Technology

The Ghibli-looking cozy game comes from the award-winning studio Spry Fox.

It's more important than ever to keep your home safe with a good security system. Here are our top picks from our experts.

The promotion is tied in to A Minecraft Movie, and begins April 1.

• Star Wars Andor creator Tony Gilroy has canceled plans to publish the scripts of the show
• The scripts from season one were set to release, but AI is the reason they're not being published
• It's part of a growing trend of the content that AI models are being trained on

AI companies will do anything to get their hands on material to train AI models - just look at what’s happening with music streaming services. It’s only a matter of time before these companies start targeting other areas in the entertainment industry, but the creator of one of the best Disney Plus shows is already taking a stance against the looming reign of AI.

Tony Gilroy, the creator of the Star Wars spin-off series Andor, has pulled the plug on his initial plans to publish the scripts from the show's first season out of fear that his work could be used as material for training AI models. In an interview with Collider, Gilroy shared, “I wanted to do it. We put it together. It's really cool. I've seen it, I loved it. AI is the reason we're not."

The decision to back out doesn’t come easy for Gilroy, who announced his plans to launch a website showcasing not only Andor’s written elements but also a selection of concept art back in 2023.

Still, despite this difficult decision ahead of the imminent release of Andor season two on April 22, it’s clear that Gilroy has grave concerns about the threat that AI has on creative individuals - and I’m glad to see that more artists are taking action to protest AI’s place in the entertainment industry.

(Image credit: Lucasfilm/Disney) I’ll say it again, we’re witnessing a cultural genocide

For AI, ‘permission’ is a word that ceases to exist. Gilroy is just one of the many concerned figures who have actively expressed a need to protect their work in a culture where AI is infiltrating streaming services daily – mainly for user experience reasons. Still, films and TV shows themselves remain open targets for AI to steal for training purposes.

While notable figures such as Christopher Nolan have called for tighter restrictions on AI, this is the first time I’ve seen the threat of AI cause a screenwriter to take action like this since the SAG strikes. But AI has only scratched the surface with film and TV - you get things like this all the time with music.

The Make It Fair campaign has pressured the UK government to ensure that creative rights are protected amidst its threatening AI proposal. (Image credit: Future)

A prime example is the silent protest album, Is This What We Want?, which was released in light of a UK government proposal allowing AI companies to use copy-righted music to train models and algorithms.

Artists from Kate Bush to Annie Lennox banded together to compile a silent album of ambient tracks of empty creative spaces. Though this won’t actively get the government to change its mind on the proposal, it’s succeeding in showing what it could mean for the future of the music industry while using the streaming profits to raise money for music charities.

Screenwriters and musicians alike should be able to share and publish their work without fear of it being used to enhance AI models. Some of us actually like to read the scripts behind our favorite shows.

I have no doubt that AI developers will eventually get bored of taking existing scripts and music to enhance algorithms and will then find a way to infiltrate the creative process altogether.

Though plenty of AI music software can already whip up a quick beat (thanks, Suno), how long will it be before AI-generated music albums go mainstream or when feature AI-generated movies become a thing?

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A trim panel on the sharp-angled, futuristic trucks can detach while driving.

• Kioxia launches 122.88TB SSD with PCIe Gen5 and dual-port support
• The LC9 Series NVMe SSD is designed for AI workloads and hyperscale storage
• The new drive comes in a compact 2.5-inch form factor

After nearly seven years at the top, Nimbus Data’s massive Exadrive 100TB 2.5-inch SSD has been dethroned by Kioxia, which has unveiled a new 122.88TB model that not only offers a higher storage capacity but also supports PCIe Gen5, a first for this category.

Several companies have previously announced 120TB-class SSDs, including Solidigm, but Kioxia's LC9 Series 122.88TB NVMe SSD stands out by pairing its ultra-high capacity with a compact 2.5-inch form factor and a next-gen interface with dual-port capability for fault tolerance or connectivity to multiple compute systems.

