Would I need to change CPU to get better FPS?


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19 hours ago, Mockingbird said:

 

Some of the suggestions here are ridiculous.

 

If you go to hardware sites like Tom's Hardware and ask if you should get TWO Geforce GTX 1080, 32 GB memory, and 1 TB Samsung 960 Pro, they would laugh.

 

The things that matter the most in a gaming PC (by order of importance)

 

1. Video card (a single video card NOT two in an SLI/crossfire)

 

2. Processor

 

3. Memory (fast memory, 16 GB is more than enough)

 

4. Everything else.

 

Any of 1, 2, and 3 can be a bottleneck.

 

Having too slow a video card could be a bottleneck.

 

Having too slow a processor could be a bottleneck.

 

Having slow or not enough memory could be a bottleneck.

 

Everything else don't make much difference (for games).

 

1. The ultra obvious bottleneck in the OP current system is SSD. So that should get top priority, since when he is gaming on his XBox, the SSD obviously helps his general PC usage and can be used in his eventual upgrade.

 

2. He plans to use mostly Xbox for gaming so it is perverse to suggest ripping out his current mobo and CPU and RAM for the small difference it will make compared to a GPU.

 

3. You appear to be ignoring his 4K requirement which again emphasizes one or two 1080 as a first step.

 

4. Only after all that is figured out and he actually measures a bottleneck in his CPU or RAM, should he consider an major upgrade of Mobo, CPU, RAM at the point in time when he wants to switch back from his XBox Scorpio to PC Gaming.

 

5. This is Neowin, not Tom's Hardware. I like to think we provide more thoughtful advice than just maximizing some benchmark.

 

  • Dislike 1
17 hours ago, slamfire92 said:

Having 4 extra threads + the extra clock speed will absolutely help you in gaming.

 

1. It helps keep the CPU from getting saturated from non gaming background processes.

2. The clock speed is much higher on a 7700k vs. my 6500 and I'd gain OC ability.

3. My 6500 Would probably starve a 1080Ti, leaving it waiting for instructions from the CPU.

4. It would future proof me a bit with gfx card upgrades.

5. I need the extra speed for emulation.

For gaming, the GPU is always the overriding factor.

 

Just because a CPU has "potential" to starve the GPU does not mean it actually will in the game you will be playing.

 

And even then you are better off with a (partially) starved GPU in most cases compared to a slower GPU and faster CPU.

 

I suspect the strange emphasis in this thread on CPU is human rationalization of some sort based on the annoying high cost of a 1080

 

 

 

This is so confusing lol

 

Just seen my gfx card sells for £380-400 SECOND HAND (sold, completed listings) on eBay - it was £440 new a year ago! lol how come?

A 1080Ti can be had for around £650-700. 

 

Is it worth just selling my card and just getting the 1080Ti instead?

I can't do dual cards - mobo only has 1 slot I believe.

2 hours ago, WildWayz said:

This is so confusing lol

 

Just seen my gfx card sells for £380-400 SECOND HAND (sold, completed listings) on eBay - it was £440 new a year ago! lol how come?

A 1080Ti can be had for around £650-700. 

 

Is it worth just selling my card and just getting the 1080Ti instead?

I can't do dual cards - mobo only has 1 slot I believe.

Miners. 

3 hours ago, WildWayz said:

This is so confusing lol

 

Just seen my gfx card sells for £380-400 SECOND HAND (sold, completed listings) on eBay - it was £440 new a year ago! lol how come?

A 1080Ti can be had for around £650-700. 

 

Is it worth just selling my card and just getting the 1080Ti instead?

I can't do dual cards - mobo only has 1 slot I believe.

The crypto-miner are buying the Geforce GTX 1070.

 

Geforce GTX 1070 is apparently better than Geforce GTX 1080 at mining because the former uses GDDR5 while the latter uses GDDR5X.

 

GDDR5X has higher latency than GDDR5 which is apparently worse for mining. (I am not a crypto miner. Correct me if I am wrong.)

