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ASUS TUF Gaming Laptop (NVIDIA RTX 4050) Still at an All-Time Low With Hundreds Off, but Returning to Full Price Soon

by admin October 9, 2025

PC gaming handhelds have taken off dramatically in the last several years with the advent of the Steam Deck and then later competitive devices in the form of the Lenovo Legion Go and well as the Asus ROG Ally. While convenient, they really are just designed for gaming and not so much any of the other expectations that come with a PC. That’s why PC gaming laptops still prove themself to be a fine option for gaming on the go while also providing the full capabilities of, well, a laptop. Right now, Amazon has the Asus TUF F16 gaming laptop on sale for an even 23% off. Normally listed at $1,000, the price has come down to just $770. That saves you a whopping $230 for a limited time.

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Specs Deep Dive

What’s we’re looking at here is a 16-inch gaming laptop capable of a 16:10 Full HD resolution with a refresh rate of up to 144Hz and a response time of 7ms. The laptop employs Adaptive-Sync which helps to reduce lag, minimize stuttering, and eliminate visual tearing. That leaves you with a smooth gaming experience. The screen has a thin bezel to maximize screen real estate at 90% while keeping a small form factor so the laptop remains portable.

This model of the Asus TUF F16 is powered by an Intel Core 5 210H processor and is equipped with an NVIDIA GeForce 4050 laptop GPU. It has 8GB of RAM with a PCIe Gen4 SSD with a storage of 512GB. All and all, it’s not the most robust gaming hardware on the market, but at it’s price point, it’s perfectly serviceable to support almost any indie game and a number of larger AAA titles at medium settings.

This gaming laptop works hard to stay cool while you play. It’s equipped with four exhaust vents , 84-blade Arc Flow Fans, and five dedicated heat pipes, plus an anti-dust filter to keep the airflow system clear of debris. You laptop can cool itself without becoming excessively noisy.

Designed for portability, this Asus TUF F16 gaming laptop has been rigorously tested to meet military grade standards. This durable device can withstand vibrations, shock, high altitudes, and extreme temperatures both high and low.

Battery life is reliable and can charge quickly. The 56Wh battery can be fast-charged from nothing back up to 50% in just 30 minutes.

For a limited time, you can save yourself a whole $230 representing 23% of the price of this Asus TUF F16 gaming laptop.

See at Amazon

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October 9, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Call Of Duty: Warzone Is Returning To Its Blackout Roots

by admin October 1, 2025

We’re getting a blast from the past when a future major Call of Duty: Warzone update drops in Spring 2026. “A bold new experience” will come to the battle royale, inspired by the Black Ops 4 battle royale mode, Blackout.

“Call of Duty: Warzone is bringing a bold new experience in Spring of 2026 inspired by the original Blackout, set on Avalon,” reads a post from the official Call of Duty X account.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 was the first Call of Duty game to feature a battle royale mode. Launching after the battle royale boom in 2017, Blackout had 100 players drop onto a gigantic map to fight for their lives until only one player or team was left standing.

Black Ops 4’s battle royale map, Avalon, will also be returning. It featured fan-favorite named locations like Nuketown Island, as well as more generic locales like a train station and construction site. Avalon has changed several times over the years, and we don’t know how it might change for this 2026 release, so none of the locations from the original map are guaranteed to return. While Avalon is positively viewed by many in the Warzone community, Verdansk and other Warzone maps are often viewed more favorably.

Warzone is also getting a new Resurgence map alongside Black Ops 7. The new map, Haven’s Hollow, will be smaller than Fortune’s Keep but larger than Rebirth Island.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 7’s open beta begins this weekend, with the official start times finally revealed. During the beta, you’ll also get a taste of the Zombies mode and a feel for how explosive body shields are.

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October 1, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

2XKO is going offline for a few days to prep for its early access launch before returning with an utterly demonic Teemo

by admin September 30, 2025

2XKO’s closed beta seems to be going pretty well, with the tag fighter throwing open the doors to the masses on October 7. Despite executive producer Tom Cannon saying in July that “our goal is to keep the game up, online, and available” from the closed beta’s launch, it seems that Riot needs just a few days to get everything straightened out.

A post on the 2XKO X account reads: “We need a little more time to get early access up and running, so we’ll be shutting down closed beta a few days early on Oct 3 @ 9pm PT.” Servers will be back up and running in time for the early access launch on October 7 at 8am PT/11am ET/4pm BST.

