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Faster

MxBenchmarkPC's - Unreal Engine 5.6 vs 5.4 Comparison

Unreal Engine 5.6 up to 30% faster than the infamously bad version it succeeds — better graphics fidelity promised, too

by admin June 23, 2025

Unreal Engine 5.6 has been benchmarked, revealing up to an impressive 30% performance gain while boosting graphics fidelity over Unreal Engine 5.4, perhaps finally addressing many of the engine’s infamous stuttering issues. MxBenchmarkPC on YouTube showcased an Unreal Engine Paris tech demo running on an RTX 5080 and Core i7-14700F, comparing the 5.6 and 5.4 versions of the engine against each other at 1440p and 4K resolutions.

The YouTuber provided five runs featuring direct comparisons between engine versions, with several standalone runs mixed in. The first two runs involved moving benchmarks featuring a walk around the streets of Paris. The first run was benchmarked at 1440p, while the second was run at 720p to demonstrate a CPU-limited scenario.

Unreal Engine 5.6 vs Unreal Engine 5.4 Comparison – Significant Performance Improvement | RTX 5080 – YouTube

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In the first run, Unreal Engine 5.6 was 22% faster compared to version 5.4; additionally, CPU usage dropped by around 17% on average across all 16 threads (of the 14700F’s 8 P-cores) with version 5.6. The 720p run showed even greater gains for Unreal Engine 5.6, which outperformed version 5.4 by a whopping 30%. The last three runs (with direct comparisons of 5.6 vs. 5.4) involved static shots of different areas of the city. These three runs were anywhere between 15% to 22% faster on Unreal Engine 5.6 compared to version 5.4.

Intel claims 18A, the node Pat bet the company on, is either 25% faster or 38% more efficient than Intel 3. Though that’s a node Intel didn’t have enough faith in to release for desktops or laptops

by admin June 19, 2025

Intel has been deep diving on its upcoming 18A chip node at the VLSI Symposium in Japan. And if the company’s claims are to be believed, 18A is looking pretty sweet. Among other factoids, Intel says it’s either up to 25% faster at the same power level, or up to 38% more efficient at the same frequency compared with the Intel 3 node. That’s very promising for laptop battery life in particular.

Of course, Intel 3 is a node of which we have absolutely zero experience. That’s because Intel has never used Intel 3 for a consumer chip, choosing instead to go with TSMC’s N3 node for both its Lunar Lake laptop chip and latest Arrow Lake desktop and mobile CPU family, as used for the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K.

The most advanced Intel node in the PC is Intel 7, which is a rebrand of Intel’s infamous 10nm technology, which ended up arriving the better part of a decade late. Anyway, what to make of these claims from Intel?

Specifically and compared to Intel 3, Intel says that in low voltage 0.65 V operation, 18A is either 18% faster or 38% more efficient, while in high voltage 1.1 V mode, it’s 25% faster or 36% more efficient. In other words, in low voltage mode you can either run the same clock speed as Intel 3 and use 38% less power, or use the same power and enjoy 18% faster clocks.

Meanwhile, in the high performance, high voltage mode, you can choose between either 25% higher clocks for the same power consumption as Intel 3 or the same clocks with 36% lower consumption.

Intel didn’t fancy its own Intel 3 node for Arrow Lake. (Image credit: Ordinary Uncle Tony)

Any way you slice it, these are very nice numbers. It’s just hard to draw too many conclusions given the scarcity of comparable Intel chips on the Intel 3 node. For now, it’s only the Xeon 6 Granite Rapids server CPU, launched earlier this year, that’s built on Intel 3.

Moreover, the fact that Intel passed over Intel 3 for Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake hardly seems like a vote of confidence in its own manufacturing tech. The point being that Intel also made some bullish claims about Intel 3 and an 18% performance-per-watt increase over Intel 4, but it seems like we’ll never get an Intel 3 chip in a PC.

What’s more, even if these claims are accurate, there’s the question of yields. Can Intel actually produce 18A chips at scale? Answers to all these questions will presumably come later this year when the Panther Lake mobile CPU with an 18A CPU die is supposed to be released.

If Intel’s numbers are accurate, Panther Lake ought to be a much more efficient laptop CPU, enabling clearly improved battery life. At least, that’s compared to Intel 3. Exactly how 18A compares with TSMC N3, which is the node used by Intel for Lunar Lake’s CPU cores is a separate matter.

