus's, of course – is to maintain that momentum, and by all accounts, that's proving a tricky task.

Recent Mac price hikes have caused a good deal of pain – taking some of the wind out of the good ship Neo's sails – and Apple is trying to secure its RAM supply lines for the future, with rumors abounding that it's turning to Chinese chip makers to find extra production capacity.

The latest speculation, however, is that according to a report from Digital Daily (a Korean tech site, via Wccftech), Apple has floundered in negotiations with Chinese memory giant CXMT.

Apparently CXMT has strong enough domestic demand that it doesn't have to offer more attractive pricing to Apple. Essentially, CXMT is holding the line and has "insisted on prices that were higher or similar to those offered by Samsung or SK Hynix" (bear in mind there may be nuances lost with the translation of the article).

You get the message, though: Apple is failing to obtain better deals on mobile DRAM, which includes LPDDR5X, for its iPhones (and that RAM is also used in its MacBooks, of course). And CXMT was supposed to be an escape route from the difficulties of getting enough RAM inventory from Samsung and SK Hynix (and also Micron, a key supplier for Apple), but it seems like a dead-end for now.

At least if this report is correct, but analyst Tim Culpan has also written a short post which backs up the notion that Apple is in trouble here. Culpan writes: "Apple and its suppliers are scrambling to get enough memory chips for its upcoming release of new iPhone models."

'Scrambling' is a word that evokes quite a sense of panic, and indeed with the iPhone 18 models – and the foldable offering – not much more than a month away from launch now (in theory), I'd bet there are some heated words flying here and there. Culpan notes: "Assemblers are working with Apple to rush shipments of DRAM used in mobile devices."

That report is specifically about smartphones, mind, but this same situation applies to mobile RAM that's also used in MacBooks.

The overall theme is more RAM misery all round, which is hardly a surprise given all the negative news we've been hearing on the grapevine of late. GPU pricing has been the latest round of doom and gloom over the past week or two, and I don't think the pessimistic news is going to stop flowing for the foreseeable.

It's not bad news for everyone, though. A source in the semiconductor industry told Digital Daily that: "With the general-purpose DRAM floor remaining unbroken and Samsung and SK Hynix monopolizing the lead in high-value AI memory such as HBM4, the operating profit margins and global market control of the domestic semiconductor sector are expected to rise even more steeply in the second half of the year."

So, it's a familiar story: profits will be on the up and up for memory makers, while consumers will be suffering the pain of the hikes. Apple's purported rush for RAM supplies as the clock runs down on the iPhone launch window is a particularly worrying sounding story, one that doesn't bode well in terms of avoiding more Mac (and iPhone) price rises in the future. Neither can we rule out more Surface price rises, or other laptops for that matter.

• Gigabyte graphics cards are rumored to be set for a big price rise
• It could be a hike of 20% to 40%, and other rumors are also pointing to major price hikes for GPUs more broadly
• This means now is likely a good time to make a purchase, particularly with certain cards which have avoided the worst of the hikes so far

Desktop GPU prices are set to rise if the rumor mill is right – with yet another prediction to that end being aired – and while graphics cards are already costly in some cases, now might be the time to buy certain models, based on a fresh roundup of average pricing.

First off, let's deal with the latest gloom nugget from the grapevine regarding GPU pricing, courtesy of @momomo_us on X (via Wccftech) who picked up a notice from CFD (a Japanese components supplier) warning of substantial price hikes on Gigabyte graphics cards.

The claimed rise (add seasoning, of course) is in the order of 20% to 40%, so at the latter end of that scale, we're looking at prices shooting up by almost a half in some cases. Existing orders from retailers buying boards from CFD may even be cancelled, the notice states.

I perhaps wouldn't put as much stock in this, except that it echoes a rash of recent reports contending that large price hikes are about to happen in the GPU world, which makes it all the more believable.

Only yesterday I reported on the situation in South Korea where RTX 5000 models are rumored to be getting price increases of up to 30%. So again, that's a hefty hike, and it follows other speculation about Nvidia charging its partners more for video RAM (which will push up costs, of course).

This apparent Gigabyte move will affect both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards in Japan, and there have been rumors about Team Red having Radeon price hikes in the pipeline due to more expensive VRAM, too. That only makes sense, as if VRAM is getting more costly for Nvidia, it will be for AMD too. And while some of these reports are based on regional activity, the cost issues will surely apply globally – none of these markets exist in a bubble.

Analysis: I think it's time to buy – especially with certain GPUs

The RAM crisis has a lot to answer for, and it very much looks like graphics card prices are going to be jacked up considerably during the remainder of 2026, with video memory being the primary driver here. Given that, it seems that if you are thinking about a GPU upgrade, now is likely the time to go for it, rather than waiting and being hit by price hikes.

That's especially true if you're considering a 16GB graphics card (as more gamers are these days), as the products with more VRAM are going to get hit the hardest for price rises as memory modules become even more expensive.

If we want a snapshot of the current GPU market as price tags stand, fortunately enough, TechSpot has just furnished us with an extensive (multi-region) pricing roundup as of the end of July which highlights some key points.

Firstly, low-end GPUs are still relatively unscathed, with offerings like the RTX 5050 and RTX 5060 8GB, and the 8GB spin on the 5060 Ti, not having been bumped up by all that much in the RAM crisis thus far. However, as for the 16GB incarnation of the RTX 5060 Ti, that has seen major price bumps, reinforcing that observation on 16GB pain (this card is up over 40% since November 2025 in the US, for example – and shows a 14% rise since April 2026).

In the tier above that, the RTX 5070 is holding at a reasonable price, and even if the sub-MSRP levels of late last year are well and truly gone, it remains a decent buy. (As long as you can stomach 12GB of VRAM at this price bracket, of course – and that's one of the reasons why this GPU hasn't been hit so hard, no doubt).

Above this level, Nvidia GPUs have witnessed some of the nastier price increases, as you've probably noticed.

On the AMD side, matters look more promising, particularly in the case of the Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT, with TechSpot finding that the 16GB models in the RDNA 4 family haven't suffered as much as Nvidia's GeForce offerings. The price of both these 9070 models has remained steady over the last few months, and in many regions, they're only up 10% or so compared to late 2025. (The 9070 XT is an exception in the US, mind, where it has risen by closing on 20% since last year).

If you're inclined towards one of these Radeon mid-rangers, or Nvidia's RTX 5070, I'd strongly suggest you buy now rather than wait based on what we're hearing from the rumor mill. Lower-priced graphics cards are likely worth grabbing, too, because they may be heading upwards in the pricing stakes before long – although notably the RX 9060 XT with 16GB has already become a good deal more costly, much like its RTX 5060 Ti 16GB rival.

As noted, Nvidia's higher-end graphics cards (RTX 5070 Ti and upwards) have already been hit with alarming price hikes, but they're likely to get even worse. So, this could be a case of keeping your wallet shut and holding out for possibly a lengthy time, as I can't really recommend them even at the current pricing.

The trouble is, we don't know how long the RAM crisis will continue, and some of the guesswork on that front is very bleak indeed – suggesting it might be the rest of this decade effectively. At this point, I'm inclined to believe we're in it for the long haul with PC component pricing woes, which is why I think it's best to buy a GPU now, at least with the mentioned models, assuming you're in a position to do so.

• The latest Steam survey shows GPUs with 16GB are the most popular
• They're on 25.9% and have overtaken 8GB GPUs which are just behind on 25.32%
• There's been quite a shift towards 16GB boards over the past year, but with news of more price hikes incoming, upgrading to this loadout could be a painful process for gamers

Graphics cards with 16GB of memory are the most popular GPU among Steam gamers now, although the way GPU prices are going means that people aiming for a board packing plenty of video RAM (VRAM) are looking at a rather depressing future.

TweakTown spotted that the latest Steam hardware survey for July shows that 16GB of VRAM is the most prevalent memory configuration at 25.9%, up 1.4% over last month. That means it just dethrones the previous top of the VRAM table, which was 8GB, a loadout that slipped slightly from last month down to 25.32%.

There's not much in it, of course, but nonetheless, it's a telling stat (bearing in mind the usual caveats about variance in Valve's hardware report based on how the survey is distributed).

Of course, the majority of Steam gamers are still running with less than 16GB, and only 36% have a GPU with 16GB or more. So, almost two-thirds are running less than 16GB, and just under half (47%) have a graphics card with 8GB or less.

But it's a hefty rise in the count of 16GB GPUs when you consider that less than a year ago, in August 2025, just 6.8% of Steam gamers had boards with that VRAM loadout (based on a Notebookcheck report from the time). Compared to July 2026, that's nearly quadruple the number of 16GB-equipped rigs, with a close to 20% increase — pretty eye-opening.

Analysis: 16GB ambitions and the ever-worsening RAM crisis

It seems that, at least based on Steam's stats, RTX 5060 Ti 16GB and RX 9060 XT 16GB graphics cards (and 9070 models) must have been selling well — and of course higher-end Nvidia cards. The RTX 5070 is doing well for itself, too, and is now in third position in Steam's GPU ranking (although that's a 12GB offering and it should really be 16GB).

The ranks of the 16GB GPUs on Steam will also be bolstered by older models, of course, from past generations. Also, the visibility of AMD Radeon graphics cards with 16GB of VRAM was improved by Valve earlier this year, when an issue was fixed whereby these cards were misreported (not detected and lumped in a generic Radeon category), so that will have boosted numbers too.

At any rate, the fact that more gamers are looking at future-proofing their GPU purchases only makes sense, as 8GB in particular is looking too lean at this point. But there's a problem with GPUs that have heavier VRAM configurations, and this is, of course, that the memory crisis hits these models hardest.