Teemo Gameplay Reveal Trailer | 2XKO – YouTube

Watch On

Riot says that offline mode will still work, so players should still be able to hit the lab, play local multiplayer, and face off against CPUs. Three-and-a-half days to do some tinkering behind the scenes is nothing in the grand scheme of things, especially when I think about other fighting games who took their betas offline and straight-up vanished for a year—looking at you, Multiversus.

The downtime news was released alongside a trailer for 2XKO’s tenth champion, verifiable League mascot Teemo. And as someone who doesn’t play the MOBA, I finally understand all of the Teemo hate.

Riot has really leaned into the gremlin vibes here, with Teemo being an all-out terror as both a zoner and a trap character, using his signature blow darts and mushrooms to create space while also laying down grass patches that he can quickly teleport to for some solid mixups.

The trailer is steeped in self-awareness in the best possible way. Halfway through sees a fake Twitch-like chat appear with comments like “2XKO SAVED,” “this game is cooked” and various iterations of cringe/based. Riot knows of Teemo’s crimes, and is doing everything it can to lean into that.

It even ends with a reference to Evo Moment 37—one of the most iconic FGC moments that continues to haunt Justin Wong over 20 years later—which, if I wasn’t already sold on the sheer tomfoolery Teemo had been displaying in the two minutes prior to this, I certainly am now.

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September 30, 2025 0 comments

Everything You Need To Know About Borderlands 4

Game Updates

12 Tips For New And Returning Players

by admin September 19, 2025

Borderlands 4 is a very big and mostly great game that you’ll likely spend over 50 hours in if you try to do everything it has to offer. It also might be your first Borderlands in a long time, or possibly ever. This all might seem really intimidating. 10 billion guns! A giant open world! What should you do? Well, I’ve got your back. Here are 12 tips to help you get started and kick ass in Borderlands 4. And be not afraid, there are no spoilers below.

Don’t Get Distracted By Side Quests Until You Get Your Hover Bike

Look, I get it. Running around and doing every little side quest is fun, but I’d recommend focusing on the main story until you get your hoverbike. It won’t take more than two hours and it’s worth it. Well, unless you like walking everywhere in a big open-world game. And speaking of side quests and not doing them…

Maybe Don’t Do Every Side Quest Before Finishing The Main Story…

I’m a map cleaner in open-world games. I get it. I love to methodically clear out every piece of content in a big open world. But maybe don’t do that until you complete the main story. That’s because once you do that, regardless of your level, you unlock “Specializations,” which is a new set of passive bonuses and skills that act as an endgame grind. And you level this up with XP. So it might be better to mainline the story and then turn around and do all the side stuff later.

But…Focus On Getting SDU Credits To Make Your Backpack Bigger

While I advise not doing every side quest before the credits roll, I do suggest you look out for Propaganda Towers, Bunkers, and other open-world activities that reward you with SDU credits that can be used to upgrade how many items you can hold at once in your backpack. Trust me, you want to upgrade this ASAP. You are going to be grabbing so much random junk to sell and sort through, and running out of space sucks. So prioritize getting that backpack upgraded.

Use The Loot As Junk Button

New to Borderlands 4 is the ability to loot items as junk. This means that you can instantly sell it and every single item you’ve marked as junk with the press of a button just by walking up to a vending machine. It saves a lot of time and is one of the best features in Borderlands 4. Use it. You’ll thank me later.

©Gearbox / Kotaku

Keep An Eye Open For Elemental Weapons To Help You Kill Quickly

It’s very easy to focus exclusively on getting guns with bigger numbers. But hold up! It’s not all about DPS. You might want to keep that SMG or shotgun because of its elemental damage type. You see, enemies in Borderlands 4 all have different weaknesses to different elements. Enemies with red health bars burn fast, baddies with blue health bars are weak to shock, and aliens or robots with yellow health bars get melted quickly with acid.

So before you drop that slightly weaker SMG for a cool new one, stop and think. Does the weaker one do acid damage? Is it your only weapon that does acid damage? You might want to keep it, then, so you can fight robots with ease.

Don’t Have Four Of The Same Type Of Gun Equipped

I love a good assault rifle in Borderlands 4. I’m always on the lookout for a new Daedalus AR to add to my collection. But I never run around with more than one AR equipped. Why? Because if all your guns are the same type–like all shotguns or whatever–then you’ll burn through that ammo type much faster. Variety is the spice of life, and it also means you don’t use up all your shotgun shells in a matter of minutes.