The takeaway here, then, is that this is all very complicated. Intel has released some very promising numbers. But they involve comparison with another Intel node which itself is only available in a range of server chips and it’s unclear how 18A stacks up against TSMC’s competing technology.

The proof will be in the processing, so to speak, when Panther Lake arrives at the end of this year. It’s been a long time coming, but no CPU has ever felt as critical for Intel as Panther Lake.

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June 19, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

China’s Digital Marketplace Eyes Stablecoin For Faster Payments

by admin June 19, 2025

Trusted Editorial content, reviewed by leading industry experts and seasoned editors. Ad Disclosure

JD.com is moving fast. The $90 billion Chinese e‑commerce giant unveiled a plan this week to cut cross‑border payment times from days to seconds. Shares ticked up to $33.90 at the open before slipping back to $33.45 by the close.

JD Launches Blockchain Payment Pilot

According to JD’s chairman Liu Qiangdong, the first step involves a pilot in Hong Kong’s stablecoin sandbox. His team at Jingdong Coinlink Technology wants to show that typical B2B payments, which now take two to four days and carry hefty fees, can settle in under 10 seconds.

They’re using Zhizhen Chain, the same blockchain network that already moves about $7 billion a year in supply‑chain finance.

JD com Chairman Richard Liu said the company plans to apply for stablecoin licenses globally to reduce cross-border payment costs by 90% and cut settlement time to under 10 seconds. After B2B, JD aims to expand stablecoin payments to consumers worldwide. JD is one of the largest…

— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) June 17, 2025

Image: PYMNTS

Speed And Cost Benefits Highlighted

Based on reports from JD.com, fees could fall by as much as 90%. For many exporters and wholesalers, slashing costs and waiting times could free up cash flow and cut paperwork.

Companies that once dealt with multiple banks and clearinghouses would trade directly with buyers using stablecoins pegged to local currencies. That shift could save millions in bank charges every year.

Total crypto market cap currently at $3.21 trillion. Chart: TradingView

Consumer Platform Ambitions

JD isn’t stopping at business deals. The plan is to tie stablecoins into its e‑commerce checkout experience for nearly 600 million active users. With warehouses and delivery routes in 20 countries, JD could let shoppers pay in digital tokens anywhere the company ships.

Analysts say JD.com may even nudge its vast network of merchants to accept Jingdong’s own stablecoin, helping people switch from cash and cards to a faster digital option.

Image: Asia Fund Managers

Regulatory And Competitive Hurdles

Hong Kong’s Stablecoin Ordinance, set to roll out in full by August 2025, gives players like JD and Ant Group a clear path to approval. Still, moving money across borders means jumping through legal hoops in multiple jurisdictions.

Based on industry chatter, Ant’s Alipay arm is lining up for licenses in Singapore and Luxembourg at the same time. Western firms such as PayPal and MasterCard already have token‑based systems under test. JD will need solid compliance and local partners to keep pace.

Market watchers estimate the global stablecoin market at roughly $250 billion this year, with growth to nearly $1 trillion by 2030. That surge is driving banks and tech firms to rethink payments.

JD.com’s bet is that its existing blockchain, tied directly into retail and finance, gives it an edge. It’s a big bet, but if the pilot proves out, waiting days and paying steep fees could become a thing of the past for companies and consumers alike.

Featured image from South China Morning Post, chart from TradingView

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June 19, 2025 0 comments

Gaming Gear

AMD says Instinct MI400X GPU is 10X faster than MI300X, will power Helios rack-scale system with EPYC ‘Venice’ CPUs

by admin June 13, 2025

AMD gave a preview of its first in-house designed rack-scale solution called Helios at its Advancing AI event on Thursday. The system is set to be based on the company’s next-generation EPYC ‘Venice’ processors, will use its Instinct MI400-series accelerator, and will rely on network connections featuring the upcoming Pensando network cards. Overall, the company says that the flagship MI400X is 10 times more powerful than the MI300X, which is a remarkable progress given that the MI400X will be released about three years after the MI300X.

When it comes to rack-scale solutions for AI, AMD clearly trails behind Nvidia. This is going to change a bit this year as cloud service providers (such as Oracle OCI), OEMs, and ODMs will build and deploy rack-scale solutions based on the Instinct MI350X-series GPUs, but those systems will not be designed by AMD, and they will have to interconnect each 8-way system using Ethernet, not low-latency high-bandwidth interconnects like NVLink.

