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There was no question that NVIDIA’s RTX 5000 GPUs would be one of the biggest stories at CES 2025, and I figured Intel and AMD to arrive with some new hardware of their own. But I didn’t expect that each of these companies would, in their own way, be putting the pedal to the metal when it comes to power for their chip designs. After all, we’ve spent the last few years covering AI PC CPUs that was targeting efficiency more than raw performance.

While NVIDIA RTX 5000 GPUs seem to deliver the performance leap we expected over its 2022-era cards, AMD is also redefining what’s possible for mobile workstations with its Ryzen AI Max chips, which combine powerful graphics with gobs of integrated memory. Intel isn’t sitting still either — it’s finally moving Arrow Lake into the high-performance and gaming arena with its Core Ultra 200HX chips, which can reach up to 24 cores and 5.5GHz speeds.

I’m not just talking about power in the sheer performance sense, either. NVIDIA’s $1,999 RTX 5090 requires a 1,000-watt power supply to function and uses up to 575 watts. The Ryzen AI Max chips, meanwhile, could eat up as much as 120-watts. Intel’s Core Ultra 200HX chips go as high as 120-watts. Clearly, none of this hardware is meant for anyone concerned about their energy bills or potential laptop battery life.

RTX 5090RTX 5080RTX 5070 TiRTX 5070RTX 4090Architecture

Blackwell

Blackwell

Blackwell

Blackwell

Lovelace

CUDA cores

21,760

10,752

8,960

6,144

16,384

AI TOPS

3,352

1,801

1,406

988

1,321

Tensor cores

5th Gen

5th Gen

5th Gen

5th Gen

4th Gen

RT cores

4th Gen

4th Gen

4th Gen

4th Gen

3rd Gen

VRAM

32 GB GDDR7

16 GB GDDR7

16 GB GDDR7

12 GB GDDR7

24 GB GDDR6X

Memory bandwidth

1,792 GB/sec

960 GB/sec

896 GB/sec

672 GB/sec

1,008 GB/sec

TGP

575W

360W

300W

250W

450W

So what do you get for all of this energy consumption? AMD says the RTX 5090 will deliver roughly twice the performance of its previous flagship, the $1,499 RTX 4090. In a 4K Cyberpunk 2077 demo with full ray tracing, the 4090 hovered around 108 fps while the 5090 was reaching 240 fps. That frame count is a bit controversial, though, since the RTX 5090’s DLSS 4 AI upscaling generates three frames for every natively rendered frame. The end result may look smoother to most people, but some gamers might question the integrity of so-called false frames.

It’s those same AI-generated frames that allow NVIDIA to proclaim that the $549 RTX 5070 could be as powerful as the 4090. That may be true when it comes to pure frames-per-second count, but it certainly won’t be for rasterized performance without DLSS 4.

AMD’s Ryzen AI Max chips aren’t aiming for the same sort of graphical heights as NVIDIA’s new GPUs, but they’re still notable for the sheer amount of hardware they contain. The top-of-the-line Ryzen AI Max+ 395 sports 16 CPU Zen 5 cores, 50 TOPS of AI performance and 40 RDNA 3.5 GPU compute units. According to AMD, it should be on-part with Apple’s 14-core M4 Pro chip (and even faster in the Vray benchark), and it’s 2.6 times faster in 3D rendering than Intel’s Core Ultra 9 288V.

In an interview with AMD CVP and product CTO Joe Macri, he told Engadget that the success of Apple Silicon as a major reason why the Ryzen AI Max exists. “What Apple showed was consumers don’t care what’s inside the box,” he said. Macri later noted, “I always knew, because we were building APUs, and I’d been pushing for this big APU forever, that I could build, a system that was smaller, faster, and I could give much higher performance at the same power.”

