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14 Feb 2025   
  
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AMD’s next-gen Radeon RX 9070 XT will be revealed February 28
After a weird not-quite-announcement at CES 2025, AMD is ready to whip back the curtain on its next generation of graphics card. Today, David McAfee (VP of Ryzen and Radeon) announced on X that the company will formally unveil the Radeon RX 9070 XT on the AMD Gaming YouTube channel on February 28 at 8 AM Eastern. AMD originally briefed the press on the Radeon RX 9070 XT in early January, saying that it would be part of the company’s CES 2025 keynote. AMD never actually mentioned a new GPU generation, and in interviews afterwards, executives said it was delayed to provide a bigger, dedicated event for its complex new graphics generation. (Nvidia’s RTX 50-series reveal, with lower prices than expected and a frame-boosting Multi Frame Generation feature, might have also taken AMD by surprise.) The original press briefing didn’t reveal much beyond philosophical changes. The new RDNA 4 architecture powering the Radeon RX 9070 and 9060 series graphics cards (finally) places a larger emphasis on AI hardware as AI upscaling devours native graphics. And AMD’s next-gen FSR 4.0 is designed to lean heavily on those new AI cores to more closely compete with Nvidia’s vaunted DLSS upscaling. AMD said a March launch would let the company add more polish to initial FSR 4.0 integrations. AMD Beyond that, we don’t know anything official yet, though some compelling (unconfirmed) Radeon RX 9070 XT specs were recently leaked. Are they legit? Guess we’ll find out on February 28. In the meantime, check out our reviews of the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 and RTX 5080, two graphics cards that go all-in on DLSS 4’s new Multi Frame Generation feature. Nvidia just announced that the RTX 5070 Ti, a more direct competitor to the name-borrowing Radeon RX 9070, will launch on February 20. It’s going to be a busy end of the month for gaming enthusiasts! 
© 2025 PC World 8:25am 

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Anker’s tiniest power bank (with folding USB-C plug) is only $19 today
Never fear the dreaded low-battery beep. This itsy bitsy Anker Nano power bank will keep your phone charged anywhere you go, and right now you can snag it for only $18.98 on Amazon. That’s a solid 37 percent discount off its $30 MSRP. (Clip the on-page coupon!) This ultra-portable power bank is so tiny, even us ladies can slip it into our barely-there pockets. I know this from personal experience because I bought one during concert season last year — and I was able to take it with me everywhere and keep my phone charged day and night. The 5,000mAh capacity is enough to charge your phone from dead to full, which is more than enough for a day’s outing. It also has a built-in USB-C connector that folds when not in use. Want to charge a second device? Or just use a cable instead? This power bank has another USB-C port on the side, so you can use it more traditionally if you want. With the built-in USB-C, you can plug it into your phone and keep using it like normal without fussing with a cable. And with its 22.5W power delivery, this charger will get you juiced back up in no time. If you’re tired of stressing over your phone’s dwindling battery life, don’t miss this chance to get this Anker Nano power bank for $18.98 on Amazon! Make sure you clip that on-page coupon for this price. This ultra-portable USB-C power bank is a no-brainer for $19Buy now at Amazon 
© 2025 PC World 6:25am 

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Hands-on with Asus Q-Release Slim PCIe slots: Just yank it
Getting a big honkin’ graphics card out of a PCIe slot isn’t easy these days. Asus has tried a few methods to alleviate this issue, but its latest Q-Release Slim slot design is causing some new problems on its own. Adam and Will decided to go in-depth in the lab to see what all the fuss is about. The fuss, in case you haven’t heard, is that this slot design might scratch your graphics card’s connection area. There’s a little retention clamp inside the slot, which replaced simpler button-redirect mechanisms that just moved the tab to make it easier to hit. The clamp only releases if you pull on the card in a very specific way, from the part of the card closest to the rear of the PC case. The mechanism itself is a little awkward, requiring a two degree tilt in an area of the case that’s already very tight. But as Adam points out, the bigger issue might be that in the absence of easy access to the release tab, the Q-Release Slim design asks the user to just yank on the card, in a way that’s not immediately obvious. It’s also deeply unnatural for anyone who’s been using PCIe slots for the last couple of decades. That said, it’s not so awkward that it’s impossible to get used to. And as has been noted before, most people aren’t frequently installing and removing graphics cards in the same machine — it’s a condition that might be exclusive to people who are constantly reviewing and benchmarking PC components. So I wouldn’t call it a deal-breaker for a motherboard that has this Q-Release Slim system in place. But if it is, there are plenty of alternatives, even in Asus’ own product line. For more on the latest yankable PC hardware, be sure to subscribe to PCWorld on YouTube. And join us every Tuesday for The Full Nerd podcast. 
© 2025 PC World 8:05am 

