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Apple will repair some Mac minis powered by M2 chips for free
Product Reviews

Apple will repair some Mac minis powered by M2 chips for free

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If you have a new-ish Mac mini that has recently conked out, you are not alone. Apple has just launched a worldwide service program for the 2023 Mac mini with M2 chips, because “a very small percentage” of them are having power issues and may no longer turn on. The company didn’t say what was causing those power issues. While Mac minis powered by M2 chips were first released in 2023, the affected units were made between June 16, 2024 to November 23, 2024. Some of those computers may be nearing the end of their one-year warranty, depending on when they were purchased.

With this service program, Apple will still repair the units even if they’re already past their warranty, up to three years after their first sale. To check if yours is eligible either because you need it now or in case you’ll need it later, you can type in your Mac mini’s serial number on the program page. Both Apple and its authorized service providers will fix your computer free of charge. Keep in mind if you’ve moved countries, however, that Apple may restrict or limit free repairs to the device’s original country or region of purchase.

The latest Mac minis, which aren’t included in the repair program, are powered by Apple’s M4 and M4 Pro chips and were released last year. They’re half the size of previous versions, come with 16GB of RAM, several USB-C ports, a headphone jack, a full-sized HDMI connection (supporting up to 8K 60Hz or 4K 240Hz), as well as an Ethernet port.

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The new AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme chipset
Gaming Gear

AMD unveils Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme with AI processing NPU, expands family with two new chips for handheld gaming consoles

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AMD has announced two new additions to its Ryzen Z2 series of processors meant for handheld gaming devices. The company has introduced a new top-of-the-line Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme, which is essentially the Z2 Extreme with a dedicated Neural Processing Unit (NPU). As a quick reminder, the original lineup was announced back in January and included the Ryzen Z2 Extreme, Ryzen Z2, and the Ryzen Z2 Go.

The second chip is the Ryzen Z2 A, which is stacked directly below the Ryzen Z2 Go, featuring fewer GPU cores and a lower configurable TDP (Thermal Design Power). These new additions indicate that we could see a wide range of handheld gaming consoles launch this year, potentially targeting the holiday season.

The company has shared limited information regarding the specifications and performance capabilities. The Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme has a similar configuration to the non-AI variant, including an 8-core/16-thread CPU, 24MB of cache, support for LPDDR5X-8000 memory, a configurable TDP of 15-35 watts, and 16 RDNA 3.5 graphics cores. The new Z2 processor is the first and only processor in the lineup to include a dedicated NPU, which is said to offer up to 50 TOPS of AI compute power and support for Microsoft’s Copilot+ features.


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(Image credit: AMD)(Image credit: AMD)

The Ryzen Z2 A now becomes the entry point into AMD’s Ryzen Z2 lineup, although it is based on the much older Zen 2 architecture. It features a 4-core/8-thread CPU, 8 RDNA 2 graphics cores, 6MB of cache, and supports LPDDR5-6400 memory. This makes it even less powerful than the previously announced Ryzen Z2 Go, but interestingly, it has a lower configurable TDP ranging from 6- 20W, which might be beneficial for battery life.

Swipe to scroll horizontally

Processor

Architecture

Cores/Threads

Graphics architecture

Graphics cores

Cache

NPU TOPS

AMD Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme

Zen 5

8 cores/16 threads

RDNA 3.5

16

24MB

50 TOPS

AMD Ryzen Z2 A

Zen 2

4 cores/8 threads

RDNA 2

8

6MB

N/A

AMD hasn’t shared any information on what kind of performance we can expect from these new chips, nor has the company confirmed any new upcoming devices that will be powered by the new chips. The addition of an NPU on the Ryzen AI Z2 Extreme could translate to potential AI-based enhancements like improved system optimization, faster real-time processing, and even power management to some extent. It may also prove beneficial for device manufacturers to integrate software and tools that enable them to tweak system performance in a more efficient manner.

Currently, the Lenovo Legion Go S and Legion Go 2 Prototype are the only two handhelds confirmed to utilize AMD’s Z2 series chips. Asus is another OEM that is expected to announce at least one new handheld this year, likely a successor to the ROG Ally and Ally X.