AMD also briefly previewed its RDNA 4 graphics at CES, though at this point it’s clearly aiming for the mid-range and not NVIDIA’s RTX 5090. Notably, AMD will debut a new AI powered upscaling technology in RDNA 4 GPUs, FidelityFX Super Resolution 4 (FSR 4). That should finally give AMD a way to directly compete against NVIDA’s DLSS, which for years has looked better than earlier versions of FSR. The first RDNA 4 cards, the Radeon RX 9070 and 9070 XT, will arrive sometime in the first quarter.

Intel’s presence at CES 2024 was more muted than the competition, but loyalists will likely appreciate the new Core Ultra 200HX chips. While they scale back NPU performance from its recent AI PC hardware (12 TOPS down from 48 TOPS), the Core Ultra 9 285HX looks like a 24-core beast. It’ll be interesting to see how it competes AMD’s Ryzen AI 300 hardware, though it likely won’t stand a chance against the Ryzen AI Max when paired up with a discrete GPU.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/nvidia-amd-and-intel-aimed-for-maximum-power-at-ces-2025-150038070.html?src=rss 

It’s always gratifying when something promised at CES actually comes to market. That’s the case with the Pebble Flow electric trailer that my colleague Sam Rutherford checked out last year’s CES. I was able to see the final draft on the show floor this week and was adequately impressed. Like the (four!) other sustainable, electrified tiny homes we saw this year, it was shiny and luxe and decked out in wood tones, glass, metal and white polymers. 

The main features that drew us to the Flow last year remain intact: sleeping for four, a 45 kWh battery and a 1.1 kW solar panel, full kitchen and bath, a queen-size Murphy bed that transforms into a shared working space and a convertible dinette at the other end. The kitchen faucet even spins 180-degrees and out the window to let you do some washing up outside. 

The option for the Magic Pack add-on is still here. For an upcharge, it allows the Flow to self-park, automatically hitch itself and provide it’s own propulsion from dual motors so it’s not such a drag (literally) on the vehicle that’s towing it. 

One of the coolest features is still the glass separating the bathroom from the rest of the cabin. At the push of a button it goes from clear to opaque so you can have some privacy without having to kick your entire family out of the trailer. 

As for what’s new, those changes were partly sourced from prospective customers. One directive was “more windows,” so a skylight was added, along with a larger window at the back. The cupboards are now easier to access by flipping up instead of down. And the overall shape was refined to be more aerodynamic. 

Walking around in the Flow, everything felt soothing and clean. The bed was so plush I wanted to melt into it. The seating area was inviting and spacious. It was tough to leave this homey pod (especially considering how stupendously hard it is to just find a place to sit down at CES). I don’t have a vehicle that can pull a trailer, but I would love to park one of these in my backyard. Even if I never took it on the road, I’d happily hang out in its well-appointed comfort and even (reluctantly) give it up to guests when they visited.

Production on the Flow will begin early this year and shipping is scheduled for spring. The option without the motor assist and self-parking features will go for $109,500. If you want the Magic Pack package, that brings your price to $135,500. There’s also a “Founders Edition” with a limited-edition color scheme and a few more upgrades going for $175,000.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/transportation/evs/cess-pebble-flow-ev-trailer-gets-some-tweaks-ahead-of-its-spring-shipping-date-161502791.html?src=rss 

It’s CES week at Engadget, and our team has been on the ground in Las Vegas checking out tons of new devices, from the good to the weird to the ones that make you look like a sleep paralysis demon. Only a few gadgets from the show are actually available to buy, however, and even less are discounted. If you’re looking for a good sale right now, we’re back with another edition of our weekly deal roundup. This week’s highlights include a four-pack of AirTags for nearly $30 less than Apple’s standard selling price, deep discounts on our favorite microSD card and portable SSD, extended free trials for Audible Premium Plus and Apple TV+, and more. Here are the best tech deals from this week that you can still get today. 

Apple AirTag (4-pack) for $70 at Amazon ($29 off MSRP): A new model may arrive later this year, but we still consider Apple’s current AirTag to be the best Bluetooth tracker for iPhone owners. While this discount on a four-pack isn’t quite an all-time low, it beats the bundle’s typical street price over the last few months by a few bucks. Also at Best Buy.