 

If you can sell your Geforce GTX 1070 at a decent price and get a Geforce GTX 1080, you should absolutely do that.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

You are getting confused because some of the other users are providing you with incorrect information.

 

Anyway, you already made a good build list that I've helped looked over.

Edited by Mockingbird
  • Like 2
4 hours ago, DevTech said:

For gaming, the GPU is always the overriding factor.

Not when you're gaming @ 1080p for which you're very CPU bound at that point. I realize the OP is specifying 4K. This was for informational purposes only. 

Quote

 

Just because a CPU has "potential" to starve the GPU does not mean it actually will in the game you will be playing.

It may not, but when it does, your expensive GPU isn't reaching its full potential which means you're not getting your money's worth. The preferred scenarios is a GPU maxed out, not your CPU maxed and the GPU @ 70%

Quote

 

And even then you are better off with a (partially) starved GPU in most cases compared to a slower GPU and faster CPU.

I know of no scenario where a faster CPU hurts performance. Unbalanced in the sense that your PC isn't reaching its full potential because the gfx card can't do any better but that's it. 

Quote

 

I suspect the strange emphasis in this thread on CPU is human rationalization of some sort based on the annoying high cost of a 1080.

The slower CPU you start with, the sooner you'll be replacing it. JMO. 

 

  • Like 1
3 hours ago, slamfire92 said:

Not when you're gaming @ 1080p for which you're very CPU bound at that point. I realize the OP is specifying 4K. This was for informational purposes only. 

It may not, but when it does, your expensive GPU isn't reaching its full potential which means you're not getting your money's worth. The preferred scenarios is a GPU maxed out, not your CPU maxed and the GPU @ 70%

I know of no scenario where a faster CPU hurts performance. Unbalanced in the sense that your PC isn't reaching its full potential because the gfx card can't do any better but that's it. 

The slower CPU you start with, the sooner you'll be replacing it. JMO. 

 

You are just rationalizing a psychological desire of some sort for either a brand new CPU or some sort of Benchmark Aesthetic

 

A CPU maxed at 100% and GPU at 70% is a fantastically useful approach when the GPU is double or three times the performance of the previous GPU which is a common result when upgrading to a 1080ti

 

You are definitely getting your money's worth by putting your money where is does the most good.

 

After you spend a fortune on your 1080ti, then you can start to consider the value of another huge outlay to replace a Motherboard, CPU, and all your RAM to get some small incremental boost.

 

These simple facts of reality are true in all cases in terms of economic allocation to get the most gaming value for the money but apply extra in the case of the OP since for some time to come he will focus on his XBOX Scrorpio and so holding off the minor benefit of Mobo/CPU/RAM for a year or so nets him a lot of upgrade value when 16 core CPUs are affordable a year or so from now.

 

  • Like 4
32 minutes ago, DevTech said:

You are just rationalizing a psychological desire of some sort for either a brand new CPU or some sort of Benchmark Aesthetic

 

A CPU maxed at 100% and GPU at 70% is a fantastically useful approach when the GPU is double or three times the performance of the previous GPU which is a common result when upgrading to a 1080ti

Yep, and that maxed out CPU is going to cause stuttering once something else requests attention during gaming.

Quote

 

You are definitely getting your money's worth by putting your money where is does the most good.

 

After you spend a fortune on your 1080ti, then you can start to consider the value of another huge outlay to replace a Motherboard, CPU, and all your RAM to get some small incremental boost.

 

These simple facts of reality are true in all cases in terms of economic allocation to get the most gaming value for the money but apply extra in the case of the OP since for some time to come he will focus on his XBOX Scrorpio and so holding off the minor benefit of Mobo/CPU/RAM for a year or so nets him a lot of upgrade value when 16 core CPUs are affordable a year or so from now.

 

Well If he's going to focus on Scorpio, then screw the gfx card all together and wait a year for everything. No way I'd buy a 1080 now and plan to upgrade everything else in a year. He might get a much better card for same money by then.

 

16 core CPUs are going to be affordable in a years time??? Damn I hope so. 

