oliver de la haye/iStock Editorial via Getty Images It’s been a bit since I’ve updated my thoughts on F.N.B. Corp ( FNB ) (“FNB”) for Seeking Alpha, but not that much has changed, and that’s not a bad thing. Successful models don’t often need a lot of adjustment, and I continue to believe that FNB is well-placed and well-managed to exploit an attractive mid-sized bank opportunity in growing Southe...
oliver de la haye/iStock Editorial via Getty Images It’s been a bit since I’ve updated my thoughts on F.N.B. Corp ( FNB ) (“FNB”) for Seeking Alpha, but not that much has changed, and that’s not a bad thing. Successful models don’t often need a lot of adjustment, and I continue to believe that FNB is well-placed and well-managed to exploit an attractive mid-sized bank opportunity in growing Southeast U.S.markets – big enough to offer quality services and products to customers with a range of needs, but small enough to pay attention to smaller commercial clients who are often overlooked and ill-served by larger institutions. FNB shares are up more than 30% since my last update , not only outperforming the regional banking sector by a healthy margin, but also outperforming several comps like Associated Banc-Corp ( ASB ), Commerce Bancshares ( CBSH ), First Interstate ( FIBK ), Old National ( ONB ), Bank OZK ( OZK ), and Valley National ( VLY ), though not quite keeping pace with UMB Financial ( UMBF ) and Webster Financial ( WBS ). I think there’s still worthwhile upside to owning FNB shares, and I see a fair value in a range of $18.50 to $20.50. In a market that’s offering fewer obvious bargains, FNB still offers some value, and I like the bank’s opportunities to drive above-peer revenue growth and margin leverage. Mixed Results, But Okay On Balance Unlike the last couple of quarters, FNB’s fourth quarter performance didn’t really stand out to the same extent, but it wasn’t a bad quarter on balance. Net interest income rose less than 2% sequentially, and mid-2% or higher growth looks like the breakpoint for above-average performance in the mid-cap space this time around. Still, it was better than expected and good for almost a penny per share of upside despite incrementally weaker asset yields versus expectations (net interest margin rose 24bp yoy and 3bp qoq to 3.28%). Fee-based income rose about 9% yoy and declined 6% qoq, beating expectations by about half a penny...
Full-back Hugo Keenan has returned home from Ireland's Six Nations training camp in Portugal after sustaining a fractured thumb. Keenan, who has established himself as Ireland's first-choice full-back over the past few seasons, had been expected to return during the championship from the hip injury which has kept him on the sidelines since the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia in the summe...
Full-back Hugo Keenan has returned home from Ireland's Six Nations training camp in Portugal after sustaining a fractured thumb. Keenan, who has established himself as Ireland's first-choice full-back over the past few seasons, had been expected to return during the championship from the hip injury which has kept him on the sidelines since the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia in the summer. Ireland are currently in Portugal preparing for their Six Nations opener against France in Paris on 5 February before facing Italy at the Aviva Stadium on 14 February. Ireland head coach Andy Farrell is yet to name a replacement for the 29-year-old Leinster player, who has won 46 caps for Ireland and scored 13 tries. When Keenan was absent for the autumn series in November, Jamie Osborne and Mack Hansen started two games each. Osborne has not played since the game against Japan that month because of a shoulder injury, but was named by Farrell in last week's initial squad announcement, while Hansen is currently out with a foot problem. Jacob Stockdale and Ciaran Frawley have played at 15 plenty of times for Ulster and Leinster respectively this season, while there is also the option to deploy one of the squad's three fly-halves, most likely Sam Prendergast or Jack Crowley, in the position. News of Keenan's injury follows the announcement that Bundee Aki did not travel to the training camp following a 'disciplinary issue'. Aki faces an independent disciplinary hearing on Wednesday. Keenan's latest setback is the third injury issue since Farrell named a 37-man squad for the Six Nations on 21 January with prop Jack Boyle and Tom Ahern also having withdrawn. Ulster pair Cormac Izchukwu and Jude Postlethwaite, and Connacht prop Billy Bohan, have been added to the panel.