Samsung Pro Plus (256GB) microSD card + USB reader for $20 at Amazon ($11 off): The Pro Plus is the top recommendation in our guide to the best microSD cards. This 256GB model has gone for a few bucks less in the past, but this deal ties the lowest price we’ve tracked for the bundle with a USB reader, which helps the card achieve its fastest possible speeds on compatible devices. Also at Samsung. 

Crucial X9 Pro (1TB) portable SSD for $70 at Amazon ($50 off): The X9 Pro heads up our guide to the best portable SSDs: It’s rugged, super compact and consistently quick for common tasks. This is the largest discount we’ve seen for the 1TB model since late 2023. Also at Crucial and B&H. The 2TB model is a bit cheaper than usual at $120 as well.

The Crucial X9 Pro.

Apple Watch Series 10 (42mm) for $329 at Amazon ($69 off): The latest Apple Watch remains our pick for the best smartwatch. It’s a bit slimmer and lighter than past models, with mildly improved battery life, a rich wide-angle OLED display and the usual range of fitness-tracking features (blood oxygen monitoring aside). This deal on the 42mm GPS model has been live for a few weeks, but it still ties an all-time low. Also on Best Buy. The 46mm version is similarly discounted at $359.

8BitDo Ultimate Wired Controller for $27 at Amazon ($18 off, Prime only): This is a wired version of 8BitDo’s Ultimate Bluetooth Controller, we’ve previously praised for its durable Hall effect joysticks, comfy shape and useful software. (Though it’s somewhat on the smaller side.) This variant is made for Xbox and PC; the discount is within $2 of its all-time low. Both the black and white versions are on sale.

Audible Premium Plus (3-month) for $3 at Amazon ($30 off, new and returning users only): Up until January 21, new and returning users can get three months of Audible Premium Plus for $3 total. Normally, the audiobook service costs $15 per month after a 30-day free trial. Premium Plus, as a refresher, is Audible’s highest tier: Beyond granting access to the full Audible Plus library, it lets you keep one title from a curated selection of audiobooks each month. Just note that your subscription will auto-renew by default if you decide to take the plunge.

The Apple Watch Series 10.

Corsair MP600 Mini (1TB) M.2 2230 SSD for $80 at Amazon ($30 off): The MP600 Mini is a small-size SSD you can pop into gaming handhelds like the Steam Deck or devices like Microsoft’s Surface notebooks. It’s not hugely far off for the M.2 2230 drive we recommend in our SSD buying guide, but more importantly it’s $20 cheaper as of this writing. This deal ties the 1TB model’s best price since March. Also at Corsair. 

Beats Pill for $100 at Amazon ($50 off): The latest Beats Pill is a pick in our guide to the best Bluetooth speakers. As we note in our review, its audio performance can struggle at high volumes, but in general it pumps out strong bass without sounding imbalanced. It’s also water-resistant, with a 24-hour battery life rating and wired audio support via USB-C. This discount has been live for several weeks, but it ties the device’s lowest price to date. Also at Target, Best Buy and others.

8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard (N Edition) for $70 at Best Buy ($30 off): While this NES-themed keyboard isn’t a formal pick in any of our buying guides, it’s still a nice value for those looking to give their desk a more vintage look. It’s comfy for typing and hot-swappable, though the default switches are fairly loud. This discount is $10 more than the lowest price we’ve seen, but it’s $20 off the device’s typical street price in recent months. The keyboard also comes with a fun joystick and a pair of “Super Buttons” that you can use for custom macros.

The 8BitDo Retro Mechanical Keyboard.