 

I will say that there is no way I'd buy a 7700k or the z270 platform in general at this point. I'd either go 6-8 core Ryzen or buy Intel's Coffee Lake platform or whatever is available a year from now. 

 

 

Edited by slamfire92
2 minutes ago, slamfire92 said:

Yep, and that maxed out CPU is going to cause stuttering once something else requests attention during gaming.

Well If he's going to focus on Scorpio, then screw the gfx card all together and wait a year for everything. No way I'd buy a 1080 now and plan to upgrade everything else in a year. He might get a much better card for same money by then.

 

16 core CPUs are going to be affordable in a years time???

A GPU that cannot handle the complexity of rendering a "busy" area of a game map is much more likely to cause issues. Like if a person can't breathe and they have a skin rash, you still treat the breathing problem first.

 

The fact that the OP posted this question means that he has an idea to allocate a portion of his available funds on his PC and that both his Scorpio and PC will be driving his 4K monitor.

 

So a 1080ti right now makes a lot of sense just for the 4K.

 

You are correct that a year from now there might be a 1090ti++ that has 4X the 1080ti (for example) and it would still make sense even then to stuff that into his computer first and see what happens...

 

On the 16 core CPU, I said a "year or so" and of course the future price is unknown. With AMD finally providing some competition on the high end, we are seeing a renewed focus by Intel on expanding core counts so it's reasonable to assume some competitive impact on pricing that plays out over the next year or so.

 

Thanks guys for all the excellent input. I have an Xbox One X pre-ordered (can always cancel it) - just trying to figure out what the best course of action is - sounds like a 1080Ti may get bottlenecked by the 3570K (which my motherboard doesn't allow overclocking apparently) - but maybe not until it hits over 60fps.

 

As the new cards are out next year (?) - might be best to hold off upgrading until the newest cards are out and do the card and cpu/motherboard/ram at the same time?

 

I know there's always the paradigm of "always something better around the corner; buy for now and not what will be out later"...

 

 

1 minute ago, WildWayz said:

Thanks guys for all the excellent input. I have an Xbox One X pre-ordered (can always cancel it) - just trying to figure out what the best course of action is - sounds like a 1080Ti may get bottlenecked by the 3570K (which my motherboard doesn't allow overclocking apparently) - but maybe not until it hits over 60fps.

 

As the new cards are out next year (?) - might be best to hold off upgrading until the newest cards are out and do the card and cpu/motherboard/ram at the same time?

 

I know there's always the paradigm of "always something better around the corner; buy for now and not what will be out later"...

 

 

Most likely you could see scenarios of your current CPU bottlenecking the 1080ti but that should not be a concern to you or anyone. 

 

The GPU card is not a living creature that will feel pain if the food bowl is only 3/4 full. Think of it like a team of dogs pulling a sled. You double the dog team with the 1080ti and then limit the new team just a little bit. You will still win the race way ahead of the old dog team.

 

You can buy a 1080ti now and then move it to an upgraded computer a year from now. Buying it now will allow you to measure and test things and judge for yourself with real data the value and timing of an upgrade of CPU. If a great new GPU comes out a year from now, you can sell your 1080ti or use it exclusively as a PhysX engine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX

 

41 minutes ago, DevTech said:

A GPU that cannot handle the complexity of rendering a "busy" area of a game map is much more likely to cause issues. Like if a person can't breathe and they have a skin rash, you still treat the breathing problem first.

 

The fact that the OP posted this question means that he has an idea to allocate a portion of his available funds on his PC and that both his Scorpio and PC will be driving his 4K monitor.

 

So a 1080ti right now makes a lot of sense just for the 4K.

 

You are correct that a year from now there might be a 1090ti++ that has 4X the 1080ti (for example) and it would still make sense even then to stuff that into his computer first and see what happens...

 

On the 16 core CPU, I said a "year or so" and of course the future price is unknown. With AMD finally providing some competition on the high end, we are seeing a renewed focus by Intel on expanding core counts so it's reasonable to assume some competitive impact on pricing that plays out over the next year or so.