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Spotify said on Wednesday it had paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry last year, adding that it was the largest annual payment to music from a retailer in history. The Swedish streaming platform said in a blog post that its payouts in 2025 grew by more than 10% from a year earlier, with independent artists and labels accounting for half of all royalties. The ...
Jan 28 (Reuters) - Spotify said on Wednesday it had paid out more than $11 billion to the music industry last year, adding that it was the largest annual payment to music from a retailer in history. The Swedish streaming platform said in a blog post that its payouts in 2025 grew by more than 10% from a year earlier, with independent artists and labels accounting for half of all royalties. The company has been prioritizing retaining and bringing in new artists to the platform as it faces stiff competition from other major players such as YouTube and Apple in the music-streaming market. YouTube said in October it had paid out more than $8 billion to the music industry in the 12 months between July 2024 and June 2025. "Since Spotify pays out two-thirds of all music revenue to the industry – almost 70% of what we take in – as Spotify revenues grow, music payouts have grown as well," the blog said. The company reinvests the money it keeps into the platform, it said, as it looks to grow various content formats such as podcasts, videos and audiobooks. Spotify recently raised the prices for its premium subscription plans in several markets to boost profits and leverage its large user base to drive growth. It had 713 million monthly active users at the end of the third quarter. (Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)
Apple bet big on a dramatic redesign of its iPhone last year, the biggest shakeup to its flagship smartphone in nearly a decade. But the slimmer iPhone Air hasn’t seemed to resonate with buyers. New market research data indicates iPhone Air adoption lags far behind the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max: Just 6% of US iPhone shoppers surveyed by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners purchased the ...
Apple bet big on a dramatic redesign of its iPhone last year, the biggest shakeup to its flagship smartphone in nearly a decade. But the slimmer iPhone Air hasn’t seemed to resonate with buyers. New market research data indicates iPhone Air adoption lags far behind the iPhone 17, 17 Pro and 17 Pro Max: Just 6% of US iPhone shoppers surveyed by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners purchased the iPhone Air in the quarter ending in December, the phone’s first full quarter of availability. By comparison, 22% bought the regular iPhone 17; 25% bought the iPhone 17 Pro; and 27% chose the pricey iPhone 17 Pro Max, according to the report. The numbers were shared with CNN ahead of their release on Wednesday. Apple (AAPL) is set to report earnings on Thursday afternoon and will announce global iPhone revenue for the quarter. But it doesn’t break out numbers for specific iPhone models. Apple's iPhone 17 models on September 20, 2025, in Shanghai, China. The iPhone 17 lineup has attracted more consumers than the iPhone Air, according to a new report. VCG/AP There have already been reports of weak demand for the iPhone Air. But Apple, the world’s largest smartphone maker by some estimates, might not need a smash hit. The International Data Corporation forecast a record number of shipments this year for Apple driven by its latest iPhone 17 lineup. And some analysts say the iPhone Air was never really intended to be a bestseller. Instead, the phone was meant to add more variety for buyers and set the stage for more advanced iPhones, such as models that fold in half. Still, the iPhone Air’s frosty reception raises questions about how Apple can evolve beyond the tried-and-true iPhone lineup: the standard, Pro and Pro Max models. Apple did not respond to a request for comment regarding iPhone Air sales, launch plans for a future version or changes to production plans. iPhone Air lags far behind other models The new data from CIRP indicates a sizable gap in interest between the Air ...
Verdict AMD takes the gaming performance crown again, with the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D continuing the company's run of "fastest gaming CPU in the world" titles. The performance uplift isn't always huge here, but it's definitely noticeable, and only comes with a small bump in price. The 3D V-Cache tech in this CPU also helps reduce the impact of slower RAM, potentially saving you what would currently b...