We've already seen that GPU price hikes are making themselves felt, and just a couple of weeks back, Nvidia seemingly told its card-making partners that the price it charges for memory supplied with its graphics chips is going up (for both GDDR6 and GDDR7). A fresh report from Tom's Hardware also talks about price hikes for RTX 5000 models in South Korea beginning this month, driven not just by the increased cost of video RAM, but also the GPU chips themselves.

We're told the upshot is that Nvidia's Blackwell GPUs could see price increases of up to 30% in the country, and similar hikes may happen elsewhere. AMD price hikes are expected for its Radeon line-up, too, and Team Red has already warned us that the second half of 2026 is going to be a tough one for PC gamers.

With those gamers craving 16GB of video RAM more often, and prices heading inexorably upwards — and the memory crisis expected to worsen as this year rolls on, with the misery to continue into 2027 by all accounts — it's a gloomy picture for beefier graphics card upgrades.

• Nvidia reprotedly weighing up $250 billion in financing for OpenAI's giant Ohio AI data center
• Total project costs could surpass $500 billion after infrastructure and hardware investments
• OpenAI seeks greater control over computing infrastructure through dedicated Ohio facilities

Nvidia is reportedly negotiating financing guarantees worth roughly $250 billion for a massive OpenAI data center project.

Reporting from The Wall Street Journal claims the financing would help OpenAI secure a lease for the proposed 10-gigawatt facility in southern Ohio.

The site is being developed by SB Energy, a subsidiary of SoftBank, under a separate infrastructure arrangement.

Financing plan could support one of the world's biggest AI facilities

The guarantee would cover the data center lease and debt financing, though it would exclude the Nvidia chips housed inside the facility.

Nvidia is separately discussing financing arrangements for OpenAI's chip purchases, which could total up to $350 billion.

The combined costs for the entire project, including chips, are expected to exceed $500 billion once construction concludes.

The first phase alone is expected to finish by 2028, delivering around 800 megawatts of the planned 10 gigawatts.

The project's power supply will be controlled by the U.S. government and funded separately through a trade arrangement with Japan. That arrangement ties into Tokyo's pledge to invest $33 billion in a natural gas plant.

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick reportedly plays a role in deciding which companies gain access to that power.

OpenAI's financial position complicates the infrastructure push

OpenAI is currently valued at $852 billion, ranking among the most valuable private companies globally despite remaining unprofitable.

According to shareholder documents, the company posted a net loss of roughly $21.3 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone.

Stripping out a non-cash charge tied to revaluing investor warrants leaves an operating loss near $9.3 billion for that quarter.

Internal projections reportedly show OpenAI expects to lose around $14 billion across 2026, with cumulative losses reaching $44 billion by 2028.

That lack of profitability raises questions about how the company intends to fund its numerous multi-billion-dollar infrastructure commitments going forward.

Nvidia's backing would reportedly help reassure lenders that the financing vehicles underpinning the project carry sufficient institutional support.

For OpenAI, securing the deal would mark a shift toward owning infrastructure rather than renting capacity from Microsoft, Amazon and Oracle.

On Nvidia’s part, the deal would help guarantee sustained chip demand well into the coming years.

OpenAI has reportedly held talks for weeks about leasing the Ohio site directly, while Anthropic, Microsoft and Google have also shown interest.

The proposed facility would rank among the largest AI data center developments planned anywhere in the world, but its financing structure combines private investment, government-backed infrastructure and long-term computing demand across multiple funding sources.

At the moment, commercial agreements between the companies involved have not been finalized.

• Samsung tells analysts global memory supply shortage will persist through 2028 and grow more severe in 2027 than in 2026
• This while posting its third consecutive record quarter: ₩171.5 trillion in revenue, ₩89.5 trillion in operating profit, and a 52% operating margin
• Samsung is locking 60 to 70% of capacity into five-year supply agreements with price floors

Samsung has told analysts it believes the memory shortage now squeezing everything from server racks to gaming PCs is unlikely to ease before 2028, and that conditions will get worse before they get better.

Speaking on its Q2 2026 earnings call, the world's largest DRAM manufacturer now expects supply constraints to be more severe in 2027 than they are in 2026.

The company said this while reporting the most profitable quarter in its history, with ₩171.5 trillion in revenue, ₩89.5 trillion in operating profit, and a 52% operating margin, all of which indicated healthy demand for its DRAM despite price hikes across the board.

An AI-centric problem that is not going away soon

As voracious demand for memory and storage from AI hyperscalers continues, Samsung is a key beneficiary of a shortage it expects to last for years, driven by long lead times and the capital intensity of adding capacity.

The argument Samsung made on its earnings call was arithmetic rather than speculative. B

uilding a new fab and getting it to wafer production takes more than three years, so the industry-wide capital expenditure increases now underway cannot translate into meaningful output within the forecast window. Unmet demand from this year rolls into next year, tightening things further.

Independent forecasting broadly agrees. TrendForce expects NAND supply to ease in the second half of 2027 as new capacity and higher-layer products arrive, but sees DRAM differently: several suppliers plan new lines for 2027, and construction, equipment installation and qualification will push meaningful ramp-up into the second half of that year, meaning substantial extra output does not arrive until 2028.

Samsung's own shipment figures show how tight things already are. DRAM bit shipments rose by low-teens percentages quarter on quarter, exceeding its own guidance, while average selling prices climbed by around 45% for DRAM and close to 70% for NAND in a single quarter.

Hedging against potential downsides

Buried in the analyst Q&A is a structural change that will outlast any particular price curve. Samsung is converting the memory business from a spot market into a contracted one.

The company said it plans to allocate roughly 60 to 70% of total capacity to long-term supply agreements. These run on five-year terms subject to annual renegotiation, effectively rolling forward.

It has already finalized deals with the top five global data center customers and is in final talks with five more, with substantial advance payments written in as a contractual requirement; Samsung says it has received about a quarter of that total so far. For mainstream products, the agreements also carry minimum price floors, set at levels the company describes as sufficient to cover its future investment risk.

The consequences reach retail. Gartner has forecast that combined DRAM and SSD price increases will lift average PC prices by 17% and push global PC shipments down by more than 10%, the steepest contraction in over a decade.

Micron retired its consumer Crucial brand in February 2026 to concentrate on enterprise AI customers, which is the clearest possible statement of where the industry's priorities sit despite whatever it says publicly about wanting to help consumers.

For Samsung's memory division, none of this is a problem. The price floors it has written into a majority of its capacity insulate it from the downside of the boom-and-bust cycle that DRAM markets are notorious for, and its own device businesses are absorbing the cost: mobile and networks posted a combined operating loss of ₩0.7 trillion for the quarter, and the display and TV units both flagged memory costs eating into profitability.

A company earning a mammoth ₩89.5 trillion in operating profit, thanks to a 52% operating margin, however, has little reason to move quickly on any of it.

If you're looking for a capable laptop that can handle demanding tasks without costing the Earth, I found a great deal on the 15.6" Lenovo LOQ for $750 (was $1050) at Best Buy.

The laptop combines an AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS processor with 16GB of DDR5 memory, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 graphics with 6GB of dedicated memory, making it a terrific choice for students and beginner creators.

The IPS display delivers a Full HD resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 350 nits of brightness, and 100% sRGB color coverage. Connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 2.1, USB-C with DisplayPort 1.4, three USB-A ports, and a backlit keyboard.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Lenovo LOQ if...

You need a capable laptop for demanding work, study, creative projects, and everyday multitasking. With an AMD Ryzen 5 7235HS processor, 16GB of DDR5 memory, GeForce RTX 4050 graphics, and a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, it offers plenty of performance for productivity software, photo editing, video work, and other intensive applications.

❌ Skip the Lenovo LOQ if...

You mainly browse the web, stream videos, and work with office documents. You'll be paying for dedicated graphics and a high-refresh-rate display that lighter workloads won't fully benefit from. If portability and battery life are your priorities, a thinner ultrabook with integrated graphics is likely to be a better fit.

Today's top Lenovo laptop deal

Why we recommend it

The LOQ laptop delivers an excellent balance of features for the discounted asking price. The combination of upgradeable memory and storage, a color-accurate 144Hz IPS display, modern connectivity, and solid build quality means it should remain useful for years to come, plus it comes from a top brand.

It is a smart long-term investment whether you're replacing an ageing system or buying a laptop for the first time.

Price Context & Historical Value

At $749.99, the Lenovo LOQ represents excellent value given its hardware and upgrade potential. The last time I saw this on sale at Best Buy was in April, where it was priced at $790.

A $300 discount brings it well below its usual $1,049.99 price, making it far more competitive with mid-range laptops that often offer less memory, slower displays, or integrated graphics.

If you've been considering a higher-performance laptop for work, study, or creative tasks, this is one of those deals that's genuinely excellent.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

While battery life is rated at up to five hours, the Lenovo LOQ is designed as a high-performance laptop that's happiest plugged into its 170W power adapter during heavier workloads. At $749.99, it offers a strong mix of processing power, upgradeability, and display quality for anyone looking to replace an ageing laptop or invest in a more capable everyday machine.

• Shop all laptops at Best Buy

• Multiple US states are repealing or enacting moratoriums on sales tax exemptions for data centers
• Estimates on lost tax revenue are far below the billions of dollars some states have missed out on
• Ongoing data center constructions may not be subject, but costs are expected to increase for new or planned projects

In a blow to US firms trying to expand AI compute capacity by building more data centers, multiple states are now repealing tax exemptions for equipment costs.

According to exclusive The Information reporting, the estimated costs could rise by upwards of 7%, as the exemptions previously allowed data centers to be kitted out with equipment without having to pay sales tax.

But as soon as Ohio Governor Mike DeWine revealed that the lost tax revenue amounted to $1.6 billion, instead of the projected $136 million, other states have started following suit.

States repeal data center tax exemptions

Ohio repealed its tax exemptions for data centers in June 2026, and since July, Illinois and Arizona have both paused their own exemptions. Illinois’ program has been paused indefinitely, and Arizona has enacted a 3-year moratorium.