 

I disagree with the gfx card business but oh well. If a 1080 is gonna choke with his current CPU whatever succeeds it will even more so. 

 

I still say that if the Scorpio is his focus the majority of the time, then it makes more sense to hold off a year and do it all together. Fact is even a 1080Ti struggles with 4K occasionally. If you're all about spending money where it makes the most sense as you say you are, then you'd agree that it makes sense to wait a year when gfx cards have more umph to deal with 4K. 

Edited by slamfire92
8 hours ago, DevTech said:

Most likely you could see scenarios of your current CPU bottlenecking the 1080ti but that should not be a concern to you or anyone. 

 

The GPU card is not a living creature that will feel pain if the food bowl is only 3/4 full. Think of it like a team of dogs pulling a sled. You double the dog team with the 1080ti and then limit the new team just a little bit. You will still win the race way ahead of the old dog team.

 

You can buy a 1080ti now and then move it to an upgraded computer a year from now. Buying it now will allow you to measure and test things and judge for yourself with real data the value and timing of an upgrade of CPU. If a great new GPU comes out a year from now, you can sell your 1080ti or use it exclusively as a PhysX engine. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PhysX

 

The SSD that you recommended to the OP costs more than the processor + motherboard + memory [combined].

 

This is why other people can't take you seriously.

1 hour ago, Mockingbird said:

The SSD that you recommended to the OP costs more than the processor + motherboard + memory [combined].

 

This is why other people can't take you seriously.

 

Please keep the discussion polite please, even if the population of "other people" consists of just yourself. There is nothing wrong with people presenting various alternative for the OP to consider and the responsible thing for me to do was dispel the fantasy/myth of the "CPU Bottleneck" just in case that could be the basis of a purchase decision.  The OP is quite able to agree with you that CPU is paramount precedence if he wants to. There is no need to build a consensus in these types of topics. I'm just making sure the proper facts are presented.

 

If his motherboard can handle a M.2 NVMe x 4 Samsung 960, then I can assure you from experience that it is worth every penny. It will have no effect on FPS and I never said it would, but will improve the operation of his computer tremendously while he is waiting to figure out his GPU requirements and is fully transferable to a new rig which makes it a sensible upgrade for his long term scenario.

10 hours ago, slamfire92 said:

I disagree with the gfx card business but oh well. If a 1080 is gonna choke with his current CPU whatever succeeds it will even more so. 

 

I still say that if the Scorpio is his focus the majority of the time, then it makes more sense to hold off a year and do it all together. Fact is even a 1080Ti struggles with 4K occasionally. If you're all about spending money where it makes the most sense as you say you are, then you'd agree that it makes sense to wait a year when gfx cards have more umph to deal with 4K. 

Your suggestion is a possible option for the OP.

 

My first response to computer configuration issues like this one is to test - test - test. Given that he is allocating funds on a monthly basis, there is a case for buying the 1080ti and testing it with his current rig to learn where the 4K limits are with exactly the type of games that he plays.

 

Then he will be able to make an informed decision on how he wants to proceed. He can still decide to upgrade his CPU 1 month later or 1 year later depending on what he finds out.

 

39 minutes ago, DevTech said:

 

Please keep the discussion polite please, even if the population of "other people" consists of just yourself.

Other users (i.e. Mind overmaster) would agree with my comment.

 

39 minutes ago, DevTech said:

 

There is nothing wrong with people presenting various alternative for the OP to consider and the responsible thing for me to do was dispel the fantasy/myth of the "CPU Bottleneck" just in case that could be the basis of a purchase decision.  The OP is quite able to agree with you that CPU is paramount precedence if he wants to. There is no need to build a consensus in these types of topics. I'm just making sure the proper facts are presented.

Certainly not a myth.

 

39 minutes ago, DevTech said:

 

If his motherboard can handle a M.2 NVMe x 4 Samsung 960, then I can assure you from experience that it is worth every penny.

The OP can get an SSD that costs less than half of that and would experience neglectable differences.

 

The OP is not performing tasks that would benefit from having a very fast SSD (i.e. editing 4K videos).