Verdict AMD takes the gaming performance crown again, with the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D continuing the company's run of "fastest gaming CPU in the world" titles. The performance uplift isn't always huge here, but it's definitely noticeable, and only comes with a small bump in price. The 3D V-Cache tech in this CPU also helps reduce the impact of slower RAM, potentially saving you what would currently be a costly RAM upgrade. Still, this is an expensive CPU for just eight cores, so it isn't such an obvious choice unless gaming frame rates is your sole focus. Pros Chart-topping gaming performance Solid overall performance Impressively cool-running and power frugal Cons Only eight cores Only slightly faster than 9800X3D Expensive With the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D having sat at the pinnacle of the gaming CPU mountain for over a year now, it was about time AMD really shook things up and released a barnstorming new processor to show it's still the CPU maker to beat. But instead, we got the AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, an identical CPU but with a peak clock speed that's just over 7% faster than before. And, you know what, that is enough, and it still makes this the top choice for PC gamers. What makes this the new best gaming CPU around is not just that AMD's latest Zen 5 processor is a tiny bit faster than before, but that AMD has only charged a teeny weeny bit more for that extra speed. Many gamers won't see the benefit, but if you absolutely want the best chip to maximize your frame rate, this is it, and you won't be paying a wild markup compared to slightly slower options. Specs AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D specs Cores 8 Threads 16 Peak boost clock 5.6GHz Base clock 4.7GHz L2 cache 8MB L3 cache 96MB (32MB on-chip, 64MB 3D V-cache) TDP 120W Architecture AMD Zen 5 Socket AMD Socket AM5 There is very little to unpack when it comes to the specs of the AMD Ryzen 7 98050X3D. It really is just the Ryzen 7 9800X3D with a slightly higher clock speed. Both chips have a base clock of 4.7GHz, but whereas th...
Apple Inc. ’s new Creator Studio software bundle represents a new test for the company’s fast-growing services business: What happens when the tech giant packages some of its most popular creative apps into a recurring subscription? The suite, which became available Wednesday, offers access to what the company calls an “all-star” collection of creative apps. This includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro ...
Apple Inc. ’s new Creator Studio software bundle represents a new test for the company’s fast-growing services business: What happens when the tech giant packages some of its most popular creative apps into a recurring subscription? The suite, which became available Wednesday, offers access to what the company calls an “all-star” collection of creative apps. This includes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro and Pixelmator Pro — plus exclusive features for Keynote, Pages, Numbers and Freeform, software that’s typically been free to use for Apple device owners. The bundle costs $12.99 a month or $129 a year after a one-month free trial. Most of the tentpole apps are available across both Mac and iPad; Pixelmator Pro is making its iPad debut as part of the bundle’s launch. It seems Apple saw a market opening: Creative types have long sought alternatives to Adobe Inc. ’s model, which has been criticized for early termination fees and other mechanisms that serve to keep users locked into the company’s ecosystem. By contrast, an Apple Creator Studio subscription can be shared with as many as five other family members and lacks a cancellation penalty, which is a level of flexibility that Adobe can’t match. Apple's services division — which includes things like App Store revenue, Apple Music, Apple TV, AppleCare plans, iCloud storage and more — was the company's fastest-growing segment in the September quarter . While the iPhone maker has already transitioned to a subscription model for many services, it hasn't bundled several pro-tier apps into a single offering until now. The package offers a good value for users willing to invest time in learning to use the many included editing and productivity apps — several of which are professional-grade. Getting started can feel daunting, particularly when it comes to Final Cut Pro and Logic Pro. These are pro-caliber video and audio production applications that can easily overwhelm newcomers. They’re endlessly capable, but learning the ins an...
Snap Inc. created a standalone subsidiary within the company dedicated to Specs, its first consumer pair of augmented reality glasses slated for launch later this year. The Specs Inc. subsidiary announced Wednesday is intended to give the company’s smart eyewear team more independence — similar to the way robotaxi unit Waymo LLC operates as its own company under Alphabet Inc. , a Snap spokesperson...