A further nine states are also considering halting their own exemptions, and a further 28 states have introduced bills to limit the effects of their own exemptions.

Per Avalra data, the sales tax in Ohio sits at almost 6%, with Illinois just over the same figure. These sales taxes will immediately increase the costs of new data center projects, but some projects already under way could be subject to indefinite exemptions.

Are data center costs already unsustainable?

The costs of data center construction have already been rising due to the sudden expansion in capacity. Electricity costs have skyrocketed as more data centers join grids without suitable additions in energy sources.

In an attempt to combat this, President Donald Trump has rolled back regulations on fossil-fuel burning power stations, with multiple data centers being built with on-site natural gas turbine electricity generation. This has caused a string of issues with local residents complaining of sickness caused by infra-sound, and deafening noise levels similar to that of an international airport.

Funding and incentives for renewable wind and solar sources have also been scrapped by Trump, which ironically are some of the cheapest energy sources in the US. This has compounded consumer electricity price rises, acting as a catalyst for data center opposition in the US. AI companies have been urged by the UN to disclose the full environmental damage of the technology.

Additionally, a study by Nikkei has found that numerous big tech firms looking to expand data center capacity have almost $1.65 trillion in ‘hidden’ debt, where contracts are signed between subsidiary companies and data center operators. This means the debt does not appear on the company’s balance sheet, and will only show up as annotations in quarterly financial statements.

This hidden debt at big tech companies has exploded eightfold in the last four years, alongside the visible balance sheet debt for big tech companies which stands at $1.35 trillion. Many businesses are still struggling to justify the ROI on adopting AI technologies, especially as token costs increase.

Sales exemptions are an attractive benefit for data center construction projects, and states that keep or enact sales exemptions will likely see an explosion in new project applications.

• The ongoing RAM crisis is projected to continue through 2028
• Samsung says memory shortages are expected to worsen in 2027
• Deloitte reports the big three RAM manufacturers are anticipated to have a combined capital expenditure that will nearly quadruple between 2024 and 2027

The RAM crisis isn't letting up, with shortages continuing to impact PC hardware manufacturers. Unfortunately, it looks like it may become the new normal.

As reported by TweakTown, Samsung says it expects ongoing memory shortages to worsen in 2027 and continue through 2028. This will directly impact consumers with increasingly high retail prices for RAM kits, game consoles, and pre-built PCs.

Samsung's memory chip executive vice president, Jaejune Kim, said to investors in the latest earnings call: "We believe it will be unlikely to see any increase in incremental supply through 2028. The supply constraints are expected to become even more severe in 2027."

Essentially, that means the price increases we've seen for Sony's PS5, Microsoft's Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and, frankly, next-generation consoles will likely face the same consequences of the price hike trend.

The same can be said for Valve's Steam Machine, where Valve previously stated the retail price isn't what it wanted, with suggestions of an initial $750 target. However, the RAM crisis effectively forced Valve's hand, where it couldn't subsidize the Steam Machine the same way it did with the Steam Deck.

Unfortunately, it's not just Samsung that forecasts the RAM crisis worsening. Gamesbeat highlights Deloitte's report, which anticipates an increase in the big three's (Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron) combined capital spending to nearly 340% from 2024 to 2027.

However, new supply from that increased spending isn't expected to arrive until 2029 or 2030, so the RAM crisis is seemingly only just getting started. It frankly means Samsung's estimation is rather optimistic, painting a smaller picture of just how bad the memory shortages are.

Manufacturers and consumers are perhaps now at a stage where the RAM crisis may be a new normal, completely shifting the PC hardware market into an unstable condition.

GPU prices have increased over the last few months, with Nvidia introducing older options via the RTX 3060, and AMD unveiling a new Radeon RX 9050 8GB GPU. Both cases are a strong indication that the market is in its worst state in decades, and there isn't much hope ahead as it stands.

Whether you're running out of storage, thinking of upgrading an ageing system, or building a new creative rig, fast NVMe SSDs remain one of the easiest ways to breathe new life into a desktop PC.

And right now, the 2TB Samsung 990 SSD is down to $370 (was $530) at Amazon - while the 1TB model also gets a discount to $230 on the same page.

It delivers sequential read speeds of up to 7,250 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6,450 MB/s, alongside random performance of up to 850K read IOPS and 1,200K write IOPS for responsive everyday use.

Should you buy it?

✅ Buy the Samsung 990 2TB SSD if...

You want a fast, spacious NVMe drive for creative work, or a new PC build. With sequential read/write speeds of up to 7,250/6,450 MB/s, a 2TB capacity, hardware encryption, and improved power efficiency, it's well suited to large libraries, high-resolution media, and demanding everyday workloads.

❌ Skip the Samsung 990 2TB SSD if...

Your PC doesn't support PCIe 4.0 speeds or you mainly browse the web, stream media, and work with documents. You'll pay a premium for performance that lighter workloads won't fully benefit from, and a cheaper PCIe 3.0 or entry-level NVMe SSD will still deliver a substantial upgrade over a hard drive or older SATA SSD.

Today's top SSD deal

Why we recommend it

Samsung's 990 SSD combines outstanding PCIe 4.0 performance with plenty of capacity for demanding workloads. Read speeds of up to 7,250 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6,450 MB/s make everything from booting Windows to transferring large files noticeably faster.

The 2TB capacity is enough room for growing projects, while hardware encryption, improved power efficiency, and Samsung's SSD management software add extra long-term value.

Price Context & Historical Value

At $369.99, down from its usual price of $529.99, the 2TB Samsung 990 SSD is a serious, solid purchase and one we'd definitely recommend. It's not only the cheapest it's been in 30 days on Amazon, it's as cheap as it's ever been there, so we'd definitely recommend you snap it up now, and save yourself $160, before the price rises again.

For more savings, we're tracking all the best SSD deals to help beat all the price hikes on components.

The Catch: What to know before you buy

You'll need a desktop with an available M.2 PCIe 4.0 slot to get the most from this drive. While it works in older systems, you won't see its full performance. It's also more expensive than mainstream NVMe SSDs, so lighter workloads are often better served by a cheaper alternative.

Also consider this Samsung SSD deal

• Shop all internal SSDs at Amazon

Samsung's 9100 Pro 2TB SSD has dropped to AU$434.47 at Amazon Australia, well below the typical AU$699 pricing it's selling for at other retailers. Even on Amazon it was AU$644.83 before the current discount.

This isn't a deal to snooze on either, with the sale due to end at 12pm on July 29. Just note that it ships from Amazon US, so delivery can take up to two weeks.

AU$434 is still a lot to spend on a 2TB SSD, particularly if you remember how cheap storage was until relatively recently.

But SSD prices have shifted hugely since last year, and these days this is an excellent deal on Samsung's flagship PCIe 5.0 drive, which can reach sequential read speeds of up to 14,700MB/s and writes of up to 13,400MB/s.

In our review of the 9100 Pro we said, "Samsung's first true PCIe 5.0 drive is the best there is", as well as "This is a very professional-specific drive in ways that previous Samsung Pro SSDs were not. If you're not a professional user, there are better PCIe 5.0 drives out there, but for pros, there's none better than the 9100 Pro."

This is a premium 2TB SSD, so it's aimed at those who can actually take advantage of its performance, whether that's moving huge files, working with demanding creative projects or running workloads that benefit from very fast storage.

But what makes this deal particularly compelling is that the 9100 Pro is currently cheaper than some of Samsung's slower PCIe 4.0 drives. At the time of writing, the 2TB 990 EVO Plus is AU$446 at Amazon, while the 2TB 990 Pro is AU$517.67.

You don't necessarily need a PCIe 5.0 system to take advantage of the deal either. The 9100 Pro is backwards compatible with PCIe 4.0, so it'll work just fine in an older machine, albeit with its performance capped by the slower interface.

That makes it a great buy even if you're upgrading a PCIe 4.0 PC today, or using the drive in a handheld device. Plus, if you do move it to a PCIe 5.0 system later, you can unlock the full performance the drive is capable of.

Just keep in mind that this deal is specifically for the 2TB model without a heatsink as the other versions and capacities of the 9100 Pro aren't discounted.

And yes, AU$434.47 is still frustratingly pricey for 2TB of storage by historical standards, but I think getting Samsung's flagship PCIe 5.0 SSD for less than its slower models makes this an excellent deal considering current prices.

My day usually starts with a scan around major retailers, specialist sites, and deals aggregators to get a snapshot of the best tech offers that are available - and then I share the very best with you. Results can be mixed, depending on the time of year and whether there’s a major sale on, but there’s been one consistent theme lately: the deals on most PC components are atrocious.

If you’re a regular in this space, then you’re probably already well aware of the situation with RAM and storage prices over the past few months. It’s got to the point where I’ve all but given up on finding any good deals in this space, especially when there are no signs that it's improving.

Where did all the deals go?

There’s no clearer evidence of just how dire the situation is with this Samsung SSD ‘deal’ that’s currently live on Amazon. This Samsung 870 EVO is advertised as a whopping 62% off. But that’s from the current list price of, um, $1,039.99. With that price cut, it’s now down to $399.99. Almost $400 for a 2TB SATA SSD? One that has been as low as $79.99 in the past? And this counts as a deal?

That’s just a snapshot of how bleak it is shopping for PC gaming components in 2026. Worst of all, there doesn’t seem to be any positive news on the horizon. You have SSD controller manufacturers saying that “the retail SSD market has almost disappeared”, RAM prices have increased by at least 400% in some regions, and now one chip maker says its production costs are set to increase by 10% next year - so CPUs are potentially next up for price hikes.

It puts into perspective just how lucky I was when I chose to upgrade my PC towards the end of 2025. There were rumblings of price increases and stock shortages in those few months towards the end of the year, but it hadn’t reached the disastrous depths we find ourselves in now for wannabe PC builders.