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ASRock acknowledges and explains dying AMD 9000-series chips in its motherboards, rolls out a BIOS fix
Gaming Gear

ASRock acknowledges and explains dying AMD 9000-series chips in its motherboards, rolls out a BIOS fix

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ASRock answered me why Ryzen 9000 CPUs are dying on their Motherboards. – YouTube

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Among many other descriptors, we could arguably call the last year one of hardware being pushed to the point of failure—think Intel CPU crashes, melting RTX 50-series power cables, and dying AMD Ryzen 9000-series CPUs on certain motherboards. We already had explanations for the former two, and it now looks like we might have an explanation for the 9000-series deaths, too.

ASRock has apparently told Tech YouTuber Tech Yes City that these 9000-series fatalities were caused by PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive) being set too high. While the problems didn’t just seem to be occurring with ASRock boards, the majority did, so it’s relevant that ASRock is the company saying this.

As a reminder, we started hearing about these AMD Ryzen 9000-series CPU deaths, primarily on ASRock motherboards, early on in the year. At the time, ASRock said that reports of these deaths were “inconsistent” and issued a statement only about “boot issues and error codes,” not processor failures. A BIOS update to fix these “boot issues and error codes” was released.


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Now, however, ASRock seems to be admitting there’s not only “inconsistency” to reports of CPU failures.

According to Tech Yes City, ASRock explains that the problem is with the amperage that the CPUs are being delivered by high-end ASRock boards. While the motherboard manufacturer says its EDC (Electrical Design Current) and TDC (Thermal Design Current) settings were within the range outlined by AMD, it claims the resulting amperage was too high for the CPUs and so it’s had to lower things somewhat.

Finally got answers to the asrock motherboard and 9000 series cpus dying situation. Everything I was told was here https://t.co/BRqVRJAP3mMay 26, 2025

PBO is a technology built into AMD processors that allows for automatic dynamic adjustment of power, voltage, and clock speed, based on temperature headroom and other such metrics. Just how much PBO pushes the chip can vary depending on motherboard current limits, and ASRock seems to be claiming that these limits were set too high in its high-end 9000-series motherboards despite the limits being within the range that AMD provided.

The solution, ASRock tells Tech Yes City, is to set these current limits to lower levels to match motherboards from other manufacturers such as MSI, Asus, and Gigabyte.

Tech Yes City had previously suggested that Ryzen CPUs were dying due to voltage spikes. ASRock motherboard amperage was actually lower than competitors’ in their testing, but it was spiking higher.

Whether this is AMD’s fault or ASRock’s is hard to say. On the one hand, if it’s true that ASRock was operating within the limits AMD had set out, it’s hard to put all the blame on the motherboard manufacturer. AMD has already said on the issue that it believes its chips are not dying, and in fact were no longer functioning due to memory incompatibility issues.

On the other hand, if other motherboard makers were already operating under lower limits that didn’t cause these problems, it must make us wonder whether ASRock could and should have known to do the same from the start.

Whatever the case, ASRock is apparently rolling out a BIOS update to fix the overly aggressive PBO limits. So, if you have a high-end 9000-series ASRock board, you should probably get downloading.

What isn’t yet clear is whether a processor that has already been used extensively within an affected motherboard will be permanently damaged or not. That was the case with Intel’s 13/14th Gen CPUs, which had to be replaced entirely. This matters not only for the short-term, but in the long-term. If any chip were to break down the line, outside of warranty, who is liable to replace it, AMD or ASRock? Is there an easy way to prove the damage, if any exists, to a chip from the motherboard?

Futher clarification on what this means for customers from both AMD and ASRock feels like an important next step.





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Valve’s Gabe Newell set to launch his own brain chips this year

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Valve’s founder, Gabe Newell, has reportedly been investing in a brain chip company that’s currently lining up its first big product launch.

With several new Half-Life 3 rumors circulating of late, fans may be wondering what developer, businessman, and Valve founder Gabe Newell has been up to lately.

Well, one thing for sure is that he’s been involved in a startup called Starfish Neuroscience, which is developing a brain-computer interface.