Snap Inc. created a standalone subsidiary within the company dedicated to Specs, its first consumer pair of augmented reality glasses slated for launch later this year. The Specs Inc. subsidiary announced Wednesday is intended to give the company’s smart eyewear team more independence — similar to the way robotaxi unit Waymo LLC operates as its own company under Alphabet Inc. , a Snap spokesperson said. The new Specs subsidiary could raise money from outside investors, but Snap will launch the AR glasses regardless of external investment, the spokesperson confirmed. “This structure provides greater operational focus and alignment, enables new partnerships and capital flexibility, allows us to grow a distinct brand, and supports clearer valuation of the business as we work towards the public launch of Specs later this year,” Snap said in a statement. Specs Inc. was created in part to make it clear that the upcoming glasses will be separate from Snap’s other products. Specs users don’t need a Snapchat account, for example, the spokesperson said. The new subsidiary is actively hiring for nearly 100 open roles worldwide. Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel has spent years building and prototyping smart glasses with the ultimate goal of creating lenses that can enhance the world in a way that feels natural. Spiegel has suggested that wearing an augmented reality display, which can overlay digital objects onto the real world, can liberate users from their phones and computer screens. Snap said that Specs will feature an intelligence system that has contextual awareness capabilities to detect physical objects around the user in real time. Specs are intended to be a smaller and lighter version of a previous device, called Spectacles, that Snap made available to software developers in 2024 . Those glasses, which cost developers $99 per month, run the company’s Snap OS operating system and are controlled using hand gestures; both features will also be included in the co...
Sagtec Global ( SAGT ) announced on Wednesday that the company currently estimates 64% year-on-year revenue growth, a 75% increase in net profit, and a 93% jump in operating cash flow, based on preliminary internal management estimates. The company said it intends to focus on strengthening its core technology offerings in 2026, while selectively pursuing growth opportunities that align with its lo...
Sagtec Global ( SAGT ) announced on Wednesday that the company currently estimates 64% year-on-year revenue growth, a 75% increase in net profit, and a 93% jump in operating cash flow, based on preliminary internal management estimates. The company said it intends to focus on strengthening its core technology offerings in 2026, while selectively pursuing growth opportunities that align with its long-term strategy and risk management framework. The firm said that it will prioritize evaluation and development of AI platform opportunities, including a planned collaboration with Skilliks. Sagtec Global also reiterated its previously announced strategic partnership with HM Development. Pursuant to this partnership, the firm invested $2M into HM’s AI Edutech Power Trading software through the issuance of Class A ordinary shares. SAGT +3.64% premarket to $1.99. Source: Press Release More on Sagtec Global Limited Seeking Alpha’s Quant Rating on Sagtec Global Limited Financial information for Sagtec Global Limited
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction After a trough in mid-2025 and bearish remarks from management, ASML Holding N.V. ( ASML ) was not an investor's favorite. It traded below the S&P 500 Index ( SP500 ) on a five-year basis, similar to its downturn in 2022. In July 2025, I argued that being contrarian and seeing this as a rare buying opportunity would be more favorable than p...
Richard Drury/DigitalVision via Getty Images Introduction After a trough in mid-2025 and bearish remarks from management, ASML Holding N.V. ( ASML ) was not an investor's favorite. It traded below the S&P 500 Index ( SP500 ) on a five-year basis, similar to its downturn in 2022. In July 2025, I argued that being contrarian and seeing this as a rare buying opportunity would be more favorable than passing up on the stock, issuing a Strong Buy rating . Since then, price skyrocketed and even outperformed my expectations, while concurrently outperforming the SPX by more than 8X since said rating. Data by YCharts However, it is important to note that almost all of the recent appreciation stems from multiple expansion as the stock's P/E ratio climbed up all the way to 54, which reflects higher investor expectations and potentially lower future returns when investing today. Data by YCharts With Taiwan Semiconductor ( TSM ) releasing their Q4 2025 earnings and increasing guided 2026 CapEx to $52-$56B , ASML stands to benefit as a critical supplier, as TSMC needs its machines to create the chips that Nvidia ( NVDA ) and Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD ) design. Along with Nvidia's recent $2B investment into CoreWeave (CRWV) , IREN Limited's ( IREN ) forward shift of their earnings report (which the last time was an indication of a new big tech deal) shows that the AI cycle does not seem to slow down at all. An incredibly important piece of information will be Nvidia's Q4 earnings and their 2026 guidance that will be reported on February 25. Today, ASML reported their Q4 2025 and FY2025 earnings and the stock is up 6% in pre-market trading, indicating that not everything positive has been priced in and that there might be a case for further upside despite high valuations. I will go over whether that is the case or not and why. Let's dive in. New financials Total net sales grew just 5% to €9.7B but still beat consensus by around $100M. EPS came in shy of expectations at €7.35 inst...