I did have to wait a few months for my RAM to arrive, after the manufacturer I was about to buy RAM from completely shut down, but the cost didn’t make up nearly 50% of my entire budget like it would in today’s prices.

And my PC is very much a mid-range device with a Ryzen 9600x, a 9060XT, 32GB of RAM, and a 2TB NVMe SSD, which is about all I wanted given I mostly use it for work. I do like to play the occasional game on PC that I can’t get on the PS5, or if there’s one I would prefer to play on that platform, or when prices make the PC version a more sensible choice. Those specs cover my needs nicely at a reasonable budget.

Calculating what the spend would be these days for the same spec is a terrifying exercise. It’s over £1,600 now, when I was comfortably under £1,000 at the end of last year.

What does the future hold?

With everything pointing to similar or increasing prices for a long time ahead, anyone looking for a PC upgrade has no choice but to put up with these prices for the foreseeable future. Yes, there will be a chance for some savings during Black Friday in November, but we are still looking at a significant markup compared to the savings of old.

In fact, and I usually wouldn't recommend this, but with the way component prices are lately, I'd actually lean more towards buying a pre-built PC if you're shopping around now. Sure, these companies are still suffering from the same price increases, but you can actually find some good value rigs.

Most recently, for example, the Presidents' Day and 4th of July sales at iBuyPower had some strong discounts on high-end gaming PC, with extra savings of up to $350 available on PCs with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, an RX 9070 XT, and 32GB of RAM.

That would be my advice based on the poor quality of deals that are available on many PC components. Yes, there are still a few genuinely good offers out there that I've seen on the likes of CPUs and GPUs, but storage and RAM are certainly beyond saving right now — and I'd move quickly if there's anything good on the former, as those deals may be disappearing before long as well.

• A recent report suggests Nvidia has informed its partners of GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory kit price increases
• This means retailers may increase the prices for RTX GPUs using GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory
• The potential price hike and one user's dual-GPU setup both highlight the importance of hardware preservation

The RAM crisis continues to impact PC manufacturers, with rising memory prices and shortages — ultimately leading to increased retail prices for consumers — and the trend may be set to continue with Nvidia.

According to a report on Benchlife, Nvidia is rumored to be planning an increase for prices of its GDDR6 and GDDR7 memory kits for RTX GPUs, and has informed AIB (Add-In Board) partners such as Asus, MSI, and Gigabyte, who make their own versions of Nvidia's GPUs. Unsurprisingly, the price increase for these memory kits is cited as a result of the ongoing RAM crisis.

While RTX GPU price hikes aren't guaranteed for consumers, because this will directly impact AIB partners who manufacture the GPUs, eventual retailer price increases are unfortunately likely. It's a trend we've seen with recent PC hardware.

Notably, Valve's Steam Machine was initially supposed to cost less than its eventual $1,049 / £879 / AU$1,609 price tag, which could now also be at risk of a price increase, based on hints from a Steam Machine engineer (as reported by Bloomberg). New handheld gaming PCs are also now often launching for more than $1,000, and the price of RAM and storage certainly plays a part.

Consumer struggles

The RAM crisis is a sad state of affairs for consumers and underlines the importance of PC hardware preservation. GPUs aren't cheap by any means, especially with recent suggestions that AMD would also be increasing prices of memory kits for its own AIB partners.

We've also recently seen the return of the RTX 3060, due to Nvidia's attempt to help consumers with more options amid a rough PC hardware market. However, if these price hike reports are legitimate, the RTX 3060 will likely be subject to higher prices at retailers.

That's exactly why GPU setups like one Reddit user's RTX 3090 and RTX 3050 dual-GPU rig matter now more than ever. In this case, the RTX 3050 is responsible for allowing frame generation via Lossless Scaling to function.

A game then utilizes the RTX 3090's power for high-quality visuals and performance, with the two GPUs teaming up. The user states it resulted in 144fps at a 4K resolution over the initial 71fps without frame generation.

Frankly, a dual-GPU setup isn't exactly common, nor is it actually recommended for gaming, since modern games are only designed for single-GPU rendering (even though the frame generation use case is noteworthy).

Users would also need a beefier power supply, depending on the GPUs used, and likely a new motherboard with another compatible PCIe lane.

However, what I feel is more important here is that's it's a great example of why hardware preservation is so important, serving as backup in case GPUs melt or end up faulty, or for experiments like the one I've outlined above. With no end of the RAM crisis in sight, repurposing older hardware might be one way through this.

• Apple is rumored to be planning to rent Macs, as well as iPhones and other devices, to consumers
• 'Apple Upgrade' will allow you to pay via a subscription (with financing handled by Klarna), and buy the device eventually if you wish
• This is seemingly Apple's way of sidestepping the RAM crisis and keeping Mac sales going, as we're also hearing about frightening memory price hikes from Framework

We're seeing the continued fallout from the RAM crisis, with Framework outlining plans to deal with massive increases in the cost of memory, while Apple is rumored to be about to unveil new way of selling you a Mac in order to cope with ever-higher sticker prices: it'll rent you the PC.

Let's start with Apple's apparent plan, which is detailed in a report from Bloomberg, in which Mark Gurman tells us that Apple is preparing to launch a device-leasing scheme for consumers in conjunction with Klarna (on the finance side).

We're told this will be announced on July 28 and it'll be called 'Apple Upgrade'. The sell (ahem) is that you can regularly upgrade your rented hardware, as well as avoiding taking a huge dent to your wallet with the sizeable outlay required to buy many Macs these days.

This won't just be for Macs, mind you, but also the iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, with most models of all this hardware seemingly set to be included. It sounds like it might be a US-only initiative to begin with, but it could come to other regions later.

Apple Upgrade will seemingly work as a subscription over a 36-month term (or 24 months for iPhones and Apple Watches), although there'll be an option to pay off the device early and buy it outright (or upgrade to a newer model early). When the end of the subscription is reached, you can either return the Mac and upgrade to a newer model on a new financing agreement, or just keep it (with a final payment, naturally).

As mentioned, Klarna is apparently running the finance side, and applications for Apple Upgrade will be subject to a soft credit check.

This new scheme will supposedly take the place of the iPhone Upgrade Program and Apple's standard financing. The former offers a way to buy an Apple smartphone on monthly payments direct from the company (with 0% interest), but there's no Mac equivalent.

Gurman says of the Apple Upgrade scheme: "Apple plans to advertise the program as a way to have lower payments versus current financing programs." The leaker also clarifies that Apple Upgrade won't include AppleCare (unlike the iPhone Upgrade Program, which does).

Some of Apple's cheaper devices won't be eligible for this rental scheme, too, and that includes the MacBook Neo, as well as the Apple Watch SE, entry-level iPad, and iPhone 16.

As for the move with Framework laptops, this was revealed in a blog post that Tom's Hardware noticed. The notebook maker said that with its Framework Laptop 13 Pro: "We recently received a cost update from our LPCAMM2 [laptop memory] supplier that goes far beyond anything we had predicted and anything we're able to absorb without placing our ability to operate at real financial risk.

"Rather than the low-to-mid double digit percentage increase we had forecast from Q2 to Q3 on LPCAMM2 costs, we received prices that are more than double that of the prior inventory we had brought in."

Framework is doing its best to cope (in a commendably transparent way), and is adjusting existing pre-orders as is necessary. That means dropping some 64GB orders down to 32GB, charging the original 32GB price — and the same for 32GB orders going down to 16GB, maintaining the original price for the latter.

Pricing for the 32GB module hasn't quite doubled, but it's up 82% (with Framework absorbing some of the increase), and a 64GB module is up 88%. This means the latter nugget of RAM is now an eye-watering $1,600 in the US, and £1,600 in the UK (yes, nugget seems an increasingly appropriate term these days).

Analysis: own nothing, be happy

Unfortunately, July has brought us a clear picture of the RAM crisis getting worse. We've just been hearing about DDR5 memory seeing a notable uptick in pricing (after plateauing somewhat for a few months), and the boss of a big chip maker has informed us that things are going to get much worse, with 2027 set to be the 'worst year' in the RAM industry's history no less.

Framework's story of a doubling in laptop memory cost is a truly worrying hike on top of all this, and doubtless we can all still recall Apple's price hikes that arrived at the end of June. Particularly those of you who were mulling a Mac purchase, and are regretting not pulling the trigger before the increases were ushered in.

Seemingly Apple has a solution to the RAM crisis, though, but this rental plan hasn't gone down well online. Yes, you can imagine the reaction to this on social media – one Redditor observes that it's "one step closer to owning nothing" (as in 'own nothing and be happy') – but in fairness, this is still a rumor. Although given the details, and the apparent proximity of the launch, it sounds fairly cast-iron – but we shouldn't jump to conclusions.

A lot of how any rent-with-an-option-to-buy scheme will play out is going to depend on the pricing Apple (and Klarna) attaches, and the world out there on social media fears the worst. I don't blame the doubters, frankly, and particularly those who are worried that the final instalment to buy the Mac (or other Apple device) will be punishingly high. Generally speaking, this is, of course, the way these lease agreements tend to run, and the same will likely be true of the option to exercise an upgrade before the current lease is up.

What's interesting is that last week, I spilled my thoughts on how I was worried that Mac sales were going to flag, and how Apple's in a bit of a tricky situation in terms of combating this. Between MacBook holdouts, the continued RAM crisis, and cynicism around an apparent renewed focus on AI from Apple, the Mac waters are getting seriously choppy.

I didn't expect to have a (theoretical) answer so soon, and apparently now we know how Apple plans to keep Mac sales buoyant. The devil will be in the details of the Apple Upgrade scheme, assuming it happens, but the overriding online speculation for now remains that the terms of the rental plan will be more likely slanted in a hellish direction than a heavenly one.