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RCA ANTD8E indoor TV antenna review: Powerful and pretty
At a glanceExpert's Rating Pros Good reception of most local channels Inline amplifier to boost reception Attractive industrial design for indoor use Cons The antenna’s wide base gives it a large footprint (the stand can be removed if you prefer to hang the antenna) Poor reception of low-power and distant channels Our Verdict The RCA ANTD8E Multi-Directional Amplified TV Antenna delivers good reception of strong local channels, and it has a unique design that won’t look out of place inside your home. It’s best for areas with good or strong local TV signals. Price When Reviewed This value will show the geolocated pricing text for product undefined Best Pricing Today Best Prices Today: RCA Multi-Directional TV Antenna (model ANTD8E) Retailer Price RCA $59.99 View Deal Price comparison from over 24,000 stores worldwide Product Price Price comparison from Backmarket The RCA Multi-Directional Amplified indoor TV antenna (model ANTD8E) is an unusual-looking indoor TV antenna that’s best for areas with strong to good signal reception. Its stylish design—it resembles an upside-down home plate covered in a charcoal-covered woven fabric—distinguishes it from other indoor antennas. The signal reception it delivers is at least on-par with other good indoor antennas we’ve tested. If you’re looking for easy reception of major local channels, and you live in or near a metro area, this could be a good pick. If your home is in a more rural location or a far-flung suburb, and you want to pull in distant stations, you should consider an outdoor antenna you can mount on a mast—or at least one you can install in your attic. Those types of antennas will always deliver a better signal than any indoor model. Specifications The RCA ANTD8E is designed for reception of VHF high band and UHF TV stations, which are broadcasting on channels 7 to 36. Since the switch to digital broadcasting, the channel numbers in the names of TV stations often no longer match the channels they broadcast on, so check a site like Rabbit Ears to see the channels used in your area. Click on the “Market Listings” page to find your TV market and look at the “physical channel” column. The RCA ANTD8E indoor TV antenna is pleasing to look at, wrapped in a woven fabric where most competitors use just bland plastic. As its name suggests, the RCA Multi-Directional TV Antenna comes with a small signal amplifier to aid reception. This is built into a small box that can be connected to the antenna cable near the television, and it requires USB power. I connected it to one of the unused USB ports on my television. Needless to say, your TV will also need to have an onboard TV tuner, either ATSC 1.0 or ATSC 3.0 for NextGen TV. The antenna has a 9-foot cable that you’ll connect to the TV tuner’s coaxial input. The RCA ANTD8E’s sculpted design and woven fabric wrapping lend it an appealing visual flair.Martyn Williams/Foundry Before we go much further, let’s tackle all the irrelevant slogans you’ll encounter in the antenna’s advertising. The first is its “65-mile range.” As we’ve said before (and as RCA acknowledges in tiny type on the bottom of the box), there are so many factors that go into broadcast reception that a claim like this is meaningless; so, don’t count on it.   This review is part of TechHive’s in-depth coverage of the best TV antennas. The box also advertises compatibility with NextGen TV, the new TV broadcasting format slowly rolling out in the U.S. with the capacity to deliver content in 4K and even 8K resolution. I’ll let you in on a trade secret: an antenna doesn’t care about broadcasting formats. If the signal is there, even your 1960s rabbit ears will pull in NextGen TV. The same goes for 4K and 8K resolution, and it’s worth noting that such broadcasts don’t even exist at present. Design One of the main differences between the RCA antenna and other indoor antennas–including the Winegard—is its industrial design. While the Winegard and a lot of other antennas are flat or very thin, RCA makes a little more of a statement. The ANTD8E is shaped like a three-dimensional pentagon with six raised panels on its face. The antenna is wrapped in woven fabric on the front, where most competing indoor antennas are just bare plastic. That makes this antenna more pleasing to look at than much of the competition, which might be something to consider as it will be sitting inside your house, preferably near a window (if its 9-foot cable won’t reach, you could consider extending it with a barrel connector and a second cable if it doesn’t compromise its performance). The antenna sits on a stand that allows a small degree of movement, or it can be wall mounted using nails or screws. The RCA ANTD8E can be mounted on a stand or hung on a wall. It comes with a fixed 9-foot coaxial cable.Martyn Williams/Foundry RCA has also thought about cable management and there’s a clip near the base of the antenna to keep the cable tidy and a hole in the base through which it can be fed to make for a neater arrangement than many of its competitors. Performance So, with all that out of the way, how did RCA’s model ANTD8E TV antenna perform? One of RCA’s boldest claims is “worry-free antenna placement” thanks to “360-degree reception.” Antennas usually need to be orientated towards a broadcast transmitter, so this is a bold claim. I usually place whatever antenna I’m testing in front of a window, facing the direction of the transmitter. But I started with this one by placing it on a shelf next to my TV near the window. It did OK there, but the number of channels I received—and the signal strength of each—increased when I moved it in front of the window. The antenna comes with an inline signal amplifier that has an integrated 4G/5G/LTE signal filter. You can power it by plugging it into one of your TV’s USB ports or a USB power adapter.Martyn Williams/Foundry In use, the RCA ANTD8E performed reasonably well for an indoor TV antenna. It delivered stable, break-up-free reception of most of the local high-power TV stations in my area, but a couple of them did suffer from occasional break up. It wasn’t constant, but frequent enough that it would probably be annoying if I tried to watch a show on the affected channel. Those channels usually come in well, so I compared RCA’s offering to the Winegard Flatwave Amped, which is one of our favorite indoor TV antennas, and it performed about the same, so it probably isn’t an issue with the antenna. The RCA ANTD8E didn’t do well with any of the local low-power TV stations, and it didn’t manage to pull in any stations from the neighboring market. But this is about what you can expect from an indoor antenna. Should you buy an RCA ANTD8E Multi-Directional TV Antenna? If you’re only concerned with the reception of the local major network affiliates, and you live relatively close to their transmitters, this antenna will probably work for you. Ignore the range on the box and check the Rabbit Ears website to determine what channels you might receive. If you’re concerned about how an antenna will look in your home, this is a strong candidate for one of the least visibly intrusive. 
© 2025 PC World 7:05am 

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