Think of it like chips that enable “simultaneous access to multiple brain regions” and record brain activity. Instead of expecting to play games with your brain, though, these seem to have a medical focus as their purpose, such as disease therapy for Parkinson’s, for example.

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Valve founder’s brain-computer startup is interested in collaborators

Steam, PixabayGabe Newell is now also the co-founder of Starfish.

According to Starfish’s official blog post, the company is developing “new technologies that allow for recording and stimulation of neural activity with a level of precision vastly exceeding what is possible with currently available systems.”

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Describing the product as an “ultra-low power, miniature electrophysiological electronics” custom chip, they explained that their goal for this chip is to “center on minimal size and low power while maintaining functionality similar to existing general-purpose head stage designs capable of both recording.”

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The chip itself is confirmed to have these features:

  • Low power: 1.1 mW total power consumption during normal recording 
  • Physically small: 2 x 4mm (0.3mm pitch BGA) 
  • Capable of both recording (spikes and LFP) & stimulation (biphasic pulses) 
  • 32 electrode sites, 16 simultaneous recording channels at 18.75kHz 
  • 1 current source for stimulating on arbitrary pairs of electrodes 
  • Onboard impedance monitoring and stim voltage transient measurement 
  • Digital onboard data processing and spike detection allows the device to operate via low-bandwidth wireless interfaces. 
  • Fabricated in TSMC 55nm process

Though there’s no exact date yet, the company mentioned that it is anticipating the chips to arrive in late 2025 and that they’re also open to “finding collaborators.”

“At this early stage, we’re especially interested in collaborators for whom this technology would pair well with their existing work in fields such as wireless power delivery and communication or those designing custom implanted neural interfaces,” they added.

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Starfish Neuroscience, co-founded by Gabe Newell
Product Reviews

Gabe Newell’s brain-computer interface startup to reveal first chips later this year

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Starfish Neuroscience, a startup co-founded by Valve CEO Gabe Newell, has published an article revealing the first details of its brain-computer interface (BCI) chip.

The firm proposes a “new class of minimally-invasive, distributed neural interfaces that enable simultaneous access to multiple brain regions.” Moreover, a Starfish BCI could be the first fully wireless, battery-free implant available, if all goes to plan. According to its blog, the startup’s first chips are expected to arrive “in late 2025.” Perhaps the relationship with Newell means related tech will eventually find its way into gaming headsets and controllers.

(Image credit: Starfish Neuroscience)

In its report on the Starfish BCI news, The Verge notes that Newell’s fascination with BCIs began over 10 years ago, and that Valve once considered adding earlobe monitors to its VR headset products. As recently as 2019, Valve also publicly explored BCIs for gaming. Later the same year, Newell incorporated Starfish Neuroscience, and we are now seeing the first fruits as it emerges from stealth.


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In its new blog post, Starfish says its BCI has the opportunity to do well thanks to two key features, its minimal size and the eschewing of built-in battery power. In regular use, the Starfish processor will consume just 1.1mW, it says. That contrasts with the Neuralink N1, which uses around 6mW.

  • Low power: 1.1 mW total power consumption during normal recording
  • Physically small: 2 x 4mm (0.3mm pitch BGA)
  • Capable of both recording (spikes and LFP) & stimulation (biphasic pulses)
  • 32 electrode sites, 16 simultaneous recording channels at 18.75kHz
  • 1 current source for stimulating on arbitrary pairs of electrodes
  • Onboard impedance monitoring and stim voltage transient measurement
  • Digital onboard data processing and spike detection allows the device to operate via low-bandwidth wireless interfaces.
  • Fabricated in TSMC 55nm process

The startup also thinks that its smaller, lower power BCI implant(s) may work best connected to multiple parts of the brain simultaneously. For use in medical therapy, this multi-zone methodology could address human brain issues which affect several areas of the brain, like Parkinson’s disease.

Starfish isn’t so bold as to think it can go it alone with its new processor and BCI system. Rather, its blog floats the idea of collaborators on wireless power delivery and communication, and on custom implanted neural interfaces. It also admits “there is tons of work yet to be done here,” and is looking for employees, as well as partners, to boost its fortunes.

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