• Nvidia again showed off DLSS 5 at its Siggraph 2026 keynote
• Team Green made it clear that developers will have a level of control, with a choice of three different AI models
• There will be two sliders to play with, and masks to keep DLSS 5 from interfering with game assets where it's not wanted – but many gamers think devs should have much more control than this

Nvidia has given us another showing of DLSS 5, the incoming tech for its GeForce GPUs which received a very stormy reception when first revealed at GTC 2026 – and unsurprisingly, changes have been made in the past few months.

Tom's Hardware reports that Nvidia revealed more about how DLSS 5 will be implemented at Siggraph 2026 over in Los Angeles, where the tech was the foremost topic in Team Green's keynote.

Nvidia was keen to point out how it has changed the neural rendering model in some key ways since DLSS 5 was first announced. Of course, it's obvious that a lot of this is about combating the idea that the tech is 'AI slop' which makes games look worse rather than better, and characters (particularly faces) look bad and have that undesirable 'uncanny valley' effect. And indeed the criticism that DLSS 5 is messing with the art direction and overall feel of a game's graphics.

On the latter point, back at the original reveal, Nvidia stressed that it would give game developers control over the end result with DLSS 5, and now we're seeing how this will work. Team Green has brought in three different AI models which offer varying levels of detail (and impact on performance), so devs can choose between three different filters, essentially.

This isn't a game-wide choice, though, as the developer can apply any of those models to any different scene, mixing and matching as needed. There are also two sliders to adjust the 'structure' and 'tone' intensity of the effects.

On top of that, the developer can mask off any game asset where they don't want DLSS 5 to be applied. That's good news as it means that, for example, character's heads (and faces) could be marked as out-of-bounds, and therefore not subject to Nvidia's tech. The developer could just get DLSS 5 to enhance background objects and details, and maybe only in a relatively minor way (by toning down those intensity sliders).

To clarify, DLSS 5 is essentially an AI filter that sits atop the existing DLSS suite of technology. Underneath that, you still have upscaling (and frame generation), and Nvidia applies what's essentially a photorealism filter on top of that in the form of this new neural rendering model.

If you want to grab some popcorn, Nvidia's full Siggraph presentation is available to watch on YouTube, check it out below. All the DLSS 5 stuff is at the start (well, past the usual preamble).

Analysis: a step forward, but the doubters remain

Has Nvidia managed to placate the DLSS 5 haters, then? No, in a word. Did you really think it would?

As one Redditor put it: "I had so much hope for DLSS in the early days, what a dumpster fire it's turned into."

Another observed: "So just confirming what anyone with a basic understanding of AI already knew. Glorified Instagram filter."

To be fair, in general the reaction has been somewhat more positive compared to the original reveal, and clearly it's a good thing that game developers can at least keep 'yassified' faces out of the mix with characters. Clearly, there is a level of control here, but despite Nvidia treading more carefully in this respect, there's still a feeling that it isn't doing enough.

A choice of three AI models and a pair of intensity sliders is relatively limited, really, and a far cry from anything like a full level of control over how DLSS 5 imposes itself on a game. Although admittedly there's still some way to go before DLSS 5 comes out – it'll supposedly arrive later this year, in the fall (so theoretically any time from September through to November) – and Nvidia could put in additional controls before the launch.

Aside from disappointment around the level of control Nvidia is giving devs, the other beef being raised is how much of a performance hit this AI filter might be burdened with. When Nvidia first demoed DLSS 5, it was running on a pair of RTX 5090 graphics cards, and in this more recent outing, there's no mention of the hardware involved.

It's fairly easy to guess that the GPU demands haven't been meaningfully reduced yet, otherwise Nvidia would likely be shouting about that – and this is being read as a worry by some. I get where they're coming from, although Nvidia has clarified that the tech will run on a single graphics card (it'll have to, of course), adding at Siggraph that DLSS 5 is "VRAM efficient" (a nicely vague assertion).

I'd expect it probably won't run on anything less than an RTX 5080 to begin with, or indeed an RTX 5090. And the other fear is that the initial incarnation could be quite rough in terms of artifacts and the like, and that's a danger with the first take on any tech. Just look at the original DLSS (version 1), which suffered from blurriness and glitches, before they were polished out and it became a seriously impressive upscaler. Perhaps the same will be true of DLSS 5, but there's a long road ahead yet, and notably, a lot more doubts and question marks here.

• RAM pricing in Germany has suddenly gotten a lot steeper
• The price of DDR5 memory is now 448% more costly than a year ago
• On top of that, TSMC is reportedly set to increase its chip production prices by up to 10% next year, which will mean more expensive CPUs

The RAM crisis appears to be getting considerably worse right now, based on memory pricing in one country anyway — and we've also had some bad news from a big chip maker.

First off, RAM pricing in Germany is what's been under the microscope courtesy of 3D Center (via Wccftech), which regularly takes the temperature of the market in the country, finding that July has seen a notable price hike.

This is for DDR5 RAM at retailers in Germany, and prices are now at an incredible 448% more costly than a year ago (before the memory crisis kicked off). Pricing had been at 440% at the start of 2026, but then dropped to 408% in March, and stayed at that level in April, before climbing back to 419% in June.

However, this latest move to 448% represents a bigger leap, and an all-time high for the German market.

As for the bleak news from the chip maker, that's TSMC which is going to raise the cost of its chip production by up to 10% next year, according to a report by Nikkei Asia (as flagged by PC Gamer).

The reason for TSMC having to hike prices is said to be the rising cost of materials and the equipment for manufacturing chips, as well as the need to fund expansion plans for more fabrication facilities (or fabs, as they're known).

Bigger premiums will be lumped onto those ordering high-end chips (high-performance computing or HPC silicon) from TSMC off the cuff (on top of existing orders), and in these cases there could be up to a 15% hike.

Analysis: hiking misery

The good news here, such as it is, is that TSMC is reportedly waiting until 2027 before implementing these price hikes. They could have come in sooner given the climate we're currently facing, although we should remember, this news isn't official, and it's just based on what Nikkei Asia has heard from its sources. But it's all too believable — and arguably inevitable — that further chip price hikes are coming.

What this means is that the likes of processors — or anything with a CPU in it — are likely to get pricier next year, because manufacturers who are getting their chips from TSMC will, naturally enough, pass any cost increase (or most of it) on to the consumer. And TSMC supplies a lot of the tech industry's needs, Apple and Nvidia included (as well as AMD and Qualcomm).

Regarding the RAM situation in Germany, this is just one country, of course, but it's generally reflective of what a lot of chatter is saying — that the second half of 2026 is going to bring further price rises, and that next year is likely to be even worse. That's the broad theory floated by analysts and chip makers themselves in many cases, and the German market is simply backing this notion up.

Of course, there's not much that consumers can do about this, except perhaps to consider buying now rather than next year. Or at this point, you may want to look at Black Friday as a good upcoming opportunity to pounce on a hardware purchase like a PC or laptop, and that's the other thing to bear in mind here: how you proceed depends on what hardware you're looking at purchasing. I've discussed this recently in some depth, after Nvidia's CEO commented on the RAM crisis, and how it's not going to be over until perhaps 2030.

• Nvidia's RTX 5000 Super models are being readied, and board makers have the chips, a new rumor reckons
• However, these graphics cards are 'on hold' due to the high price of VRAM
• The Super refreshes pack a lot of VRAM, and so that cost could have an unfortunate impact on MSRPs – and none of this sounds particularly comforting for would-be buyers

Nvidia's RTX 5000 Super refreshes are apparently being readied, but they're on hold for now – and the reason why makes me even more nervous about the pricing of these GPUs when (well, if) they finally emerge.

Of course, these RTX Super models are still rumors – albeit so persistent at this point, there must be at least some validity to them – and the latest assertion comes from VideoCardz.

The tech site has apparently spoken to a source at one of Nvidia's board-making partners who claims that their company has already received 'graphics cards', which presumably refers to GPU chips (which is what Nvidia supplies, along with VRAM, to partners that make the boards).

At any rate, while this board maker supposedly has at least some of the necessary chips, it has been told by Nvidia that the RTX 5000 Super refreshes are now 'on hold'.

Why? Apparently, the delay is down to the price of the video RAM, specifically the new 3GB GDDR7 modules that are required (as per previous rumors) for the refreshed graphics cards.

Compared to the 2GB GDDR7 modules currently in use with Nvidia RTX 5000 models, the 3GB memory chips are around three times more expensive right now. Ouch.

Analysis: Super stumble?

This presents an obvious stumbling block because, due to these Super variants being packed with VRAM, the total cost of materials gets expensive quite quickly.

Remember that the grapevine believes that the RTX 5080 Super and RTX 5070 Ti Super will bristle with 24GB of VRAM, and even the RTX 5070 Super will have a weighty 18GB on board. Gamers are going to love the latter as an upgrade to the lean 12GB of the vanilla version – but not if it pushes the price of the GPU through the roof.

Going by what VideoCardz tells us about pricing in US dollars as the market currently stands, in the case of the RTX 5070 Super, the greater quantity of RAM, and more expensive modules, would mean 18GB costs in the order of $360 (maybe a bit more), versus $120 for the current RTX 5070's 12GB loadout, whacking an extra $240 on the price (or the regional equivalent elsewhere).

These graphics cards were already expected to be pricey, but that kind of additional premium lumped on top, this could make them real wallet-worriers.

The good news for those hoping for new GPUs from Nvidia is that at least these RTX 5000 Super models do seem to be happening. It's just that we may have to wait some time for them yet – although another recent rumor did suggest they were due this year. The latter speculation also theorized that an RTX 5060 Super 12GB model was incoming, but that didn't make a lot of sense, and I note that it isn't mentioned in this latest rumor. As ever, don't go lightly with the seasoning on all this.

