Tech & Hardware 3 Days

Last updated: July 9, 2026, 2:30 PM ET

AMD and Intel CPU Updates

AMD has expanded its "Hawk Point" APU lineup by adding seven new Ryzen 200 series and four Ryzen 100 series models. The company also has a 10-core "Medusa Point" Zen 6 APU reappearing in Geekbench with improved performance spotted again. Intel's upcoming Nova Lake-S and -H CPUs will feature 12-core Arc Xe3P integrated graphics revealed IDs. These Nova Lake processors will also bring back AVX-512 support to Intel's client lineup, available on both P-cores and E-cores confirmed return. A Mini-ITX motherboard from COMMELL is now available with an Intel Panther Lake Core Ultra 7 366H CPU introduced LV-6718. Lenovo has also launched a compact Yoga AI mini PC using an Intel Core Ultra X7 358H CPU and Arc B390 graphics.

PC Hardware and Components

MSI has unveiled its flagship MEG MAESTRO 900R full tower case and the MEG CORELIQUID E15 360 AIO liquid cooler. Cooler Master introduced its V8 ACE 3DHP single-tower air cooler. In Win has released the L50 BREEZE PC case, featuring reeded glass and AWWA PureTone lighting. HYTE is offering a Y70 Touch Infinite Ninomae Ina'nis case and keycap bundle. The XMG APEX 17 laptop is now available with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 and 12 GB of VRAM. NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 Super GPUs have surfaced online, following earlier rumors of indefinite postponement. NVIDIA also released GeForce 610.74 WHQL Game Ready drivers with optimizations for "DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations" and "Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced". Intel released Beta drivers version 101.8861 for its Arc GPUs, also optimizing for "Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced" and "DOOM: The Dark Ages Revelations".

Memory and Storage

Rambus announced its complete DDR5 9600 Client Memory Module Chipset for high-performance memory modules. Patriot Memory will launch its Viper Steel 5 Infinite DDR5 memory kits, reaching speeds up to 8000 MT/s. Lexar is preparing new DDR5 memory kits using CXMT chips that offer notable speed increases over previous CXMT-based products. Samsung has begun mass production of its PM1763 PCIe 6.0-based enterprise solid state drive. Micron is accelerating its U.S. investments, pouring the first concrete at a new New York fab and increasing its expected spend to over $250 billion through 2035. Micron also broke ground on a $9.3 billion factory expansion in Hiroshima, Japan.

Displays and Peripherals

VESA announced Display HDR True Black 1400, a new flagship tier to certify next-generation OLED displays. Razer launched the Hammerhead V3 X Hyper Speed wireless gaming earbuds for Xbox and PlayStation. Game Sir released the G7 Pro Aimlabs Edition game controller, an update to its G7 series with new upgrades. Keychron debuted the K4 Ultra and K10 Ultra wireless mechanical keyboards with num pads and shared internals. A retro-inspired "Key Boy Advance" wireless mechanical keyboard is launching at $275. Kensington announced the Pro Fit Ergo KB620-RC Wireless Rechargeable EQ Keyboard.

Gaming and Software

Xbox is reportedly planning to follow PlayStation's lead by focusing on single-player exclusives and cross-platform multiplayer games as part of a new strategy under CEO Asha Sharma. Crimson Desert may eventually include multiplayer, as it reportedly began development as an MMO. Valve released Windows drivers for its Steam Machine console, enabling users to install Windows 10 or 11. A Valve developer launched a DIY "Inkterface" Steam Machine E-Ink front panel. An infamous Steam Machine "red line of death" issue has reportedly been solved by a simple CMOS clear. Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls has been blocked in 132 countries ahead of its launch, similar to restrictions previously seen with Helldivers 2.

Market Trends and Business

The global PC market declined 3.6% year-over-year in 2Q26, with shipments totaling 65.7 million units due to mounting supply pressure declined 3.6%. Waymo robotaxis in California might offer free rides for a few months due to a regulatory agency's delay in approving its new Ojai vehicle. The U.S. military is seeking cheaper hunter-killer drones following Iran's destruction of $1 billion worth of Reapers, prompting a Pentagon call for inexpensive replacements. Data centers' energy demand is threatening Trump's "Made in America" plan, creating a squeeze on Rust Belt electricity bills. China's DeepSeek plans to develop its own chips to reduce dependency on Nvidia and Huawei, facing U.S. export controls.

Legal and Security Issues

A lawsuit alleges a man used Grok to create 7,000 explicit images of his stepdaughter before his death, with more young girls suing X over alleged CSAM and the company accused of shielding child predators. Hackers can reportedly use nine popular AI tools to assemble massive botnets by weaponizing LLMs' inability to say "I don't know". The Supreme Court has allowed Texas to enforce its app store law, which Big Tech has called a "censorship regime," leaving the Texas win at the 5th Circuit in place as attempts to overturn the age law continue. The FCC is ending a Biden-era rule that required ISPs to list all their fees, allowing them to stop listing passthrough fees and instead provide a single "up to" price.

Other Notable Tech and Science

Intel's handling of onboard audio codecs is better than AMD's due to "plumbing" differences, as detailed in a previous editorial. Waymo vehicles have been involved in incidents with teenagers attempting toy gun drive-bys, with the robotaxi stopping, calling, and waiting for police. A new virus catalog has been released, revealing which pathogens pose the greatest threat and potentially predicting the characteristics of future pandemic viruses. City Labs in Miami has achieved a first for commercial nuclear power in space with its BOHR mission, serving as a pathfinder for future nuclear-powered spacecraft. Dragonflies maneuver like fighter pilots, with male dragonflies' aerial combat tactics emerging from simple vision-based rules.