When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989, his vision was clear: it would used by everyone, filled with everything and, crucially, it would be free. Today, the British computer scientist’s creation is regularly used by 5.5 billion people – and bears little resemblance to the democratic force for humanity he intended. In Australia to promote his book, This is for Everyone, Berner...
When Sir Tim Berners-Lee invented the world wide web in 1989, his vision was clear: it would used by everyone, filled with everything and, crucially, it would be free. Today, the British computer scientist’s creation is regularly used by 5.5 billion people – and bears little resemblance to the democratic force for humanity he intended. In Australia to promote his book, This is for Everyone, Berners-Lee is reflecting on what his invention has become – and how he and a community of collaborators can put the power of the web back into the hands of its users. Berners-Lee describes his excitement in the earliest years of the web as “uncontainable”. Approaching 40 years on, a rebellion is brewing among himself and a community of like-minded activists and developers. “We can fix the internet … It’s not too late,” he writes, describing his mission as a “battle for the soul of the web”. Technology isn’t neutral Berners-Lee traces the first corruption of the web to the commercialisation of the domain name system, which he believes would have served web users better had it been managed by a nonprofit in the public interest. Instead, he says, in the 1990s the .com space was pounced on by “charlatans”. “The Americans were very keen about commercialising the internet … crossing the boundary from being an academic thing to being a commercial thing,” he tells Guardian Australia from Brisbane. The pursuit of profit soon became a driving force in how the internet was designed. But it wasn’t until 2016 – the same year he won the Turing award – that the US elections showed Berners-Lee just how toxic the web could be. Two years later, he told Vanity Fair that he was “devastated” by the abuses of the web. View image in fullscreen Berners-Lee hopes to change the way data is held on the web. It’s a project rooted in people power – not unlike the first years of the web. Photograph: Elise Amendola/AP For 35 years, Berners-Lee has written what he considers to be the world’s first blog. One po...
Most people don’t relish being locked in a confined space, in close proximity to strangers, travelling at speed. And yet, so many people do nothing to elevate the experience for others. I am floored at the enthusiasm of people who stand at the crack of elevator doors waiting for them to open, as if it were 9am at the Black Friday sales. When the doors open, they recoil in surprise – presumably the...
Most people don’t relish being locked in a confined space, in close proximity to strangers, travelling at speed. And yet, so many people do nothing to elevate the experience for others. I am floored at the enthusiasm of people who stand at the crack of elevator doors waiting for them to open, as if it were 9am at the Black Friday sales. When the doors open, they recoil in surprise – presumably they were expecting to be the first passengers on the maiden voyage of this metal tube sliding up and down the building’s shaft. Should you need to get out as these elevator enthusiasts are entering, they appear positively annoyed, and rather than stepping out of the way, stay rooted in position, turning their body sideways, providing you with a sliver of a fleshy human funnel to squeeze through. This brings me the only pleasure I can derive from being in a packed elevator – seeing the faces of these people when they realise no one is getting out and they have to wait for the next one. However, such delight quickly morphs into discomfort at having to silently, awkwardly blink through the long three-to-eight seconds that the doors hang open. By the way, jabbing the close button repeatedly has zero impact. Once in the elevator, there are numerous unspoken rules – unspoken being one of the most important. When you enter with a stranger, all talking must stop. Even if you enter with your work bestie who has tea to spill (hot liquids should also be avoided), pause the conversation. Wait until you get out. On the phone? Tell them you’ll call them back. Tempted to strike up a conversation with the stranger in the elevator? Please don’t. But what really pushes my buttons is people who stand at the front of the elevator, in the way of others. Surely they know one must go stand against the wall, starting at the back, facing the door until all the wall space is full? Should you be one of the last people to enter the torture chamber, your punishment is to enter the nucleus and be non-sexu...
