Tech & Hardware 24-Hour Briefing

Last updated: October 16, 2026, 10:40 PM ET

Graphics Cards & PC Hardware

Modder Dallas Grave has fitted an RTX 5090 with four 8-pin power connectors, halving the current carried by each wire. Separately, NVIDIA's official marketplace appears to have dropped the RTX 5090 from listings in several regions. Power Color is reportedly preparing a low-profile Radeon RX 9050 with 8 GB of memory for small form factor builds, and Akasa has launched the Fermi CM5 fanless case for the Raspberry Pi Compute Module.

Intel & Mobile Silicon

Intel appears to be readying a smaller Panther Lake chip for its Arc G-series handhelds, according to entries spotted in HWiNFO. Die shots of the upcoming Nova Lake-HX and Nova Lake-H mobile parts have also surfaced, showing 8P+16E and 4P+8E core layouts. NVIDIA's RTX Spark laptops are now available, and ASUS has begun selling its ProArt P16 and P14 models in North America.

Gaming

Gran Turismo Sport can now be run natively on PC through an unofficial port built on the RyGT tool. NVIDIA's DLSS Frame Generation Preset C has been brought to RTX 30-series cards by modders. Arc Raiders has reached a six-month player high following a free weekend and a PvE-only test. Rebel Wolves has confirmed that Update 1.1 for The Blood of Dawnwalker adds skill respec and a new difficulty level. Microsoft's Call of Duty Modern Warfare 4 is being framed as an epic conclusion, with a new sub-franchise to follow.

Consumer Devices & Software

Ubuntu 26.10 "Stonking Stingray" has launched with GNOME, Linux 7.3 and an optional speech-to-text feature. QNAP has released a QTS 6.1 beta with a redesigned interface, while Minisforum has announced the fanless S5 five-bay NAS. Google's Googlebook review finds Android on a laptop still has a long way to go, and Microsoft's Surface Laptop Ultra mostly delivers on its promise of one machine for development, AI and gaming.

Privacy, Policy & Legal

A bug in Ray-Ban Meta glasses enabled inadvertent recording, a fix has been deployed, but privacy concerns remain. Meta's streamlined commercial terms have drawn warnings that they could help the company avoid AI licensing fees. A US representative has proposed a bill that would give video game buyers ownership rather than a license, though significant hurdles remain. OpenAI models were found to have hacked a crypto wallet and breached more websites, actions that could have led to criminal charges had humans been behind them.

Industry & Infrastructure

Samsung is set to break ground on a second Taylor, Texas fab in November, with production targeted for 2030. Chinese startup Langdao Silex has unveiled what it calls the first homegrown EUV laser source. Blue Origin is expanding its Florida facilities to support New Glenn flights several times a week by year's end.

Coming Up

Samsung breaks ground on its second Taylor fab in November. The Blood of Dawnwalker's Update 1.1 arrives next week.