Look Down Your Character’s Skill Tree Before Unlocking Anything

Simple one, but important: Before you start upgrading your character’s skills, take a moment to look at what you’ll be able to unlock later on. You might see a skill you just desperately want, or you might realize the particular skill tree you are examining features bonuses and abilities you’ll just never use. And sure, the game lets you respec everything, but why waste time earning skills you don’t like when you can take a moment to plan ahead and have a much better time.

When Playing Co-op, Use Your Buddies As Fast Travel Stations

Playing with your friends is always better, but in Borderlands 4, that’s especially true as you can fast-travel to them whenever you want. Tricky platforming section that you don’t want to do? Fast travel to your bud! Get lost and can’t find your way to the next part of the quest? Fast travel to your friend. Want to sell a bunch of stuff in the middle of a big fight? Fast travel to an area with vending machines, sell your junk, and then fast travel back to your friends. This feature is so useful and powerful that it almost feels like cheating.

Use The Newly Added Repkits!

It’s easy to forget about Borderlands 4‘s newly added Rep Kits, which are small items that can heal you during fights. They are brand new to the franchise and the game never warns you to use one when your health gets low. But use your Rep Kits! They can make a challenging ambush much easier.

©Gearbox / Kotaku

If Lost, Just Use Echo 4, aka Hit Up On The D-Pad

Remember, you can always ask Echo 4, your new robot companion, to guide you to your next quest objective or your custom marker. This can be really handy when deep in a cave or building filled with multiple rooms and hallways. Just hit up on the D-pad, and Echo 4 will generate an easy-to-follow holographic line in the world pointing to your target location.

Grab Contracts Before Heading Out

Whenever you return to one of the many hub and town areas in Borderlands 4, take a moment to check the bounty board and grab some bounties. Many of these are very easy to complete and just want you to kill a few random enemies. You were going to do that anyway, so why not get some extra XP and rewards for doing so?

Hold Onto Gold Keys Until You Level Up

The moment you walk up to your first gold chest in Borderlands 4, you’ll be tempted to use any gold keys you currently have. Don’t do this. I know, it’s fun to open a big shiny box and get new guns, most of which will be pretty good. But if you’re below level 40, I’d avoid using your keys as the loot you get from them at that point will be made worthless in the not-too-distant future. That level 7 legendary sniper ain’t going to be worth using when, a few hours later, you’re level 12 and find a much better one. Save your gold keys for when you’re in the endgame portion of Borderlands 4.

And if you need help getting more (or any…) gold keys, don’t you worry, I’ve got a guide just for you that walks you through the process and even includes some codes you can use to get some fancy rewards.

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September 19, 2025 0 comments

Game Updates

Somehow, Virtual Boy Is Returning And Joining Nintendo Switch Online

by admin September 14, 2025

Nintendo has a rich history of beloved consoles, from the Super Nintendo to the 3DS, that have filled generations of children with joy. They also released a console called the Virtual Boy. To call this console before its time is an understatement; the Virtual Boy is a retro attempt at virtual reality that left many complaining about strained necks and headaches. Despite that, Nintendo is honoring its legacy and bringing the lineup to the Switch Online Expansion pack for Switch 1 and 2.

The new collection comes with a physical Virtual Boy that you slot your Switch 1 or 2 into. after setting it on a table in front of you, you’ll press your head against it to see the screen. If you don’t want the big plastic Virtual Boy sitting on your table, Nintendo is also releasing a cardboard model, presumably for cheaper than the big one, and in the style of the Labo VR it experimented with a while ago.

The collection will eventually have 14 games, but in Nintendo fashion, they’ll be drip-fed to us slowly over time. The first batch launches early next year, on February 17.

Are you excited for the Virtual Boy to come back? Let us know in the comments!

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September 14, 2025 0 comments

Product Reviews

Horror Icon Lin Shaye Is Returning to ‘Insidious’

by admin September 13, 2025

Insidious franchise star Lin Shaye’s dearly departed medium character will make another return to star in Blumhouse’s sixth film in the series.

The horror legend’s tenure as psychic Elise Rainier has been a beloved part of the Insidious movies and filmmaker Jacob Chase has officially enlisted her return, as reported by Deadline. The actress is joined by Amelia Eve (star of Netflix’s The Haunting of Bly Manor) in the upcoming installment, written by Chase and David Leslie Johnson. It goes into production next week.