Is your wardrobe cringe? Does it make you look out-of-touch and cause younger and cooler people to look upon you with pity? Do you really want me to answer that? Never mind, I’m going to anyway, so buckle up. Brutal honesty is very January, so I will give it to you straight. But before we get down to dissecting your wardrobe, two quick questions for you. Do you put full stops in text messages? Wer...
Is your wardrobe cringe? Does it make you look out-of-touch and cause younger and cooler people to look upon you with pity? Do you really want me to answer that? Never mind, I’m going to anyway, so buckle up. Brutal honesty is very January, so I will give it to you straight. But before we get down to dissecting your wardrobe, two quick questions for you. Do you put full stops in text messages? Were you baffled by Labubus? If the answer to those two questions is yes, then I’m afraid the signs are that your wardrobe is almost certainly cringe. The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more. Being cringe is essentially being old-fashioned, but worse. Being old-fashioned is what happens when you grow older with grace and dignity. Cringe is when you lose your touch while convincing yourself you are still down with the kids. What does a cringe wardrobe look like? French-tucking your shirt, the height of sophistication a decade ago, is now cringe. A crossbody bag, which seemed such a novel and youthful thing not long ago, is now on the wrong side of the generational divide. If your leather jacket looks like one the controller of your local minicab office used to wear, you are on the right track And then there is wearing your clothes too tight. Do I hear a sigh of relief at the back? Not me, you’re thinking, my clothes aren’t too tight at all, they fit like a glove! Well, I hate to break it to you, but the glove-analogy is exactly the problem here. If you are generation X, then you probably think that the size that fits you best is the smallest one you can get into easily. But if you are generation Z, then you think that the size that fits you best is one that hangs off you. There is no real reason why the younger generation should have the last say here, except that is how pop culture works and we didn’t complain about it when we were young and cool, did we, so we can’t start making a fuss abou...
Chips from Chinese semiconductor designer Hygon Information Technology were found unaffected by a recently disclosed vulnerability in products developed by its US tech licenser and former joint venture partner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), according to analysts, which showed progress in China’s self-reliance drive. Hygon’s central processing units (CPUs), which were developed under a licence to us...
Chips from Chinese semiconductor designer Hygon Information Technology were found unaffected by a recently disclosed vulnerability in products developed by its US tech licenser and former joint venture partner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), according to analysts, which showed progress in China’s self-reliance drive. Hygon’s central processing units (CPUs), which were developed under a licence to use AMD’s X86-based Zen chip architecture, did not have the hardware security flaw that affected a range of AMD artificial intelligence chips that were widely installed in various data centres and cloud infrastructure operations, according to Chen Bingxin, an analyst at semiconductors consultancy JW Insights. Chen attributed that result to Hygon’s years of investments in redesigning AMD’s chip architecture with self-developed innovations. Advertisement It underscored efforts by Chinese chip designers to become less exposed to Western technology risks. AMD and Hygon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Advertisement Hygon’s successful initiative to diverge from AMD’s original chip architecture marked a milestone in China, where developers are pushing for increased autonomy in core technology and security for locally designed semiconductors, according to JW Insights’ Chen.
Chips from Chinese semiconductor designer Hygon Information Technology were found unaffected by a recently disclosed vulnerability in products developed by its US tech licenser and former joint venture partner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), according to analysts, which showed progress in China’s self-reliance drive. Hygon’s central processing units (CPUs), which were developed under a licence to us...
Chips from Chinese semiconductor designer Hygon Information Technology were found unaffected by a recently disclosed vulnerability in products developed by its US tech licenser and former joint venture partner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), according to analysts, which showed progress in China’s self-reliance drive. Hygon’s central processing units (CPUs), which were developed under a licence to use AMD’s X86-based Zen chip architecture, did not have the hardware security flaw that affected a range of AMD artificial intelligence chips that were widely installed in various data centres and cloud infrastructure operations, according to Chen Bingxin, an analyst at semiconductors consultancy JW Insights. Chen attributed that result to Hygon’s years of investments in redesigning AMD’s chip architecture with self-developed innovations. Advertisement It underscored efforts by Chinese chip designers to become less exposed to Western technology risks. AMD and Hygon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Advertisement Hygon’s successful initiative to diverge from AMD’s original chip architecture marked a milestone in China, where developers are pushing for increased autonomy in core technology and security for locally designed semiconductors, according to JW Insights’ Chen.