 

This is simply a huge waste of money.

 

39 minutes ago, DevTech said:

 

It will have no effect on FPS and I never said it would, but will improve the operation of his computer tremendously while he is waiting to figure out his GPU requirements and is fully transferable to a new rig which makes it a sensible upgrade for his long term scenario.

Holy mackerel!  So you are saying that he should spend unreasonable amount of money on something that won't even do what he wanted. Facepalm.

i didnt read the whole thread, admittedly, but i have to disagree w/ a lot of people here. in my opinion, that aging Ivy Bridge CPU is not going to bottleneck a GPU. Other people were saying that you need really fast RAM and 32GB of it. I disagree w/ this, too. 16GB of decent DDR4 (or DDR3) will be just fine.

 

The biggest factor of gaming at 4k is going to be the GPU itself and the amount vRAM. i've seen games using a full 12GB of vRAM. The GPU is going to struggle to handle that many pixels so the CPU takes a back seat. That's not even including other effects like AO, particle effects, etc. Those will really chew up GPU cycles. Again, the CPU here wouldnt matter much.

1 hour ago, Jason S. said:

i didnt read the whole thread, admittedly, but i have to disagree w/ a lot of people here. in my opinion, that aging Ivy Bridge CPU is not going to bottleneck a GPU. Other people were saying that you need really fast RAM and 32GB of it. I disagree w/ this, too. 16GB of decent DDR4 (or DDR3) will be just fine.

 

The biggest factor of gaming at 4k is going to be the GPU itself and the amount vRAM. i've seen games using a full 12GB of vRAM. The GPU is going to struggle to handle that many pixels so the CPU takes a back seat. That's not even including other effects like AO, particle effects, etc. Those will really chew up GPU cycles. Again, the CPU here wouldnt matter much.

This absolutely.  

 

There are countless benchmarks out there that prove that a i3 vs i5 vs i7 and various generations of, make almost zero difference in gaming FPS.  Faster RAM speeds are especially pointless. The GPU is almost always the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions.

 

Invest in a high end GPU and a quality SSD, and you're PC will be rock solid for many many years.

1 hour ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

This absolutely.  

 

There are countless benchmarks out there that prove that a i3 vs i5 vs i7 and various generations of, make almost zero difference in gaming FPS.  Faster RAM speeds are especially pointless. The GPU is almost always the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions.

 

Invest in a high end GPU and a quality SSD, and you're PC will be rock solid for many many years.

it's worth reiterating here that we're both talking about high resolutions. CPU might make a difference at low resolutions or in games such as RTS's. it's been shown many times that there is no bottleneck at higher resolutions across CPUs from Sandy Bridge all the way up to...whatever today's arch is.

  • Like 3
2 hours ago, Jason S. said:

i didnt read the whole thread, admittedly, but i have to disagree w/ a lot of people here. in my opinion, that aging Ivy Bridge CPU is not going to bottleneck a GPU. Other people were saying that you need really fast RAM and 32GB of it. I disagree w/ this, too. 16GB of decent DDR4 (or DDR3) will be just fine.

 

The biggest factor of gaming at 4k is going to be the GPU itself and the amount vRAM. i've seen games using a full 12GB of vRAM. The GPU is going to struggle to handle that many pixels so the CPU takes a back seat. That's not even including other effects like AO, particle effects, etc. Those will really chew up GPU cycles. Again, the CPU here wouldnt matter much.

I said this before. GPU is your top competitor, not your CPU, RAM, SSD. Thanks for bringing that up. :)

7 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

it's worth reiterating here that we're both talking about high resolutions. CPU might make a difference at low resolutions or in games such as RTS's. it's been shown many times that there is no bottleneck at higher resolutions across CPUs from Sandy Bridge all the way up to...whatever today's arch is.

yes from my experience 1080p seems to be the tipping point where things start leaning on the GPU more

1 hour ago, Astra.Xtreme said:

This absolutely.  