"AI workloads are stretching the capabilities of data storage, asking for larger capacities and swifter access to the extensive datasets found in today's data lakes, and Kioxia is ready to offer the necessary advanced technologies including 2 Tb QLC BiCS FLASH generation 8 of 3D flash memory, CBA and the complimenting AiSAQ," said Axel Störmann, VP & Chief Technology Officer for SSD and Embedded Memory products at Kioxia Europe GmbH.

Supporting AI system developers' needs

The 122.88TB SSD is aimed at hyperscale storage systems, AI workloads, and other data-intensive applications that rely on capacity and speed. There’s no word on availability or pricing yet, but the company does plan to showcase the new drive at "various upcoming conferences".

"This new LC9 Series NVMe SSD is an instrumental Kioxia product expansion that will support AI system developers' needs for high-capacity storage, high performance, and energy efficiency for applications such as AI model training, inference, and Retrieval-Augmented Generation on a vaster scale," Störmann said.

Reporting on the new SSD, ServeTheHome notes, “This is a hot segment of the market, and it is great to see Kioxia joining. As AI clusters get larger, the shared storage tier is usually measured in Exabytes. Teams have found that replacing hard drives with SSDs often reduces power, footprint, and TCO compared to running hybrid arrays. Moving from lower-capacity drives to the 122.88TB capacity in a 2.5-inch drive form factor really highlights the advantage of flash in these systems.”

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• Nintendo is expanding its partnership with the baseball team the Seattle Mariners ahead of the Opening Season 2025
• The Nintendo logo will be featured on the team's home jerseys and a Nintendo Switch 2 logo on away jerseys
• Seattle Mariner centerfielder Julio Rodríguez will act as a brand ambassador to further the partnership

Nintendo is expanding its partnership with the Seattle Mariners ahead of MLB Opening Season 2025, by becoming the baseball team's first-ever official jersey sleeve partner.

Nintendo announced the new collaboration with a new promotional video released on X / Twitter today, showing Seattle Mariner centerfielder Julio Rodríguez sporting his new jersey with Nintendo's red logo on the sleeve.

The upcoming season is set to begin on March 27, aka Opening Day, and each member of the Seattle Mariners baseball team will be showcasing the Nintendo racetrack logo on their home jerseys, and a Nintendo Switch 2 logo on away jerseys.

"Nintendo and the Mariners have been inextricably linked since 1992," said Kevin Martinez, Seattle Mariners president of business operations, in a press release.

"Now, each time the Mariners take the field, our jersey sleeves will help serve as a reminder of all that Nintendo of America has done for the Northwest community and the team. There isn’t a better partnership in Major League Baseball. We are grateful for our incredible relationship with Nintendo."

Play ball ⚾We’re thrilled to share we’re expanding our long-standing relationship with the @Mariners and will be featured on their jersey sleeve this season!See it for the first time on Opening Day, March 27th! pic.twitter.com/Lig4Aw4bmfMarch 20, 2025

Julio Rodríguez will also further the partnership between the Mariners and Nintendo by serving as a brand ambassador.

"It’s a genuine thrill to be able to partner with such a talented team, including bright stars like Julio," said Doug Bowser, president and chief operating officer of Nintendo of America.

"Our history with the Mariners goes back decades so this really feels like coming home. Nintendo has a lot of exciting news this year and through collaborations like this one, we can’t wait to create even more smiles across all generations. Go Mariners!"

This expanded partnership comes just ahead of the Nintendo Direct Showcase on April 2, which will likely reveal a launch date for the Nintendo Switch 2.

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• New research claims downtime from ransomware attacks is costing government agencies thousands
• The average downtime after an attack is over 27 days
• RansomHub is the top offender

New research from Comparitech has outlined that a key underestimated aspect of ransomware is costing Government agencies thousands of dollars per day - downtime.

Of the over 1,000 confirmed ransomware attacks tracked, nearly a month’s worth of downtime was lost per attack on average, costing nearly $84,000 per day.