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The real change will occur next year with the first AMD-designed rack-scale system called Helios, which will use Zen 6-powered EPYC ‘Venice’ CPUs, CDNA ‘Next’-based Instinct MI400-series GPUs, and Pensando ‘Vulcano’ network interface cards (NICs) that are rumored to increase the maximum scale-up world size to beyond eight GPUs, which will greatly enhance their capabilities for training and inference. The system will adhere to OCP standards and enable next-generation interconnects such as Ultra Ethernet and Ultra Accelerator Link, supporting demanding AI workloads.

AI Is Coming for Your Job, Much Faster Than Anyone Thought

by admin June 8, 2025

In brief

AI is rapidly replacing white-collar jobs. Major tech firms have slashed tens of thousands of jobs in 2025 amid rapid AI integration.
Reports show that 40–80% of white-collar tasks may soon be automated.
Experts warn AGI could spark mass unemployment across both white- and blue-collar sectors.

Every week brings another round of AI-driven layoffs. In May, Microsoft laid off over 6,000 software engineers as it leaned into AI for code generation and development. That same month, IBM cut thousands of HR jobs. In February, Meta laid off 3,600 employees—about 5% of its workforce—as it restructured around an AI-first strategy. These layoffs are not isolated incidents; they’re signs of a seismic shift in the global economy.

Last week, filings for unemployment benefits hit its highest level since last fall, with companies ranging from Procter & Gamble to Starbucks saying they’re planning big layoffs. How much of this is due to Trump’s trade war is uncertain, but the rise of automated, AI-driven systems that make mincemeat of rote work isn’t helping.

Welcome to the immediate downside to the Age of AI: economic displacement. And if it looks bad now, consider that we haven’t reached so-called artificial general intelligence, the next big phase in the AI Age. At that point, AI can understand, learn, and apply knowledge across a wide range of tasks, just like a human. AGI would be capable of reasoning, problem-solving, and adapting to new situations across any domain without being reprogrammed.

While many experts believe that AGI is still decades away, a growing number of experts say that it’s likely to happen within the next five years.

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, made headlines last week when he repeated his warnings that AGI-level systems could emerge within two to three years. Daniel Kokotajlo, a former research analyst who left OpenAI on the grounds that the company was not taking safety risks seriously enough, said in a report published in May that AGI could arrive by late 2027.

And Ray Kurzweil, futurist and director of engineering at Google, continues to predict AGI will be reached by 2029, a date he reaffirmed last year in “The Singularity is Nearer.”

“To my mind, we’re roughly on track to human-level AGI by 2029,” said Ben Goertzel, CEO of SingularityNET, a decentralized, open-source platform that enables AI agents to cooperate, share data, and offer services over a blockchain-based network.

And after that? Goertzel and others believe the leap to “super intelligence” could be only a matter of a few years: “I think it’ll only be a few years from a human-level AGI to a super AGI, because that human-level AGI will be able to program and invent new chips and invent new forms of networking.”

Many experts believe that the final evolution to super intelligence could lead to a deep structural collapse of traditional employment, displacing everyone from the C-Suite to doctors, lawyers, PhD-level scientists and researchers, and even the very entrepreneurs who are currently building their fortunes on AI.

But the shift to AGI will be wrenching enough.

We’re nowhere near ready

Artificial general intelligence will extend far beyond automating routine tasks, with the ability to reason, adapt, and outperform humans across nearly every domain.

“Once AI becomes even slightly smarter than humans, we’ll see massive unemployment,” Goertzel told Decrypt. “It may start with junior white-collar jobs, but I think it will quickly extend to plumbers, electricians, janitors—everyone.”

Goertzel notes that AI has outperformed doctors in diagnostic accuracy for years, but industries like healthcare have resisted change due to institutional power and licensing requirements.

“Entry-level jobs have no one defending them,” he said. “Older people in powerful positions can protect their roles—and they’re the ones controlling how AI is rolled out. So, of course, they’re not going to replace themselves with AI.”

According to Goertzel, AI hasn’t disrupted blue-collar jobs as aggressively as white-collar jobs because physical hardware has yet to catch up. Because AI in software has far outpaced robotics, this disparity helps explain why white-collar jobs have borne the brunt of AI-driven layoffs, while blue-collar roles remain relatively untouched, for now.

Half of entry-level white-collar jobs could disappear

In a recent interview, Anthropic CEO Amodei warned that the job disruption from AI isn’t decades away—it’s already happening and will accelerate fast.