 

There are countless benchmarks out there that prove that a i3 vs i5 vs i7 and various generations of, make almost zero difference in gaming FPS.  Faster RAM speeds are especially pointless. The GPU is almost always the bottleneck, especially at higher resolutions.

 

Invest in a high end GPU and a quality SSD, and you're PC will be rock solid for many many years.

There simply aren't a ton of comparisons out there because the processor is pretty old.

 

This is what I was able to find.

 

Yes, I know that none of these processors are the ones we are talking about and that's not the correct resolution...

 

... but as I said before, there aren't a ton of comparisons out there for older processors

 

Core i5-7600K.png

13 minutes ago, Jason S. said:

it's worth reiterating here that we're both talking about high resolutions. CPU might make a difference at low resolutions or in games such as RTS's. it's been shown many times that there is no bottleneck at higher resolutions across CPUs from Sandy Bridge all the way up to...whatever today's arch is.

It's true for now cause gpus struggle to handle 4k and bottleneck the whole system. But wont be true anymore in a couple of years.

 

But yeah if i had an Ivy Bridge cpu i would not upgrade now. Those 4/8 cpus might get outdated fast if game developers start to exploit multi-core cpus better and gpus start to handle 4k better. The Ryzen 6 is pretty much the only affordable cpu with more than 4/8 from what i know. I would definitely not upgrade before next year if i was the owner of an Ivy bridge computer.

4 minutes ago, LaP said:

It's true for now cause gpus struggle to handle 4k and bottleneck the whole system. But wont be true anymore in a couple of years.

 

But yeah if i had a Ivy Bridge cpu i would not upgrade now. Those 4/8 cpus might get outdated fast if game developers start to exploit multi-core cpus better and gpus start to handle 4k better. The Ryzen 6 is pretty much the only affordable cpu with more than 4/8 from what i know. I would definitely not upgrade before next year if i was the owner of an Ivy bridge computer.

I wouldn't agree with that.

 