For government agencies, the average downtime is higher than other sectors, with healthcare averaging 16 days, and 12 days for manufacturers. Although fewer than half of all ransomware incidents end in payment, the total amount paid in previous years has hit over $1 billion, so attacks can be seriously expensive all-round.

Key targets

The research points to government entities being less equipped to overcome attacks, most likely from budget constraints leading to longer recovery times.

On average, attackers demanded $2.2 million in ransom, but it's very rarely confirmed whether a ransom is paid or not - and some governments like the UK have launched proposals which would effectively ban state run organizations from paying ransoms in order to dissuade groups from targeting them.

But this doesn’t stop attackers, with government agencies frequently topping the list of most popular targets.

Critical infrastructure organizations are increasingly at risk of geopolitically motivated attacks, looking to disrupt service providers and undermine trust in public institutions.

The report outlines that notorious group RansomHub is responsible for stealing the most data, with over 730,000 records taken since 2018. Close behind them is ALPHV with 700,000, and Brain Cipher with 650,000 records stolen.

Although it's a fairly new group, RansomHub continues to find success in attacking both public and private organizations, with the group claiming to have made a victim of MetLife earlier in 2025.

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• Qobuz has published its average streaming rates
• Many rivals talk about the total, not what individual rights holders get paid
• At just over 1.8¢ per stream, Qobuz pays more than most

Streaming service Qobuz has done something none of its rivals have been so far willing to do: it's said how much it pays for streaming – and it's had its claims independently examined too.

Publishing independently verified figures is a first for an industry that prefers to talk about the big picture rather than the small details, and it's a very welcome development not just for artists, but for anyone who's trying to be careful about the impact of their money.

According to Qobuz, in fiscal year 2024 it paid an average of US$0.01873 per stream.

That money doesn't go directly to artists – streamers pay the rights owners, typically record companies and music publishers; what artists actually get from that depends on how good or bad their deals with those rights owners are – but it's a significantly higher average rate than other streamers are believed to be paying.

1.8 cents per stream might not sound like much, but Apple – one of the better payers – says it averages 1.0 cents. Some other streamers are believed to pay considerably less, and to offer reduced royalties in exchange for exposure.

(Image credit: Qobuz) Opinion: It's great to see rates, yeah!

It's not exactly easy in today's world, but many people do try to shop fairly ethically where they can – and knowing how much money's being paid to artists is useful if like me you want to support the people that make the music you love so much.

That's particularly true if the artists you love aren't megastars: 1,000 plays on Qobuz pays an average of $18.73, which isn't much. But it's $18.73 more than the rights owner gets on some other services. And that definitely makes me feel even more positive about Qobuz.

Transparency is something I like to see, and it's definitely a factor in the sites and services I choose to use. For example, I increasingly use bookshop.org and libro.fm for my book deliveries and audiobooks because I like how they work with independent bookshops and how transparent they are about who gets what.

The sums aren't much, I know, but it's nice to know that even when I can't make it to my favorite book nook I can still throw a little money their way instead of making a corporation even more cash.

Of course, people choose – or choose to avoid – the best music streaming services for all kinds of reasons. But with everyone essentially offering the same songs, this is another way in which streaming firms can differentiate themselves from their rivals by telling you what kind of company they are. More, please.

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• Apple is shaking up its Siri development team
• Mike Rockwell, the man behind Vision Pro, is taking over from John Giannandrea
• Could this be the pivotal change Apple needed to bring an upgraded Siri to market?

There's a major shake-up at the top of the Apple food chain as Tim Cook opts for a new leader to help the company bring Apple Intelligence-powered Siri to life.

Following reports from earlier this week that Apple Intelligence would be a focal point of Apple's off-site Top 100 exec meeting, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman is now reporting that AI head John Giannandrea is no longer going to be overseeing Siri's overhaul.

According to Gurman, "[Apple CEO] Tim Cook has lost confidence in the ability of AI head John Giannandrea to execute on product development, so he’s moving over another top executive to help: Vision Pro creator Mike Rockwell."