Anker Charger (140W, 4-port, PD 3.1) for $80 at Amazon ($10 off): Announced this week at CES, Anker’s latest wall charger includes three USB-C ports, one USB-A port, a foldable plug and a built-in display that can show the device’s power output and temperature at a glance. Those ports are located on the bottom, which might be awkward but should help keep the device more stable in an outlet. Anker says it can supply up to 140W of power, which is enough to quickly refill larger laptops, though you’ll have to avoid using multiple ports simultaneously to reach that maximum speed. Full disclosure: We haven’t tested this one for ourselves, but we’ve recommended several Anker charging devices in the past, and this early discount takes $10 off the new model’s MSRP. Just clip the on-page coupon to see the discount. Also at Anker.

Apple TV+ (3-month) for free at Best Buy ($30 off, new and select returning users only): Apple’s streaming service is far from essential, but it does include plenty of exclusive shows worth checking out, from Severance and Slow Horses to Ted Lasso and Bad Sisters. If you’ve never subscribed but have been meaning to take a look, this extended free trial deal from Best Buy seems like a good opportunity. The service normally costs $10 per month after a seven-day trial. Again, remember that the subscription will auto-renew at full price unless you cancel. 

Samsung The Frame (2024) 55-inch QLED TV for $868 at Woot ($630 off): Outside of an eBay coupon deal on Black Friday, this is the best price we’ve seen for the 55-inch version of Samsung’s stylish TV. It’s worth noting that the company unveiled a new “Frame Pro” model at CES this week: That one promises improved contrast and brightness, plus support for Samsung’s wireless breakout box, though it’ll almost certainly cost more whenever it’s launched. If you aren’t as demanding about picture quality but still want a TV that looks like a framed piece of art, there’s value to be had here. You’re still paying for the design first and foremost, but this is also one of the few TVs with a matte finish, which helps it ward off glare in a bright room.

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This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/deals/an-apple-airtags-four-pack-is-down-to-70-plus-the-rest-of-the-weeks-best-tech-deals-163020795.html?src=rss 

Small-scale, hyper-efficient living has always appealed to me, so I was overjoyed to step into numerous examples of sustainable tiny homes this week at CES 2025. There were EV RVs, trailers geared for camping and deliverable, turn-key, self-sustaining living pods. I want one of each to create a little eco village somewhere, preferably within walking distance to a bakery, coffee shop and Thai food. 

While none of these are cheap, some actually fall under what I would expect, compared to the market at large. And the suite of features employed represent some of the best sustainability capabilities available at the moment — solar power, gray water recycling, atmospheric water generation and boss-level insulation. Plus they’re all very pretty. 

The camping/recreational bent of these models is great — but the fact that most wouldn’t require a permit could help address a small corner of the housing crisis, especially as more cities loosen restrictions on additional dwelling units (ADUs). One of these could easily set up in a backyard or driveway as a studio apartment for a college student, aging parent and happily single folk. I’ve got some planning to do. After CES. And a long nap. 

Haus.me microhaus Pro

I’ll get this out of the way: the Haus.me Microhaus Pro was my favorite of the bunch. It’s a deliverable, ready-to-use, 120 square-foot pod that’s capable of setting up on any flat surface — grass, concrete, sand, dirt, atop cinderblocks, you name it. If it’s flat, it fits. It can suck water out of the air (and I was assured that includes low-humidity locales). It plugs into a standard extension cord, so the power can come from the grid, a solar setup or something else entirely and the integrated battery will run everything for four days without being hooked up to power. 

Inside, it’s posh and lovely with every space maximized. A queen-sized Murphy bed flips up to reveal a table and two bench seats. It has a small fridge, microwave and sink in the kitchen, a full-sized shower in the bathroom, and a TV in the living space. The Pro model is fully appointed, complete with Siri Homepod voice control, fancy dishware, linens and includes the aforementioned battery. That model is geared towards Airbnbs and rentals and goes for just under $90,000. The Lite knocks thirty grand off the price as it foregoes the battery, dishes and a few other features and is intended for personal use. All models of the microhaus are available to order now. 