Eight-cores Ryzen 7 1700 for $269.99 is pretty affordable

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When Do Not Disturb is enabled on Windows, incoming call audio from a paired phone no longer rings on the PC. [Voice access and voice typing] New! You can now use voice access and voice typing in French, German, and Spanish. As you speak, your PC improves your text in real time. It corrects grammar, punctuation, and recognition errors, and helps improve clarity—even in the presence of background noise. This makes dictation smoother and reduces the need for manual edits.3 [Audio] This update improves the reliability of the inbox HD Audio driver. [Taskbar] This update improves the reliability of opening the Start menu when selecting the left edge of the taskbar when the icons in the taskbar are left-aligned. [Networking] This update includes networking improvements for virtualized environments. Confidential Virtual Machines (CVMs) now use SR-IOV hardware acceleration by default for improved network throughput, and a configuration issue in nested Hyper-V virtualization network setup has been corrected to ensure reliable VM network provisioning. This update improves the reliability of the Windows networking stack. It reduces bug checks (blue screen errors) related to Wi-Fi power and improves cellular (WWAN) connectivity, including support for IPv6 VPNs. Compatibility with third-party VPN software and SR-IOV configurations on server hardware is also improved. Network adapter settings and bindings are now preserved across OS upgrades. [Printing] New! New printer installations use Internet Printing Protocol (IPP) by default when supported, simplifying setup and improving reliability. For details about third-party driver deprecation, see End of Servicing Plan for Third-Party Printer Drivers on Windows. To control this behavior, use the toggle in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners > Default install printers using Windows Ready Print. For more information, see Introducing Windows Ready Print and modernized driver selection. For more information, see Introducing Windows Ready Print and Modernized Driver Selection. [Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL)] The update improves usage of WSL in mirrored networking mode with VPNs. [Display and graphics] Improves the reliability of rendering content while scrolling for certain apps spanning across multiple monitors. Improves the reliability and persistence of applying color profiles. [Location services] This update changes how some location settings are displayed in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location to help with clarity. When location services are turned off, settings like Default location and Allow location override don't immediately apply, since location information is not given to apps or services. These settings will now be greyed out when location services are off to reduce confusion over when they take effect. [Search] This update improves the reliability of setting Search related group policies. [Input] New! You can now customize the size of the right-click zone in Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Touchpad. Choose from default, small, medium, or large to control how much of the bottom-right corner responds to a single-finger right-click. This setting is only available on touchpads with a pressable surface. If your device manufacturer provides customization through their own app, a Custom option will appear to reflect those settings. This update improves recognition of English characters when using Japanese handwriting. [General performance] Improves the time to shut down Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) when you turn off your PC. [General Reliability] ​​​​This update improves the reliability of explorer.exe. It addresses issues on the login and lock screens related to third-party credential providers, reduces the probability of taskbar icons appearing as blank gray placeholders, and improves navigation to Home in File Explorer during OneDrive sync. It also improves explorer.exe reliability when switching between desktops, enhances app launch with shell extensions, and using acrylic blur effects in the Start menu, Settings, and the lock screen. [Apps] Resolves an issue where some installers and applications could show unexpected elevation (UAC) prompts after installing KB5089549. [Remote Desktop] This update refreshes the dialog design when you enable Remote Desktop in Settings > System > Remote Desktop. [Graphics Kernel] Improves memory-management policy that allows PCs with more than 32GB of installed memory to run larger local AI models. Up next we have the features under normal rollout: [Secure Boot] With this update, Windows quality updates include additional high confidence device targeting data, increasing coverage of devices eligible to automatically receive new Secure Boot certificates. Devices receive the new certificates only after demonstrating sufficient successful update signals, maintaining a controlled and phased rollout. [Authentication] This update improves Netlogon secure channel connections between domain controllers, enabling successful connections from member servers to domain controllers set up before 2025. [Emoji Panel Update] The emoji panel (Windows key + period (.)) now uses GIPHY for GIF content following the deprecation of Google’s Tenor API. Starting June 30, 2026, install the latest Windows update to continue using GIFs in the Emoji panel. If you don’t update, you will see a "GIF service is not available" error in the panel. Installing the latest Windows update will restore access to GIFs. [Networking] This update improves how your device connects to shared network resources. Connections used by apps and system features, such as the NetUseAdd function, now work more reliably, including unauthenticated (null session) connections. [Recycle Bin (known issue)] Fixed: This update addresses an issue where the confirmation dialog might display an internal Recycle Bin file name instead of the original file name when permanently deleting a file. This issue might occur after installing the June 2026 security update (KB5094126). [Taskbar] This update improves notification badge display across your apps. Notification counts and badge visuals now update correctly, helping you stay up to date with new activity. You can choose to manually download the update from Microsoft's update catalog website at this link.