Rockwell will now be in charge of Siri, according to Gurman's sources, who have asked not to be named, and he'll report directly to software chief Craig Federighi.

With Giannandrea no longer in charge of Siri, he'll now be working on other AI projects. The decision was made during the Apple Top 100 meeting and is said to be confirmed to employees later this week.

Assuming Gruman is right, this major exec shift comes at a pivotal time for Apple – once a pioneer in the voice assistant game but now just a mere passenger – as it tries to devise a solution for Siri.

Apple had advertised its flagship iPhone 16 Pro as the best device for Apple Intelligence, yet nearly seven months after its launch, customers have yet to see the real benefits of AI.

With Apple's Siri delay a public disaster, this shift in leadership could be the catalyst for success that's needed to make the personal context-capable Siri a reality.

Siri's redemption arc?

At WWDC 2024 in June, we got to hear directly from Giannandrea about his vision for the then-newly-announced Siri. He said Siri with Apple Intelligence has a "rich understanding of what’s on your device," and that the voice assistant's knowledge base would "only get richer over time."

Nearly a year later, Siri still can't tell you what month of the year it is and definitely doesn't understand what's on your device.

Rockwell, who can take credit for Apple's Vision Pro development, has the potential to get Siri's development back on track. While the mixed reality headset hasn't necessarily been a commercial success it does achieve some incredible feats.

Tim Cook is likely counting on Rockwell's ability to innovate, as evidenced in the Vision Pro, to make Siri as good as the company advertised back at WWDC. And, if he does, then all the naysayers will have to accept that Apple truly is back on track.

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• Cybernews found an Elasticsearch instance with 870,000 unique records
• They were generated by Collectibles.com, a major collectible cards marketplace
• The database was locked ten days later

Collectibles.com, a major collectible cards marketplace, has been leaking sensitive information on hundreds of thousands of users, exposing them to risk of identity theft, wire fraud, phishing, and more, experts have claimed.

This is according to the research team from Cybernews, who recently discovered, and reported, a non-password-protected Elasticsearch instance.

The team found a 300GB cluster of valuable user data, counting more than 870,000 records, each representing a different person, noting how, “The exposure of user details and transaction histories poses a significant security risk, potentially enabling identity theft, targeted fraud, and account takeovers."

Working around security solutions

Formerly known as Cardbase, Collectibles.com, is an online marketplace and management platform for collectors, allowing users to track, buy, and sell various collectibles, including trading cards, comics, and memorabilia. In a 2024 press release, the company claimed to have roughly 300,000 users.

The data Collectibles.com was leaking includes people’s full names, their email addresses, profile picture links, other user account details, collectible card sales, and transactional data.

Cybernews reached out to the company to report their findings, “but besides an automated response, the company did not acknowledge the data leak,” they said.

The instance was closed ten days later, although we don’t know for how long it remained open before being discovered. We also don’t know if any malicious actors discovered it before Cybernews, and possibly even used the data in phishing.

Exposed databases remain one of the key causes of data leaks. Many organizations hoard sensitive customer data in a cloud database, some of which don’t understand that with cloud, security is a shared responsibility.

Security researchers and cybercriminals alike can use tools like Shodan or Elasticsearch to find these databases and use the information found there to run all kinds of scams.

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• Nvidia's new Game Ready Driver 572.83 is still causing the same black screen issue from previous versions
• The new driver update adds support for new games and RTX 5000 series notebooks
• The issue can occur when installing the driver or when booting into Windows 11 when using a DisplayPort

It's another day and yet another case of many Nvidia RTX GPU users being left frustrated, with Game Ready Driver updates causing numerous issues - and it's one problem, in particular, that can't be shaken off after multiple resolution attempts from Team Green.