• Palit has launched a new RTX 3060 model with 12GB of VRAM
• This continues a recent theme of old GPUs being resurrected
• These GPUs may pack 12GB of video RAM at a relatively affordable price, but they don't make sense compared to current-gen pricing

We might not have seen any new graphics cards so far from Nvidia this year — and no RTX 5000 Super refreshes are in sight (although there are rumors again) — but we're continuing to witness the resurrection of some old GeForce GPUs, with Palit officially revealing a new RTX 3060.

That popular workhorse of a gaming GPU has already made something of a comeback, returning to the shelves of retailers like Newegg as an alternative budget graphics card in a RAM-starved climate where prices of many of these current-gen boards are being hiked up (alongside other PC components, of course).

As flagged by VideoCardz, Palit has trumpeted the launch of its new GeForce RTX 3060 Infinity 2 OC graphics card as "the return of a classic", which is certainly one way of putting it.

Although to be fair, even today, the RTX 3060 remains a very popular GPU, ranking second on the Steam hardware survey for June 2026 (behind only the RTX 4060 laptop GPU in a rather bizarre twist I won't get into here).

Palit observes: "Combining a massive 12GB GDDR6 memory capacity with a clean, all-black dual-fan shroud, the Infinity 2 delivers honest, dependable performance without the premium price tag."

Analysis: let's hope for a Palit-able price tag, but so far, RTX 3060 pricing has been out of whack

The key selling point for these RTX 3060 models is that they're loaded with 12GB of video RAM (VRAM), as Palit emphasizes with this new Infinity 2 OC model. Where this is side-stepping the RAM crisis (to some extent) is that these past-gen Nvidia cards use GDDR6 VRAM, a different memory supply to tap than the GDDR7 used in RTX 5000 graphics cards (except the RTX 5050, which goes with GDDR6, but that's the outlier here).

This means Nvidia can get its partners to produce graphics cards that have 12GB of GDDR6 VRAM (a loadout a good few gamers put a priority on securing), but sit at the cheaper end of the market. Due to cost issues, these days it's a lot less tenable to sell lower-end GPUs which stack up the GDDR7 VRAM (like the RTX 5060 Ti with 16GB).

It's sad that the RAM crisis has forced us to this point, but that's the reality of the GPU world at the moment. What's also problematic for me here is that the RTX 3060 might have 12GB of VRAM at a relatively affordable price point, but looking at current pricing in the US as an example, it's not meaningfully cheaper than the RTX 5060 with 8GB.

Yes, you're getting a lean RAM configuration with the latter current-gen graphics card, but it's still a much faster GPU — one that benefits from DLSS 4, too — and only just over 5% more expensive (at the time of writing). At this kind of price differential, the RTX 3060 12GB doesn't make a lot of sense.

If these RTX 3060 models were a lot cheaper, then there might be more of an argument. To be fair to Palit, we don't have a price tag on this new offering yet, but pricing needs to be a lot more compelling than what I'm seeing right now (especially in the UK, where the RTX 5060 8GB is actually cheaper than the 3060 at some retailers, although there isn't much stock of the latter).

• A Steam user has found a way to store games on SSDs with an auto-navigation and auto-start script
• These are effectively physical 'game cartridges' complete with key art
• However, costly SSDs means this is a pricey endeavor (the Steam gamer was lucky enough to pick up used drives on the cheap)

Physical copies of PlayStation games are coming to an end from January 2028, and as the backlash around that continues, a restoration of physical media on PC has been discovered — and it's novel to say the least.

A Steam user on Reddit has managed to store games on 'cheap 2.5-inch' SATA SSDs, effectively acting as old-school 'game cartridges' with key art, and a script that auto-navigates Steam to each game's page. The user also notes that automatically starting games from each drive is possible.

This comes amid a significant uproar from gamers following the revelation of Sony's plan to eradicate physical game discs, supposedly by the time its next PlayStation console arrives. It's a very controversial move that has united gamers across all platforms to fight to retain discs and to ensure game ownership remains intact.

With that said, physical media for PC has been dead for a long while, since a modern desktop PC doesn't come with a disc drive, and there are hardly any publishers selling physical copies for the platform.

With most games only accessible digitally on PC, in theory those titles can be taken away from buyers at any time. The trouble is that consumer-friendly figures like Gabe Newell, who leads Valve, the owner of Steam, won't be in charge forever.

So in the future, under new leadership, it's possible more anti-consumer measures might be introduced, or other aspects of PC gaming that consumers dislike, such as DRM (like Denuvo).

Imagine if this 'game cartridge' system was adopted by PC game publishers? It's a smart idea, and a nice thought, but clearly not a realistic one. For starters, it'd be a prohibitively expensive method of reintroducing physical PC game copies.

Of course, platforms like Epic Games and Steam require users to be logged in and have their app installed to play games, so it's still a long way off true game copy ownership, anyway.

However, this concept would be paired perfectly with GOG, a platform that is DRM-free and doesn't require the launcher to play purchased games — in other words, you fully own purchased games on GOG.

Admittedly, publishers releasing PC game cartridges in the form of SSDs is a pipe dream, especially with the current state of the hardware market, and the RAM crisis, complete with skyrocketing SSD prices.

The idea comes at the wrong time, then, but if the RAM crisis ever settles down, then maybe this is something we'll see more PC hobbyists doing — and perhaps even the odd publisher.

• The boss of SK Hynix believes that the RAM crisis is going to get much worse
• The CEO said 2027 will be the 'worst year' in the RAM industry's history, and that the crisis will likely roll on to 2030 and beyond
• Analysis from the Bank of America also claims that SK Hynix's expansion of memory production capacity is going to fall well short of its target for 2028

We keep getting told that the RAM crisis is dug in as a fixture for the foreseeable future, and, whether you want them or not, here are a couple more unwelcome reminders.

First, Android Headline flagged a Reuters interview with Kwak Noh-jung, the CEO of SK Hynix, one of the big memory chip makers. The chief executive didn't have comforting words about the prospect of RAM pricing in 2027, observing, "We forecast that ‌next year will be the worst year in the [memory] industry's history from the supply perspective."

So, seemingly next year will see RAM hit peak pricing, with no relief likely until 2030 (as previously forecast by the chairman of parent company SK Group) according to the CEO — and even then, he suggested that demand will continue to outweigh supply as the next decade rolls on beyond 2030.

The second RAM-related blow comes from analysis by the Bank of America highlighted by the Commercial Times in Taiwan (via Wccftech), which pours doubt on the South Korean president's recent boasts about the major expansion of the country's overall memory chip production by 2030.

Part of this analysis is a claim from a memory industry insider over in Taiwan that SK Hynix might only add just a sixth of its originally planned production capacity increase by 2028. Obviously that assertion needs to be liberally seasoned, but it's such a large potential shortfall that it's bound to raise some eyebrows.

The Commercial Times notes that while huge new chip manufacturing plants are being built by SK Hynix and Samsung in South Korea, they will take a lot longer than 2030 to come fully online — and this process is more likely to take a full decade. The report contends that a realistic level of memory wafer capacity expansion for South Korea is around 10% (or slightly less) per year, which will leave the country falling well short of the president's claims for production in 2030.

Analysis: diverging RAM timelines

It's grim news from the CEO of SK Hynix, then, although of course, the skeptics will quickly point out that it's the chief exec's job to talk up the company's value — in terms of a booming market and the struggle to meet demand — coming off the back of its debut on the Nasdaq. Stock prices around the big memory chip makers have been turbulent of late, it should be noted, as investors start to worry about whether these companies are currently overvalued — and indeed whether the AI boom might start to run out of momentum.

So, that's a consideration, but there's no denying that SK Hynix's boss isn't the only person making gloomy predictions along these lines. Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang said that he expects the RAM crisis to last "quite a few years", indicating that we'll be stuck in pricing hell until 2030 or thereabouts, although others don't see it that way. In the opposing camp we notably have the likes of an AMD exec, the ex-chief of Samsung's semiconductor division, and Jefferies, an investment banking firm, who all believe RAM pricing will start to ease in 2028.

However, the sting in the tail there is that Jefferies is also predicting big memory price hikes over the rest of this year, and in 2027 too, backing up the CEO of SK Hynix in that respect. When you consider the estimated massive shortfall of SK Hynix's production capacity boost based on the rumor mill, everything feels distinctly shakier in the nearer-term for RAM pricing.

I also can't help but recall the blow Microsoft recently delivered when talking about Xbox price rises, when the company informed us that it expects another doubling in the cost of RAM in just over a year (by the fall of 2027).

While there's a mixed bag in terms of longer-term predictions, then, the outlook for this year and next remains worryingly negative on the RAM front.

• A Reddit user's Zotac GeForce RTX 5090 GPU reportedly exploded during gameplay
• The power connector wasn't damaged, but a visible burn mark was present on the PCB gold finger
• It's yet another point of concern for RTX 5090 users

Nvidia's RTX 5090 has been the subject of controversy ever since its launch, with several well-publicised cases of melting power connectors causing malfunctions — and this time, it's arguably the worst case yet.

As reported by Wccftech, a Reddit user's Zotac RTX 5090 GPU has exploded, 'five minutes' into playing the tutorial for Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced. Interestingly, the 16-pin power connector (often the case of the RTX 5090's woes) wasn't damaged. Instead, the user claims they heard a loud pop and crackle, followed by a cloud of smoke.

The 16-pin power connector has been blamed for several RTX 5090s melting, either due to high temperatures or connectors that aren't properly seated. It also shouldn't be a surprise that these melting complications are effectively exclusive to Nvidia's flagship GPU, since it draws a significant amount of power (575W maximum).

Instead, the PCB gold finger (the part that goes into the motherboard's PCIe slot) on the user's Zotac RTX 5090 has a visible burn mark. The cause isn't exactly clear, but speculation suggests that a crack in the circuit board may have caused the GPU to short-circuit.