AC Future Ai-THd

The most tony unit I saw was from AC Future. The AC Future Ai-THd is a full-sized EV RV on display at the Las Vegas convention center. This is one of three models the company will make. There’s also the Ai-THt, a trailer version and the Ai-THu which, like the microhaus, is a deliverable unit. That last one is the cheapest of the three models and the one that intrigued me the most. All three are based on the same transformable design (TH stands for transformable home) that expands three ways from 120 square feet to a 400 square-foot one bedroom apartment. 

Each model will be customized to order and the available tech is impressive. Solar panels will generate 25 kWh of power daily and it also comes with atmospheric water generation to the tune of up to 15 gallons per day. There’s a full-sized fridge, a washer/dryer, dishwasher, stand-up shower and, because 2025, a whole-home AI assistant called Futura to manage things on your behalf. Pre-orders opened up at CES and AC Future plans to start production as soon as the madness of CES is behind them. 

RollAway

I only got to peek inside the RollAway, but my colleague Jessica Conditt got to fully tour the rentable EV RV. It combines high-end hotel luxuries, from plush linens to Malin+Goetz toiletries. There’s a convertible queen-sized bed, dual-burner stovetop, shower, panoramic roof and an included projector. The RV itself has a range of more than 270 miles and a fast-charging option. Sustainability tech includes rooftop solar panels, a waterless toilet, and low-waste water systems. That should allow for some off-grid trips but the RollAway is also compatible with standard RV site hookups. 

To complete the hotel-like vibes, a 24/7 concierge is on hand to help plan your trip, give you directions, make side quest suggestions and keep your space equipped on the road. RollAway just started booking trips and is nearly fully reserved for 2025. Reservations go for around $400 a night and for now is just available around San Francisco Bay, but more cities are coming soon.

Pebble Flow

My colleague Sam Rutherford saw the prototype Pebble Flow EV trailer at last year’s CES (and his pictures are always much better than mine). I checked out the production model the company brought to the show this year. The differences are slight but meaningful. Basically, Pebble asked prospective customers to tour the prototype and tell them what they should change. One directive was “more windows” so a skylight was added, along with a larger window at the back. The cupboards are now easier to access. And the overall shape is now more aerodynamic, which should make pulling the trailer easier even easier. 

Being easy to pull was already one of the Flow’s selling points. The 24-foot trailer can be outfit (for a price upgrade) with a dual-motor drivetrain that helps propel itself to reduce drag on the towing vehicle. That upgrade also includes a remote control option that lets you park and hitch the trailer via the app. Again, there’s a Murphy queen bed that becomes a workspace and the dinette table folds down to accomodate two more sleepers. There’s a full kitchen, a shower/bath stall with glass doors that change from opaque to clear with a button push. There’s a 45 kWh battery and 1.1 kW solar array. It starts at $109,500 and bumps up to $135,500 with the motor upgrade. The first deliveries should be available in spring of this year. 

Lightship AE.1 Cosmos

Fun fact: Lightship is the only not-exclusively California company on this list. The California and Colorado-based company makes the AE.1 Cosmos, another solar-powered all-electric trailer that also with a motor-assist feature. In addition to the motor, the Cosmos also collapses down by four feet when it’s in “road mode” to reduce drag. Inside there’s a full kitchen with dishwasher, refrigerator, microwave, convection oven and induction cooktop. Two sleeping areas accommodate up to four and both convert to living areas (a dinette and a daybed/couch). Everything is powered by a 1.8 kWh solar array and battery banks. 

Lightship had the Cosmos set up in the lot just outside the convention center. The space was decked out with a pebble gravel floor complete with scrubby desert plants and a starry night backdrop that blocked out the convention center itself. If I squinted, I could pretend I was out in the desert somewhere, with everything I needed just over there. It was a bit of a downer to leave it and return to the chaos that is CES. But now the sad bit: Only 50 will be produced. Each one will be manufactured in the company’s Broomfield, Colorado facility and will sell for $250,000 each, with units shipping this summer. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/home/the-sustainable-tiny-home-trend-at-ces-2025-revived-my-dream-of-building-a-compound-140057385.html?src=rss