Yet again, Nvidia's Game Ready Driver is causing black screen issues for some users - and it's the new driver 572.83 that's the culprit based on complaints on Nvidia's Reddit page. A black screen can remain after installing the new driver (using a DisplayPort), prompting a hard reboot with the same bug occurring at the Windows login screen.

This is a recurring issue that appears to have begun with Nvidia's Game Ready Driver 572.16 which was the official rollout of DLSS 4. I initially thought the issue stemmed from Marvel's Spider-Man 2 or Windows 11 24H2 (which is notorious for weird bugs), but it was indeed the GPU driver.

This update provides support for RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti notebooks and also adds DLSS 4 Override support for titles like Assassin's Creed Shadows and The Last of Us Part 2. Unfortunately, these additions are vital to the functionality of Blackwell GPU notebooks, so installing the new driver is a risk some may have to take.

It's supposedly not exclusive to the new RTX 5000 series GPUs either, as Redditors using older RTX GPUs have voiced similar complaints. For those who weren't lucky enough to avoid these issues, it may be ideal to roll your drivers back to those more stable based on your configuration.

Comment from r/nvidia Comment from r/nvidia Comment from r/nvidia Comment from r/nvidia

(Image credit: Nvidia) This is a major setback for new game support and new GPU owners

While I and many RTX GPU users have the chance to roll drivers back, it's not the same case for others. As I've stated, Game Ready Driver updates as such are required for functionality, particularly with new RTX 5000 GPUs or notebooks powered by them - and that's very concerning.

I'm looking forward to starting Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Shadows, using DLSS 4 for its improved Frame Generation tech and its incredible new Super Resolution via DLSS Override - without updating to driver 572.83, this isn't possible. Potential detrimental issues to my hardware are not something I want to gamble with, just for the sake of enjoying greater visuals (thanks to the new transformer model) and performance.

It's certainly a setback for those affected, and I'm worried that we won't see a fix anytime soon. Nvidia still has Blackwell GPUs in the pipeline for launch, so we'll likely be seeing similar driver updates - and if the recent ones are anything to go by, it's another reason why you should steer far away right now.

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• An Xbox Wire post highlights that we could see Hollow Knight: Silksong kinda soon-ish
• But Xbox could be trolling here...
• My outside hope is Sthat ilksong becomes an Xbox handheld launch title

In a surprising turn-up in the gaming book that I wasn’t expecting to see today, we could potentially see Hollow Knight: Silksong arrive this year… an emphasis on the aspect of 'potential' however.

In an Xbox Wire post, Guy Richards, director at ID@Xbox noted: “Looking ahead, our lineup is incredible with upcoming games like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, Descenders Next, and FBC: Firebreak to play across the whole Xbox universe… and of course Hollow Knight: Silksong too!”

Now that could be a bit of an inside gaming joke in that Hollow Knight fans have been desperate for information about Silksong ever since and an Xbox Game Pass trailer back in 2022. It’s become a bit of a running joke that each year we could see the Hollow Knight sequel pop up at an Xbox Summer Showcase or the occasional Xbox indie developer preview stream, yet Silksong never appears.

However, it’s been eight years since Hollow Knight was released and since then the game has become a bit of a darling in the indie games world and spawned numerous content creators that have dived deep into the gamer’s lore and mechanics. So by that logic, a Silksong release date at the very least is something I feel Hollow Knight fans are within reason to expect.

Speaking as one such fan, my hope is we could see the Hollow Knight: Silksong, which tackles the Metroidvania game from the perspective of the first game’s antagonist-helper Hornet, get a proper showcase this year; maybe at a big Xbox Showcase in July.

There are a lot of reasons to be hyped here, as Silksong looks to take the platforming and combat of Hollow Knight and build upon it with more complex abilities and areas to explore.

But, again, this could all be a bit of trolling from Richards.

A great launch title for the Xbox handheld

Yet if there’s any weight to Richard’s words and my speculation, I’d like to run with it. I think it would be a shot in the arm for Xbox hardware if Silksong was used as a form of launch game for the so-called Xbox handheld; whether that takes the form of an Xbox-branded machine or a reworked Asus ROG Ally.