He estimates that up to 50% of entry-level white-collar roles could disappear within one to five years. These roles include early-career positions in law, finance, consulting, marketing, and technology—jobs that once offered stable on-ramps into professional careers.

As AI tools increasingly handle analysis, writing, planning, and decision-making, many of these human positions are being rendered obsolete. In a separate interview with CNN, Amodei reiterated his claim, warning that the shift would happen sooner than humanity can prepare for.

“What is striking to me about this AI boom is that it’s bigger, it’s broader, and it’s moving faster than anything has before,” Amodei said. “Compared to previous technology changes, I’m a little bit more worried about the labor impact, simply because it’s happening so fast that, yes, people will adapt, but they may not adapt fast enough.”

White-collar jobs already under threat

If you work behind a screen, then you’re already in the AI blast radius.

“The jobs most exposed are those requiring higher education, paying more, and involving cognitive tasks,” Tobias Sytsma, economist with the Rand Corporation, told Decrypt. “Historically, this type of AI exposure has been correlated with employment reductions.”

According to an April 2025 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, computer engineering graduates face double the unemployment rate of art history majors at 3% versus 7.5%, respectively.

Here are just a few of the jobs that economists say are the most immediately exposed to AI:

Software engineers: Companies are using AI to generate, review, and optimize code. In May, Microsoft upgraded its Github Copilot to a full AI agent.
Human resources: AI is being used to screen resumes, evaluate employee performance, and write termination letters.
Paralegals and legal assistants: AI can summarize case law, review contracts, and draft findings.
Customer service representatives: Chatbots are being used to interact with customers and handle routine support tickets. With voice and video AI becoming widely available, call centers are being phased out.
Financial analysts: AI models can analyze massive amounts of data and generate reports more efficiently and accurately than humans.
Content creators: Writers, editors, and graphic designers are already competing with generative AI tools. In 2023, the Writers Guild of America went on strike, with AI protections being a key issue.

“Our research shows it’s mainly white-collar jobs—those requiring higher education, paying more, and involving cognitive tasks—that are most exposed,” Sytsma said.

However, healthcare professionals are relatively protected due to regulations. “Healthcare appears to be one where, for now, those barriers are insulating some workers. Still, exposure to these tools is increasing. What happens next remains unclear.”

“We could automate most jobs without reaching full human-level AGI, because most work is repetitive and based on prior examples—and AI handles that well,” Goertzel said. “Jobs requiring big, imaginative leaps are harder to replace, but most economic activity doesn’t rely on that.”

Goertzel suggested that superintelligence could even automate and replace political leaders. “Even the presidency could be automated,” he said, “but political norms make that off-limits—for now.”

Whether AI leads us to a post-work utopia or a deeply unequal dystopia, one thing is clear: If you still think AI is coming for blue-collar jobs first, then you’re already behind the curve. It’s coming for the desk next to you. And it’s not waiting.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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June 8, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom faster on Nintendo Switch 2

by admin June 6, 2025

On top of being the upgraded version of the Nintendo Switch, the Switch 2 might be the best way to experience some of the previous generation’s most critically acclaimed titles.

Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom already stole our hearts with their scale, presentation, and gameplay when they were released in 2017 and 2023, respectively. Whether it’s your first time playing or your 50th, the Switch 2 editions of these titles are an absolute dream experience. Nintendo’s modern masterpieces didn’t suffer despite relatively low resolution and frame rates and slow loading times — one of the most common gripes with the games when they were released. But the Switch 2 Edition of each game feels like the upgrade the titles deserve, especially when it comes to reduced loading times. And I mean significantly reduced.

During our testing, we ran five different test cases five times, then calculated an average for each of the five trials. For the original versions of the games, we used a Switch OLED. For the Switch 2 editions of the games, we used a Switch 2.

We tested the time it takes to boot up the game from the Switch 2 home screen, a load a save file from the title screen, reload a save file, fast travel across the map, and enter a shrine. I picked these test cases because they are actions you repeat many times in a given play session, and those load times add up.

To no one’s surprise, the Switch 2 dominates the performance of the Nintendo Switch. The Switch 2 takes the load times of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom and cuts them roughly in half. In some cases, the load time has been reduced by more than half, specifically in Tears of the Kingdom. Overall, Tears of the Kingdom saw bigger performance increases on average compared to Breath of the Wild, probably because the game is just better optimized.

The Nintendo Switch 2, paired with the Switch 2 Edition of each title, offers a significant improvement to the modern Zelda experience. You can also play the original versions on Switch 2, in theory, though we have yet to test those load times.