    • Hands-on with BOOX Tappy: cute little reading accessory by Taras Buria Page turners are quite popular accessories for e-readers, as they enable a hands-free reading experience, which is particularly useful with large readers featuring 10-inch or larger displays. The BOOX Tappy is a new accessory that was introduced earlier this year, and we took this cute-looking thingy for a spin. The Tappy comes in a small box, with two additional buttons and a user manual. The device is made of glossy green plastic and resembles old appliances from the nuclear age. Material quality is great, and each part feels quite premium. Plastic is high-quality, the switch is nice to flick, and the buttons are not rattly. At the bottom, four rubberized feet prevent slipping when used on a desk. Unfortunately, there are no color options, and the Tappy is only available in green. It looks good, but I wish there were other options as well. There are two removable buttons, an on/off switch, and an LED indicator that displays connection mode, charging status, and more. The buttons resemble those of an old typewriter, with quite a long travel distance and a pleasant clack. In the box, you have four buttons with different icons: heart, coffee, O, and X. You can easily swap buttons by simply pulling them upwards. Tip: buttons come with plastic covers, but they are quite tricky to remove. It is hard to call the Tappy the most ergonomic remote control, but after fiddling with it for a few hours, I managed to find a comfortable hand position. Attaching a lanyard to it can make it more comfortable in use without the fear of dropping it, but unfortunately, the Tappy does not come with one. The Tappy connects via Bluetooth 5.2, and it works in three modes, which you can toggle by pressing and holding both buttons for about five seconds: Reading Mode Multimedia Mode Browsing Mode Next / Previous page Next / Previous Track Up / Down scroll If you pair the Tappy with a BOOX device (I tested it with the BOOX Go 10.5 Gen 2 Lumi), you will get small pop-ups indicating the current mode. Plus, you can customize what each button does when pressed one time, two times, or held for a few seconds. The list of available actions and features you can use is massive, and I like that BOOX lets you map stuff like brightness adjustment, app launching, screenshot-taking, screen rotating, navigation, and more. Note, however, that while you can use the Tappy with other readers, its customization is only available on BOOX devices running firmware version 4.2 and newer. I could not connect the Tappy to my computer (Windows 11 claims a driver error when I try), but it worked with the DuRoBo Krono that I recently reviewed. My Kindle Paperwhite refused to work with the Tappy, though, just like my iPhone. The Tappy uses a non-removable Li-Ion battery, which can be recharged with a Type-C cable. BOOX rates the remote for "weeks of use," and I can say that it indeed has very good battery life. While there are no battery indicators on the remote, you can see the current level in the status bar or in Input settings in the BOOX firmware. After a few days of active use, mine still shows about 95%. Overall, the Tappy left a nice impression. It is well-made, and the integration with BOOX devices is great. I also like that BOOX decided to have some fun with its design and swappable buttons. I cannot say I am a fan of its odd shape, though. Still, I managed to find a way to use it comfortably. And when not in use, it just looks neat sitting on the table doing nothing or serving you as a small clacky fidget. Buy BOOX Tappy - $29.99 on Amazon US As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • AdGuard Family lifetime deal now only $14.97 by Steven Parker Today's highlighted Neowin Deal comes via our Apps + Software section, where you can get a lifetime subscription and save 91% on a lifetime AdGuard Family Plan. AdGuard is a unique program that has all the necessary features for what they claim to be "the best web experience." The software combines the an advanced ad blocker, a privacy protection module, and a parental control tool—all working in one app. This software deals with annoying ads, hides your data from a multitude of trackers, protects you from malware attacks, and even lets you restrict your kids from accessing inappropriate content. Install AdGuard and see the internet as it was supposed to be: clean and safe. Get rid of annoying banners, pop-ups & video ads once and for all Hide your data from the multitude of trackers & activity analyzers that swarm the web Avoid fraudulent and phishing website and malware attacks Protect your kids online by restricting them from accessing inappropriate & adult content Good to know Family Plan Length of access: lifetime This plan is only available to new users Redemption deadline: redeem your code within 30 days of purchase Max number of devices: 9 Access options: desktop & mobile Software version: AdGuard Family Updates included A lifetime subscription of AdGuard Family Plan normally costs $169.99, but this deal can be yours for just $14.97, that's a saving of $157.02. For full terms, specifications, and license info please click the link below. Get this AdGuard Family lifetime deal for just $14.97 (was $169.99) Although priced in U.S. dollars, this deal is available for digital purchase worldwide. As an online publication, Neowin too relies on ads for operating costs and, if you use an ad blocker, we'd appreciate being whitelisted. In addition, we have an ad-free subscription for $28 a year, which is another way to show support! Support queries If you have queries or need support for any of the Neowin Deals, please use the contact form here. Neowin Deals are managed and sold by StackCommerce who represent Neowin on an affiliate basis. Why we post these deals We post these because we earn commission on each sale so as not to rely solely on advertising, which many of our readers block. It all helps toward paying staff reporters, servers and hosting costs. So for those that keep moaning and complaining, be thankful we're still online for you to even do that. Other ways to support Neowin Whitelist Neowin by not blocking our ads Create a free member account to see fewer ads Make a donation to support our day to day running costs Subscribe to Neowin - for $14 a year, or $28 a year for an ad-free experience Disclosure: Neowin benefits from revenue of each sale made through our branded deals site powered by StackCommerce.
    • Sadly "beats Steam Machine" isn't much of a brag.
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