Now Hollow Knight wasn’t a platform exclusive, nor will Silksong be; unless Microsoft has cooked up some deal with developers Team Cherry. But I could see it being a great way to showcase a new handheld PC; I played Hollow Knight mostly on my Nintendo Switch and reckon it’s a great handheld gaming experience and marriage of hardware and software.

Of course, maybe Nintendo could beat Xbox to the punch and use the Nintendo Direct in April, to showcase the Nintendo Switch 2 running Silksong.

But with Metroid Prime 4: Beyond touted to make an appearance, it’s a lot more likely the game series that spawned half of the Metroidvania nomenclature would be used to show off new Nintendo hardware.

Whatever comes of this Xbox Wire post, I’m just glad that Hollow Knight: Silksong is part of the conversation, even if it’s a little dig at fans, as it reminds me that I and others have still got a promising Hollow Knight sequel to look forward to.

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• Three distinct lines of Chromebooks are coming from Acer
• Prices range from €329 (about $430 / £275) to €729 (around $800 / £610)
• Availability begins in May, with some coming later in July, 2025

Acer has announced seven new Chromebook laptops in its extensive lineup of affordable productivity and media machines.

Announced in a press release, the Acer Chromebook Plus and Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise devices have been described as being the "ideal choice for tech lovers, young professionals, students and teachers".

All seven of the newly announced Acer Chromebook models have Google AI built-in, and it's claimed the machines feature "double the speed, memory and storage" when "compared to previous models".

Prices range from €329 (about $430 / £275) to €729 (around $800 / £610) with the Acer Chromebook Tab 311 at the lower end and the Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 514 at the upper end of the spectrum. Availability begins in May through to July 2025, with official US and UK pricing and availability likely to be revealed closer to the time.

Starting with the Acer Chromebook Plus range, it includes three new laptops, all with Intel Core Ultra processors inside. The mainstream offering is the Acer Chromebook Plus 514, with an Intel Core 3 N355 processor, a 14-inch WUXGA display and a 1080p webcam. A version is also available with an Intel Core 7 processor, a QHD (1440p) webcam and a claimed 17 hours battery life.

The Acer Chromebook Plus 516 utilizes a 16-inch WUXGA display, with a 1080p webcam, and Google AI inside. All three models come with 12 months' worth of Google Gemini Advanced, 2TB of cloud storage, and other benefits of Google One's AI Premium Plan as standard.

Acer's Chromebook Plus Enterprise range also comes in three configurations; the Enterprise 514 is available with either an Intel Core 3 N355 or Intel Core 7 processor, a 14-inch display, and the choice of either a 1080p or QHD (1440p) webcam.

The Acer Chromebook Plus Enterprise 516 also features an Intel Core 7 processor, a 16-inch WUXGA screen, and a QHD webcam. The biggest difference appears to be the weight and thickness when compared to the Plus range, being 3lbs (1.4kg) in weight and less than 18mm (0.7 inches) thick.

The last of the newly announced Acer Chromebooks is the revised Tab 311 model. Unlike the other models, it isn't powered by an Intel Core Ultra CPU but the tried-and-true MediaTek Kompanio 520 processor, with 128GB storage, and up to 8GB LPDDRX memory.

Despite the lower-end specs, it features a 10.95-inch IPS WUXGA display, so it will look the part with its humble specs that are more than enough for the web-based workloads of the Google ecosystem.

Chromebooks are becoming more powerful

Acer's latest lineup could be fast enough to rival some of the best Chromebooks available in 2025, especially those models utilizing an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor. Traditionally, Chromebooks are lower-end, affordable laptops for kids, students, and professionals as ChromeOS is exclusively web-based, meaning there's not necessarily a need for the horsepower defining MacBooks and Windows-based x86 machines.