Perhaps the most concerning aspect of this case is the suggestion from fellow Reddit users that the supposed crack and short circuit may be the result of GPU sag — and if that's the case, it should be a major concern for high-powered GPU users.

Plenty of modern GPUs, notably from third-party Nvidia partners, are quite chunky, which leaves little clearance to fit in smaller cases and, most importantly, not enough space to use GPU sag brackets.

Fortunately, the RTX 5080, RTX 4080, and RTX 4080 Super (which is the GPU I use) aren't cards that draw nearly as much power as the RTX 5090, so there isn't too much concern in terms of power connectors melting. However, if GPU sag can lead to a short circuit, it raises concern for any GPU that's heavier than most, especially the high-powered RTX 5090, as it's an additional issue to be wary of alongside melting connectors.

A melting or exploding GPU in this current PC hardware market is possibly the worst-case scenario, particularly for RTX 5090 users (who are seemingly most at risk), as prices are completely out of the affordable range due to the ongoing RAM crisis.

Frankly, it makes me want to steer clear of high-wattage GPUs completely (or at least undervolt them). TechRadar has contacted Nvidia for a response.

The PC gaming landscape has changed dramatically in the last handful of years. We've seen the slow and steady move away from native (purely rasterized) performance and onto the crutch of AI-powered upscaling technology. Whether Nvidia DLSS, Intel XeSS, or FSR 4, Multi-Frame Generation, or "fake frames", have become a core part of the experience.

It doesn't really matter how powerful the best graphics cards are anymore, as AI-powered upscaling has shifted the playable performance expectations across the board. We see this as standard in the system requirements for today's demanding PC games; it's a huge asterisk that developers use to claim otherwise unheard of FPS in intensive software.

Are the likes of Nvidia DLSS, Intel XeSS, and AMD FSR just a failsafe to make up for poor software optimization? That's part of the story, sure, but it's far more nuanced than that. As computing components become more expensive, and AI muscles its way into the territory in a more aggressive manner, the two, which used to go hand in hand, have now become inherently parasitic in a wanton race to the bottom if things are not course-corrected. Here's what AI-powered upscaling means for the future of PC gaming.

Nvidia DLSS 5 is the first symptom of a wider issue

I've been a champion of DLSS for many years, primarily for how it can boost weaker graphics cards to give users playable framerates. It's an ever-evolving AI-powered tech that's continuing to improve and deepen. Some of its best features include Ray Reconstruction, which makes Path Tracing more viable, Frame Generation/MFG, and DLAA for smoother anti-aliasing. When used as an assist to your hardware, it can be the difference between smooth and stuttering, but DLSS 5 is where things simply went too far.

Instead of being a supporting tool, as with DLSS 4.5's Dynamic MFG, the only thing people can take away from DLSS 5 is how AI is actively impacting image quality, and not for good reasons. Described as a "breakthrough in visual fidelity for games", and said to bridge the "cinematic gap", this upcoming AI model uses an algorithm to re-color and overlay motion vectors.

DLSS 5's showcase of results is troubling to say the least. At best, it slightly improves the lighting in EA FC, and at worst, it completely overwrites the distinct visual art style of PC games like Starfield, Resident Evil Requiem, and Hogwarts Legacy. Sure, the lighting is a little better, but it comes at the cost of a flat and artificial-looking brightness of the entire scene, making everything (ironically) look far more lifeless and void of personality.

Nvidia tends to be the frontrunner that AMD and Intel later catch up to. With the DLSS 5 release date still unconfirmed, but claimed to be coming in the autumn of 2026, we (likely) won't see the full ramifications of this on the wider gaming industry until next year, but when this glorified AI-filter drops, it's likely to become an ingrained option in many flagship titles. There's a reason why Team Green started by showing off some of the largest games from the most well-known publishers and developers in the business; if you enforce it at the top, the rest will follow for fear of being left behind.

The frightening reality of how expensive new graphics cards could be

It's no exaggeration to say that 2026 is one of the worst times on record to build a custom gaming PC. DDR4 and DDR5 RAM prices have skyrocketed due to the global supply of memory modules being drained en masse to build data centers, and the less said about what's happened to flash memory found in the best SSDs, the better. While these individual components doubling in price overnight is already troubling, there are even worse consequences for graphics cards, made all the more infuriating by the fact that it's a self-destructive cycle with (seemingly) no end in sight.

Graphics cards rely on VRAM to have enough bandwidth to perform properly. For Nvidia's current-generation RTX 50 series, that's the superfast, denser GDDR7, whereas AMD and Intel are still using the slower, older GDDR6 standard. As memory modules are becoming scarcer, it massively drives up the price for core components, such as the Samsung, Micron, and SK hynix memory modules needed to build the video cards in the first place.

Put simply, graphics cards will become more expensive because manufacturers are too busy building data centers with the components, meaning the end consumer ends up paying considerably more. We've already seen countless examples of this, such as the Steam Machine's overpriced nature, the Steam Deck's price increase, and even how it's made the PS5 and Xbox Series X more expensive six years in than at launch.

We've seen prices of graphics cards increase massively since the semiconductor shortage, which plagued the RTX 30 series launch. You paid more, you got less, and now the manufacturers know they can overcharge you. In a computing landscape where components can shoot up anywhere from 20 to 50% overnight, it puts the reinforced focus on DLSS, XeSS, and FSR as a necessity rather than an optional helping hand.

The future of AI-powered upscaling is a necessity

While we're heading towards more expensive graphics cards that rely on AI upscaling tech just to keep up, we can also look at what the future of DLSS, XeSS, and FSR will need to do to keep up. We've already established that DLSS 5 made a contentious call with its AI art filter, but what about real-world, practical uses in 2027 and beyond?

Intel XeSS 3 launched with Multi-Frame Generation, which was rolled out to both its Alchemist and Battlemage graphics cards, even bringing true MFG to handhelds like the MSI Claw 8 EX AI+ and Acer Predator Atlas 8. To look positively at AI-upscaling tech in this regard, its major benefit will be to make handheld gaming PCs, such as a Steam Deck or Lenovo Legion Go S successor, more competitive.

The most recent update to AMD's AI-powered upscaling tech, FSR 4 Redstone, still trails behind DLSS 4.5, which means Team Red will need to strike back with FSR 5 to have a chance at dethroning Nvidia while it is down. AMD's image quality is far better than it used to be, even though its frame pacing leaves a lot to be desired. Based on the track record, from what I've seen from Intel and AMD, XeSS and FSR look to continue to iterate on the core fundamental technologies, whereas Nvidia is looking to do its own thing in counter to what was expected.

The future of AI upscaling tech becomes two-fold. Ideally, enabling any of these settings should be as normal and natural as turning on TAA (temporal anti-aliasing) and forgetting about it. It's easy to forget that there was a time when such a setting was contentious, and now it's almost universally used across the board. It's a similar story to when Nvidia's PhysX SDK was pushed so heavily, as it's now a default setting that's enabled within game engines as standard.

So, AI-powered upscaling is best when it's not noticeable. If you're playing a game and you're noticing smooth performance and a high average FPS, then it's doing its job properly. Problems only really arise when that tech tries to overtake the core experience rather than in support of it, and chiefly as a symptom of a wider problem that we're still experiencing. AI-trained algorithms need data servers; we're making more of those, which means taking away the resources to build graphics cards, meaning you'll pay more for them when the Nvidia RTX 60 series, Intel Celestial, and AMD RDNA 5 eventually roll out.

Will native performance ever be relevant again?

I mentioned above about the asterisk of estimated performance when a game's benchmarks and recommended system requirements go live. Oftentimes, these developer/publisher-approved tables promise 30-60 FPS as standard, and try to discreetly hide that DLSS, FSR, and XeSS are needed to hit that cap. It's something that Valve is just as guilty of with its somewhat questionable claims of 4K60, which was walked back when using FSR.

When the biggest and most well-known entity in PC gaming makes a move like this, the gaming world takes notice, particularly with who Valve was targeting in the first place. If FSR is essential for playable framerates, then it becomes non-negotiable; a forced standard, an excuse for developers to rush out unoptimized games, which have plagued countless PC ports over the last five years.

We find ourselves at a crossroads then. AI-powered upscaling does just as much harm as it does good; it is simultaneously the answer to (and cause of) a fair amount of the problems we're currently experiencing as PC gamers, as the benefits and cons constantly battle out for pole position. It looks as though AMD and Intel are on the right track, even if Nvidia is pacing its own trail, one that (hopefully) isn't followed by its competition. If we're already expected to pay four figures for a "mid-range" GPU, let us hope that it can perform decently enough.

Asus ProArt RTX 5090: Two-minute review

The Asus ProArt GeForce RTX 5090 32GB GDDR7 OC Edition is a specialised flagship GPU built for a niche audience and isn’t going to appeal to those looking for a premium upgrade for a gaming build. It’s aimed at creators, AI users and compact workstation builders who want full RTX 5090 performance without the bulk of larger 3.5 or 4 slot coolers.

The ProArt uses the normal RTX 5090 spec: 21,760 CUDA cores, 32GB of 28Gbps GDDR7 on a 512-bit bus and PCIe 5.0 support. The card has a 2482MHz default clock and a 2512MHz OC mode, and a 1000W power supply is recommended.

The 32GB of VRAM helps when rendering, running larger AI models or heavily modded 4K games would exceed the memory available on lower-tier cards. The ports — HDMI 2.1b, DisplayPort 2.1b and USB-C — give excellent monitor setup flexibility.

The 304 x 140 x 50mm, 2.5-slot SFF-ready design is a key selling point, as most flagship RTX 5090 cards are much chunkier, while the slimmer ProArt leaves more room for nearby expansion cards, side-panel clearance and power-cable routing.