Nonetheless, the Switch 2 editions feel more fluid and responsive. If you have yet to lose yourself in the most recent iteration of Hyrule Kingdom, there’s no better time than now — that is, if you’re willing to pay the extra $10 per game, or for a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion membership, to upgrade to the Switch 2 Edition, which is only available on Switch 2.

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June 6, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

RX 9060 XT 16GB graphics cards with faster clocks than 8GB models appear to be in development

by admin June 2, 2025

It appears that memory will not be the only differentiator between AMD’s RX 9060 XT 16GB and 8GB GPUs. According to VideoCardz, PowerColor is preparing certain RX 9060 XT models, where the 16GB variant features slightly higher clock speeds than its 8GB counterpart. While we checked models from other AIBs, most have not yet listed their frequencies, so we will likely need to wait until the embargo lifts to confirm wider adoption of this strategy.

AMD introduced the RX 9060 XT family of budget GPUs at Computex last month. Much like the RTX 5060 Ti family, AMD has segmented these GPUs into 8GB ($299) and 16GB ($349) models. Both GPUs are powered by the same Navi 48 core, with 2,048 Stream Processors or 32 Compute Units, with an advertised boost clock of 3.13 GHz. The GPUs are set to launch on June 5, with the review embargo likely lifting a day earlier, as typically seen.

Based on data secured by VideoCardz, PowerColor is preparing seven RX 9060 XT models across its Reaper and Hellhound designations. Specifically, the Reaper family shows the RX 9060 XT 16GB model with a 3.23 GHz boost clock and a 2.62 GHz game clock, compared to the 8GB model’s 3.13 GHz boost and 2.53 GHz game clock. This 2-3% frequency delta, though minor, indicates that Reaper-based 8GB models will stick to reference clocks, rather than receiving a factory-overclocked boost like their 16GB siblings.

Ripple CEO Disses Bitcoin, Declares XRP is 1000x Faster

by admin June 1, 2025

Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently bashed Bitcoin during a presentation attended by representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Swiss National Bank. Speaking at the high-profile event, he openly criticized Bitcoin’s performance, calling it slow and costly.

He explained that Bitcoin has problems when it comes to making transactions quickly and cheaply. “Bitcoin today, per transaction basis, is rather slow and rather expensive,” Garlinghouse said. He compared it to XRP, which he said is “a thousand times faster and a thousand times cheaper.”

Garlinghouse said XRP was created by engineers who had studied Bitcoin and “seen some of the flaws of Bitcoin and the challenges of scalability around Bitcoin where Bitcoin today, per transaction basic, is rather slow and rather expensive.”

Garlinghouse said XRP is 1000 times faster than Bitcoin | Source: X

He talked about how banks currently need to hold money in different countries so they can send payments internationally. This process is called pre-funding, and it ties up a lot of money. He said XRP can help get rid of this problem because it allows money to move instantly using digital assets.

He explained that with the current system, financial institutions are forced to keep money in different countries to send payments internationally. The Ripple CEO said XRP could replace this outdated system by acting as a bridge currency

Garlinghouse also spoke about currencies that are often ignored by big banks. “Some of the more quote-unquote exotic currencies, exotic corridors, have been left to stand on their own,” he said. He believes XRP can help these currencies become more connected to the financial system.

During his presentation, Garlinghouse shared Ripple’s long-term goal: “Ripple’s vision from the beginning really has been to apply these technologies in the same way that TCP/IP and HTTP are the technologies underpinning the Internet of Information.”

He continued that XRP and blockchain technology could power an “Internet of Value,” allowing payments to move “like information flows today.” He gave an example of how XRP could help people in real life.” If you are a large corporation moving $100 million, that’s one thing,” he said. “But if you are a freelancer working in the Philippines doing design work for a company in London and you want to get paid $30 for 30 pesos, that’s not a transaction that can easily be enabled.”

A video copy of this presentation was shared on X, and it got a mix of reactions. One user said “XRP’s speed might be impressive but Bitcoin’s decentralized security & adoption still dominate. Scalability’s a challenge, sure, but BTC’s roadmap is evolving.”

Another user countered that statement citing “How many companies are buying #Xrp reserves? The user tweeted “Brad is still giving away XRP for free to gain adoption? The blind leading the blind.”

Also Read: Meta Says No to Bitcoin Treasury, Is Ripple’s XRP on Cards?

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June 1, 2025 0 comments