With that said, the utilization of Intel Core Ultra processors means that Acer's latest Chromebooks will be substantially faster in web browsing, media playback, word processing, and other productivity tasks in contrast to the older Intel Celeron and MediaTek processors we usually see in machines costing $300 / £300 to $700 / £700 from other manufacturers.

With the rough pricing revealed alongside the availability, it's looking like Chromebooks as viable alternatives to Windows and Mac machines will offer up more competition. From the specs provided, they sound like good value, but we won't know how they perform and compare to their competition until we go hands-on later in the year.

For how RAM-intensive Chrome (and Chromium browsers) can be, it sounds like a little more power is long overdue. While they're unlikely to rival the best laptops and best ultrabooks, they sound like solid offerings for the wallet-conscious consumer wanting value for money.

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• Asus' AI Cache Boost is said to improve AI workload uplift by nearly 20%
• The tests were conducted with the three most recent AMD Ryzen 9000 processors
• AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D seems to benefit the most

Asus has launched a BIOS feature named AI Cache Boost which is said to increase AI workload performance on AMD's Ryzen 9000 processors by up to 19.35%.

AI Cache Boost comes as part of a new BIOS firmware update for Asus' AMD 800 series motherboards which is said to "pump up the AI performance of your AMD Ryzen system" for AI apps, such as working with large language models (LLMs).

Specifically, Asus has tested the two recently released AMD Ryzen 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D processors and their optimizations benefitting "AI enthusiasts".

To use the tech with a Ryzen 9000 series CPU and an Asus AMD 800 series motherboard, then, you go to the UEFI BIOS utility, head into the Extreme Tweaker tab, and then toggle AI Cache Boost to 'Enabled' and that will have it ready to handle more AI workloads.

Asus claims its AI Cache Boost includes overclocking the Infinity Fabric clock to 2100 MHz, which is said to boost the total bandwidth of data transfers between the Ryzen 9000 series CPU cores, cache, and memory for working with large language models.

The hardware manufacturer's tests were conducted with a ROG Crosshair X870E Hero motherboard, an RTX 5090, and 32GB DDR5 RAM as the test bench. As well as the two most recently released AM5 chips, the 9800X3D was also put through its paces in Geekbench AI with the ONNX DirectML framework as a benchmark.

On average, Asus' AI Cache Boost saw around a 5% increase in Geekbench AI with its Single Precision and Half Precision scores for both the 9950X3D and 9900X3D. However, the 9800X3D saw the highest difference, of 7.93% with its Half Precision Score (comparing the default of 63365 to 68393).

The claimed 12.5% performance bump was also achieved on the 9800X3D with the UL Procyon AI Computer Vision Benchmark, a sweeping improvement of 1680 compared to 1490. Based on the published benchmarks, it seems that the popular gaming CPU may benefit more than the two leading models.

Asus acknowledges that it's still "early days" for the RTX 5090, so it had conducted tests with the previous-generation (but still excellent) RTX 4090 as well. It's this pairing that we see the largest boost, in tandem with the existing BIOS feature Turbo Game Boost (which allows the CPU to operate more efficiently by disabling simultaneous multithreading).

By using both AI Cache Boost and Turbo Game Mode together, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D saw a jump from 1426 to 1702 in the UL Procyon AI Computer Vision Benchmark. Without Turbo Game Mode, however, the difference was minimal at just 1485 (4.1%). To get the best experience, you may need both BIOS features enabled.

A leg up for AI workloads on niche hardware

Asus' benchmarks reveal anywhere from a slight boost to a significant uplift in AI performance on the Ryzen 9000 series, when paired with leading 90-class graphics cards for good measure. Based on the averages, it seems like the Ryzen 7 9800X3D benefits the most (barring one or two top-end exceptions).

With that said, to use this feature, you'll need a specific motherboard series and also the use of Turbo Game Mode to take things further. If you're thinking of building a rig purely for AI workloads then it seems like the new BIOS feature could be a small shot in the arm to make things a little faster and easier, however, it's debatable whether around 3-6% in most tests is worth upgrading.

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