Installation is straightforward: a 1-to-4 adapter is included and the 16-pin socket on the card is angled back for easy cable routing, plus the included adjustable GPU support can be used to help prevent sag.

Build quality is top-notch, with no obvious flex, and the GPU avoids gamer-style RGB lighting in favour of a subdued creator/workstation look with brown wood-patterned laminate trim and subtle ProArt gold markings.

Cooling is provided by two large Axial-tech fans, a vapour chamber, liquid metal on the GPU and a double-vented backplate. In OC mode, the GPU peaked at 76°C and memory at 86°C, with a 36dB peak sound level, which is reasonable for a slimmer RTX 5090 cooler. Unfortunately there was noticeable coil whine under heavy loads, and at times it was louder than the fans.

Standard mode was about 5% cooler and 6% quieter, but most importantly, barely slower, while Quiet mode was about 7% cooler and 6% quieter than OC mode, but gave around 2% less performance.

Overall performance is excellent, as expected from an overclocked RTX 5090. OC mode was about 3% faster than a stock RTX 5090, around 45% to 50% ahead of the RTX 5080 in compute loads, and up to 60% in gaming. The improvement is most obvious at 4K, in ray tracing and compute-heavy workloads.

The coil whine is frustrating given this is a card designed for creators, though it’s not so bad that you’d hear it outside a well-designed closed case.

Otherwise, the ProArt RTX 5090 OC Edition does a difficult job well. Yes, it’s expensive and specialised, but its slimmer design, quiet fans, 32GB of GDDR7 and top-end performance make it a capable choice for creators and high-end builders who can use what it offers.

That said, unless you can find it at a compelling price, it faces stiff competition from slim RTX 5090 cards that use AIO water cooling.

Asus ProArt RTX 5090: Price & availability

• How much is it? It retails for about $4,099 / £3,799 / AU$6,499
• When can you get it? The Asus ProArt RTX 5090 is available now
• Where is it available? You can buy it in the US, UK, and Australia

The Asus ProArt RTX 5090 is available now, retailing for about $4,099 / £3,799 / AU$6,499 depending on the region and retailer. That makes it around the typical price for a premium RTX 5090, though it sits above many cheaper air-cooled cards with the same spec.

While the ProArt would always be an expensive card, AI data centre demand has really pushed up prices, so it’s a tough sell unless you really need the features.

The premium price mostly gets you the compact ProArt design rather than a big performance uplift. You still get the full RTX 5090 spec, a mild factory overclock, 32GB of GDDR7, USB-C display output, a slimmer 2.5-slot cooler and a three-year warranty.

The main competition is from other RTX 5090 cards, and if you don’t need the SFF-ready form factor, cheaper air-cooled models will get you very similar core performance for less, while larger premium or all-in-one (AIO) water-cooled RTX 5090 cards may offer lower temperatures, less noise or more overclocking headroom for similar money.

If the compact creator-focused GPU is perfect for your next build, the ProArt may be a compelling buy. If you just want the cheapest route to RTX 5090 performance, wait for the price to come down a little, or look at alternatives.

• Value: 3.5 / 5

Asus ProArt RTX 5090: Specs

• Full RTX 5090 spec and 32GB of GDDR7
• Slimmer SFF-ready 2.5-slot design

• Specs: 4 / 5

Asus ProArt RTX 5090: Design

• Slimmer than most flagship RTX 5090 cards
• SFF-ready

The ProArt design is the main reason to choose this particular RTX 5090 over a more conventional option. Asus has kept the card to 304 x 140 x 50mm (12.0 x 5.5 x 2.0in) and a 2.5-slot thickness, which is much easier to work with than the very large 3.5-slot and 4-slot RTX 5090 designs.

It’s also SFF-ready, which means it fits Nvidia’s size guidelines for small-form-factor enthusiast builds rather than just being smaller than average. That doesn’t make it a tiny GPU, but it does mean the ProArt is built to work in more compact cases that support SFF-ready graphics cards, as well as larger systems where you want more room for other expansion cards or easier airflow.

Visually, it avoids the usual gaming-card look. The brown wood-patterned laminate trim and small ProArt gold details give it a more subdued workstation feel, and there’s no RGB lighting to worry about.

Cooling is handled by two large Axial-tech fans, a vapor chamber, liquid metal on the GPU and a double-vented backplate. That’s a decent cooling setup for a thinner RTX 5090, though the slimmer cooler does mean it has less heatsink volume than some of the much larger cards.

The card includes a dual BIOS switch for Performance and Quiet modes, a solid backplate and an adjustable GPU holder in the box. The 16-pin power connector is angled back toward the end of the card, which helps cable routing, but you’ll still need to be careful with bend clearance, especially in smaller cases.

Overall, the design feels practical, premium and nicely understated, but it only really makes sense if you specifically need a thinner RTX 5090.

• Design: 4.5 / 5

Asus ProArt RTX 5090: Performance

• About 3% faster than a stock RTX 5090
• Excellent cooling and low fan noise
• Very noticeable coil whine

The Asus ProArt RTX 5090 is at its best when you look beyond gaming and treat it as a compact high-end creator card. In Geekbench 6 Compute and Blender, it performs at the level expected for a tuned RTX 5090, with small but useful gains over the stock RTX 5090.

The gap is much bigger against older or lower-tier cards. Across the compute tests, the ProArt was about 50% ahead of the RTX 5080 on average, and around 40% ahead of the RTX 4090. The RTX 4090 is still a very capable GPU, but the ProArt’s combination of 32GB of faster GDDR7 and Blackwell architecture gives it a clear advantage in compute workloads and makes it a worthwhile upgrade.

While not the focus, gaming is still excellent, as you’d expect from an RTX 5090. Cyberpunk 2077 reached 98fps at 4K using Ultra Ray Tracing and balanced scaling, while Black Myth: Wukong hits 88fps at 4K with ray tracing, Cinematic settings and 50% upscaling. So while not the point of the ProArt, it’s a very capable gaming card.

Thermals are quite good for a slim RTX 5090. The ProArt peaked at 75°C, which is much warmer than larger 5090s with aftermarket cooling, which typically run about 10°C cooler. The VRAM reached 86°C, which is again higher than most 5090s but not in any way problematic.

Fan noise was also very low, with the ProArt peaking at just 36dB in my testing. That’s about the same as 5090s with big coolers.

All in all, Asus has done a good job tuning the ProArt to keep performance high and fan noise under control, even if that means letting temperatures sit a little higher than some larger cards. That trade-off is perfectly fine for a 2.5-slot RTX 5090, and the GPU and VRAM temperatures stay well within reasonable limits.

The catch is coil whine, which is an electrical buzz caused by components vibrating under heavy power load, rather than the fans themselves. In fact, most of the time it's louder than the fans themselves.

Some coil whine isn’t unusual on very high-power graphics cards, but it’s still disappointing on a premium creator-focused model where low noise is a key selling point.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultra Ray Tracing, balanced scaling
Black Myth: Wukong: Ray Tracing, Cinematic, 50% upscaling

• Performance: 4 / 5

Should you buy the Asus ProArt RTX 5090?

Buy the Asus ProArt RTX 5090 if...

Don't buy it if...

How I tested Asus ProArt RTX 5090

• I spent about a week testing the Asus ProArt RTX 5090
• I ran synthetic, compute and gaming benchmarks
• I compared it against the stock RTX 5090, 4090 and the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC

I spent about a week with the Asus ProArt RTX 5090, testing it in OC mode and comparing it against other high-end cards. The main comparisons were stock RTX 5090 and RTX 4090 performance and the Asus ROG Astral RTX 5080 OC.

I used 3DMark for synthetic performance, Geekbench 6 Compute and Blender for creator workloads, and games including Cyberpunk 2077 and Black Myth: Wukong for real-world gaming results.

• Originally reviewed June 2026

• A Reddit user's RTX 5090 has partially melted a PCIe riser cable
• Some of the riser cable's material is stuck on the RTX 5090's backplate
• It's not as serious a concern as connector melting issues, but it's worth being cautious about riser cable and GPU spacing henceforth

Building a new gaming PC in 2026 and beyond is a tough ask for any gamer amid the RAM crisis, and that's why this case of caution around hardware components is vital.

As reported by TweakTown, a Reddit user has reported a partially melted Lian Li PCIe riser cable due to heat from direct contact with the Asus TUF GeForce RTX 5090 backplate. The material chipped away from the riser cable is evident on the GPU's backplate, but fortunately it isn't a substantial amount.

Riser cables are an ideal solution for any PC builder aiming for a small case that can fit larger GPUs by placing them in a vertical position. In this case, the user specifically notes that the riser cable was stuck against the GPU's backplate during a routine PC cleanup, suggesting that the GPU's heat melted the riser cable's insulation.

It shouldn't come as a huge surprise that the RTX 5090 is involved in a case of components melting (even if it's very minimal). In case you've missed them, there have been several cases of GPU power cables melting with RTX 5090 GPUs, which stems from the high power draw (575 W).

It's important to note, though, that this can happen with other GPUs across AMD's Radeon and Nvidia's RTX cards, especially those that can get quite toasty under heavy load. However, Team Green's flagship is likely more prone to melting complications, made worse when using cheap riser cables or GPU power connectors.

Fellow Redditors argue that this isn't a melting issue, as it appears the riser cable has been chipped away instead. Regardless of the exact cause, it's best to use this as an example to proceed with caution when mounting a new GPU.

If using a riser cable is required due to space limitations, users must provide enough clearance for both the GPU and the riser cable to avoid direct contact. It's a great thing that this user caught on to the matter before any real issue arose.

We've reached out to Nvidia to see if it has any comment on this particular case, but haven't received a response yet — but I'm sure the same warning of caution will be shared.

We've seen rare but far worse cases of GPUs melting, and given how expensive it would be to buy new PC hardware, I'd go so far as to suggest users be overly cautious.