Rating: 7.5. AMD has launched an update to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (aka The Best Gaming CPU) and named it the Ryzen 7 9850X3D because it is ever so slightly faster. Frankly it's a rubbish name but there are some points we need to discuss so buckle up and prepare yourself for many charts and loads of data. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:49 Specifications 01:35 Hardware 03:12 A quick look at behaviour 04:39 ...
Rating: 7.5. AMD has launched an update to the Ryzen 7 9800X3D (aka The Best Gaming CPU) and named it the Ryzen 7 9850X3D because it is ever so slightly faster. Frankly it's a rubbish name but there are some points we need to discuss so buckle up and prepare yourself for many charts and loads of data. Timestamps 00:00 Intro 00:49 Specifications 01:35 Hardware 03:12 A quick look at behaviour 04:39 Multi Core Performance 05:23 Ryzen Master Software / Curve Optimiser 06:31 Efficiency / Per watt points 07:22 Geekbench 6 Multi Core 08:04 Geekbench 6 Single Core 08:33 Aida 64 Memory Bandwidth 08:59 Far Cry 6 10:07 Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora 10:44 Assassins Creed Mirage 11:19 Cyberpunk 2077 11:58 Total War Pharaoh 12:36 Leo’s verdict Testing and Performance Test systems CPUs: AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D, 9800X3D and 7800X3D Motherboard: ASRock X870E Taichi Memory: 32GB G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo RGB DDR5-8000 CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285K Motherboard: MSI MPG Z890 Carbon WiFi Memory: 48GB G.Skill Trident Z5 DDR5-8200 Graphics Card: MSI RTX 4090 Ventus 3X 24GB CPU cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 360D30 SSD: 1TB Crucial T700 Power Supply: Seasonic Focus ATX3.1 GX-1000 Gold Geekbench 6 Single Core In Geekbench 6 Single Core we see the benefit of the improved boost speed with Ryzen 7 9850X3D leaping to the top of the chart. Geekbench 6 Multi Core You will have seen in our video that we showed a great many charts and this chart is a focussed view of the larger Geekbench 6 chart. We can see the 9850X3D has a significant lead over 9800X3D and that is enhanced when we bring Ryzen Master Curve Optimiser into the equation. Far Cry 6 at 1080p Far Cry 6 at 1080p demonstrates the impressive nature of AMD's 3D V-Cache technology in gaming, and the way it improves with each new generation of processors. Closing Thoughts When AMD announced the Ryzen 7 9850X3D we felt the increase to Maximum Boost Speed was a minor tweak for the amazing Ryzen 7 9800X3D. Now we have dug into the CPU in some depth w...
The US faces critical “sustainment risks” that might lead to rapid defeat in a conflict with China, according to a Heritage Foundation report, which also found that while such a scenario could start in the Taiwan Strait, it would not be contained there. Based on the findings of an AI-based study called Tidalwave – after a 1943 operation of the same name – the right-wing think tank urged Washington...
The US faces critical “sustainment risks” that might lead to rapid defeat in a conflict with China, according to a Heritage Foundation report, which also found that while such a scenario could start in the Taiwan Strait, it would not be contained there. Based on the findings of an AI-based study called Tidalwave – after a 1943 operation of the same name – the right-wing think tank urged Washington to immediately strengthen American fuel and munitions reserves and logistical networks. At the same time, China’s fuel and ammunition systems were “vulnerable to a range of US tools before and during conflict and more visible or exposed than the forces they support”, the study said. Advertisement “Allowing the systems that support the PLA to operate with impunity before and during conflict would carry grave strategic consequences,” the report added, referring to the People’s Liberation Army. AI-assisted simulations based on more than 7,000 data sources focused on fuel and ammunition vulnerabilities for both sides in scenarios based on a 365-day US-China conflict in the western Pacific Ocean. Advertisement The study found that both the Americans and Chinese faced critical risks in sustaining supplies of fuel and munitions, making the first 30-60 days crucial in determining the long-term shape of the war by quickly reducing numbers of aircraft and ships.