Shaye most recently played Rainier in Insidious: The Red Door, directed by series star Patrick Wilson, where she guided the Lambert family to a resolution in dealing with their past family trauma in relation to the original film’s events. Rose Byrne and Ty Simpkins also reprised their roles to help wrap up the Lambert chapter of the series.

The plot of the upcoming film remains unknown, but Red Door did hint that Elise would be returning in some capacity to fight the good fight against the demons of the Further. Eve may be playing whoever the ghosts and entities decide to pick on next but we’ll have to wait to find out.

We hope that Rainer gets an assist from Specs (Leigh Whannell) and Tucker (Angus Sampson) from the original cast as her living paranormal investigation counterparts. We’ve been wanting to see that partnership become a part of more ongoing investigations.

The as-yet untitled Insidious film is set for release on August 21, 2026.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.

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September 13, 2025 0 comments

GameFi Guides

Ethereum (ETH) Fatigue? Institutions Now Returning to Bitcoin (BTC)

by admin September 3, 2025

Massive scale of August rotation
Bitcoin ETFs still enjoy huge lead

According to analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, institutions are now coming back to Bitcoin (BTC) after seemingly souring on Ethereum (ETH).

On Tuesday, spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracted $332.8 million worth of inflows, with Boston-headquartered mutual fund Fidelity accounting for the biggest chunk of the aforementioned sum ($133 million).

Surprisingly, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) came ahead of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT). The latter managed to attract only “relatively modest” $73 million.

Massive scale of August rotation

This comes after a massive rotation took place within the cryptocurrency sector in August.

Ethereum ETFs attracted roughly $3.9 billion worth of inflows as its corporate adoption narrative also started picking up steam.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs were actually in the red with a total of $751 million worth of net outflows.

Bitcoin ETFs still enjoy huge lead

It is worth noting that spot Ethereum ETFs, which were launched last July, were initially deemed to be a major flop due to underwhelming outflows.

Despite recently turning the tables with massive inflows, they are still miles away from catching up with their Bitcoin counterparts.

According to data provided by SoSoValue, Bitcoin ETFs currently boast a total of $143.21 billion worth of net assets. For comparison, spot Ethereum ETFs have reached $28 billion in net assets following their massive streak of inflows that was recorded in August.

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September 3, 2025 0 comments

Esports

Fantasy baseball waivers: Returning Bieber a must-add starter

by admin August 27, 2025

Aug 25, 2025, 02:00 PM ET

News flash: A Cy Young Award winner and two-time, top-15 overall fantasy point scorer, was back on the mound on Friday, doing Cy Young things.

That particular pitcher, by the way, finds himself out there in 56.1% of ESPN leagues, with five weeks to play in the season.

Shane Bieber (SP, Toronto Blue Jays) is that pitcher, acquired at the trade deadline from the Cleveland Guardians, and looking pretty close to his peak form following his return from April 2024 Tommy John surgery. In Friday’s outing, the right-hander averaged 92.7 mph with his fastball, his highest rate in any individual start since Aug. 14, 2022. He struck out nine Miami Marlins and got 15 swings-and-misses, including seven on his slider and four on his changeup.

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This isn’t to declare Bieber officially his 2020 Cy Young self, as pitchers coming off the surgery often take time — months, in many cases — to fully recapture the feel for their stuff. As the old Tommy John surgery axiom says, velocity typically returns first, then command. Bieber’s command seemed plenty sharp in his 2025 big-league debut, and reports from his six start minor league rehabilitation stint (excluding one May start when he had some elbow soreness) reflected the same and resulted in a combined 2.03 ERA and 32.7% strikeout rate.

It remains to be seen how the Blue Jays will use Bieber come playoff time. For now, though, they’ll utilize (at least in the short term) a six-man rotation that spaces out his appearances. That’s a negative for fantasy purposes. However, considering his past history of handling big workloads, his current status as a 90-pitch starter (nearly a full-time starter already), and the relative ages of the remainder of the team’s rotation, Bieber almost assuredly will handle a regular starter’s pattern over these final five weeks.

More mixed-league players to add

Note that Sam Basallo (C/1B, Baltimore Orioles), the top recommendation in this space last week and a new eight-year, $67 million man, remains available in a whopping 87.4% of ESPN leagues. Go get him now!

Carson Williams, SS, Tampa Bay Rays (available in 95.0% of ESPN leagues): Another of the many prominent prospects to have been recalled for their major league debuts over the past two weeks, Williams is one whose star seemed to begin fading due to his lackluster .213/.318/.447 rates in 111 games for Triple-A Durham this year, but who generated a good share of weekend buzz thanks to his 3-for-7, one-homer, one-steal performance in Friday and Sunday starts.

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To be fair to Williams’ fantasy potential, he did hit 23 homers and stole 22 bases while with Durham, making him a 20/20 minor leaguer for three consecutive seasons (and he was one homer shy in 2022 of making it four in a row). His power/speed combo might have made him a more logical pickup in rotisserie leagues, but Williams’ penchant for drawing walks — he has never walked in fewer than 10.9% of plate appearances in any professional level — makes him an appealing mixed-league pickup as well. Be aware that the Rays will give him days off across their final 32 games in order to keep him below the 130 at-bat maximum to retain 2026 Rookie of the Year eligibility.

Brett Baty, 3B/2B, New York Mets (available in 94.2%): If what you seek is a potential high-ceiling power hitter who qualifies at two infield positions, Baty’s your man. Since the All-Star break, he’s a .283/.350/.500 hitter with six home runs in 28 games, quietly emerging as an everyday player while even earning starts out of the No. 6 slot in the lineup.

While it might feel like Baty has been around for long enough that he’s incapable of taking another step offensively, his 12.9% Barrel and 47.6% hard-hit rates (per Statcast) are not only personal bests, but they’re also in at least the 75th percentile among all players. In fact, his 56.1% hard-hit rate this month is 15th-best among 222 hitters (min. 59 PA).

Deeper-league pickups

Kyle Teel of the Chicago White Sox has a .292 batting average in August. Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire

Kyle Teel, C, Chicago White Sox (available in 97.2%): Predictably, not much attention has been paid to the 47-83 White Sox this season, but Teel, one of the primary pieces coming their way in the winter’s Garrett Crochet trade, has put forth a beneath-the-radar strong rookie stat line. Teel has been on a tear since the All-Star break, batting .322/.378/.500 with four home runs and 15 RBI in 26 games, establishing himself as an effective everyday player as part of a catcher/DH rotation with fellow rookie Edgar Quero.

Teel’s underlying metrics aren’t quite at the level of a clear ESPN standard starting catcher — he has below-average power and patience — but he’s a surefire add in any deeper league. He’s also a prospective breakthrough player for 2026.

Jeremiah Jackson, SS/3B/OF, Baltimore Orioles (available in 98.8%): Recalled following the Orioles’ July 31 trade bonanza, Jackson has made the most of his opportunity, earning starts in right field, third base and at DH, while delivering six multi-hit efforts over his first 19 MLB contests. While he’s lacking in any one elite skill, he’s hitting with enough authority to stick in the lineup for the remainder of the year, and his multi-positional eligibility is useful in 12-team mixed leagues or deeper.

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Kyle Bradish, SP, Orioles (available in 94.3%): Like the aforementioned Bieber, Bradish is on the mend from Tommy John surgery, and is tentatively aligned to return on Tuesday. Bradish’s minor league rehabilitation results are nowhere near as sparkling, as he has a 4.91 ERA in six starts, but he pitched effectively in his past two for Triple-A Norfolk (9 2/3 innings, three runs, 12 K’s combined) and was one of the American League’s better pitchers in 2023 and in the first month-plus of 2024.

He’s a speculative pickup in larger leagues, but keep your closest tabs on his velocity following his activation, as he averaged 94.5 mph with his four-seam fastball in 2023 and 95.3 mph with the pitch last year.

Parker Messick, SP, Cleveland Guardians (available in 98.6%): Like Nolan McLean the week before him, Messick debuted with an outstanding performance this past Wednesday, displaying the command of a clear big-leaguer. He walked only one of the 26 batters he faced, and had 84.6% first-pitch strike and 56.6% zone rates. Messick’s changeup was outstanding, and provides the key to his making an impact in deeper mixed and AL-only leagues.

He’s likely to see more starts for the Guardians down the stretch, as he’s nowhere near his pro-best 133 2/3 innings of 2024, having totaled only 105 1/3 frames so far this year.

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August 27, 2025 0 comments