Wow. After the depressing last couple of months in hardware, CES 2026 was exactly the breath of fresh air and optimism I needed. To be clear, consumer desktop CPU and GPU news was largely a bust—for new architecture announcements, anyway. Intel focused on mobile processors, talking up Panther Lake during its press conference and taking potshots at AMD’s handheld chips. AMD barely mentioned consumer during its two-hour+ keynote presentation, instead leaning hard into enterprise. (At a “consumer” show, yes.) Team Red did announce Ryzen AI 400 processors on stage, as well as show off an ultra-compact Ryzen AI Halo mini-PC, but the reveal of the Ryzen 7 9850X3D trickled out on the side. As for Nvidia, it straight up told everyone that it would not announce new GPUs during its community update stream. Welcome to The Full Nerd newsletter—your weekly dose of hardware talk from the enthusiasts at PCWorld. Missed the surprising topics on our YouTube show or latest news from across the web? You’re in the right place.  Want this newsletter to come directly to your inbox? Sign up on our website! But AMD also hinted that we could potentially drop a mobile Ryzen CPU into a desktop PC sometime in the future. (Wut.) Intel says the integrated graphics in its Panther Lake chips can go toe-to-toe with discrete RTX 4000-series GPUs—and initial benchmarks appear to back up the claim. And Nvidia dropped both upscaling upgrades and new monitor tech that made Brad a believer in DLSS 4.5 and G-Sync Pulsar right away. And outside of that, CES 2026 was still plenty full of the weird, unexpected tech it’s known for. HP’s simple yet captivating EliteBoard PC stuffs a whole system into a keyboard. Cooling company Ventiva demoed a fanless (!) handheld for utterly silent mobile gaming. Dell’s 52-inch ultrawide monitor laughs in the face of desk space limits. Asus took “Por que no los dos” literally and packed its new Zephyrus Duo with two full OLED touchscreens. Not unhinged enough? The show floor was filled with all kind of bonkers gear in the very best way. (I’m pining hard for that Jackery Solar Mars Bot. I don’t even spend much time in sunlight.) The ultimate sleeper PC.Michael Crider / Foundry So sure, Intel, AMD, and Nvidia all signaled that their focus would be on mobile, AI, software, AI…and AI. (By the way, when we took a count at each press conference, AMD dominated with 207 mentions in two hours. Two hundred and seven.) Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang even told our own Adam Patrick Murray during a Q&A session that “The future is neural rendering. That’s the way graphics ought to be.” And the RAM shortages still hang in the background of all the fun news, silent but heavy. Few prices were announced during the show. Analysts confirmed coming price increases of 15 to 20 percent on PCs. Both AMD and Nvidia hinted at the return of older chip technologies. But we as enthusiasts still have plenty of neat things to look forward to. Lots to make our lives simpler, lots that adapt better to the constraints (and pressures) of modern living. Also, a surprising number of $5,000+ robots that I would consider inviting into my home. I did not have that on my 2026 bingo card. In this episode of The Full Nerd  In this episode of The Full Nerd, Brad Chacos, Adam Patrick Murray, Mark Hachman, and Michael Crider recap their CES 2026 experiences—the best, the worst, and the most insane things they saw while traipsing through Las Vegas. (My nomination, sitting at home? Brad’s drink during the show, which was three feet long. I asked him how many ounces it was. He responded in distance. It’s so much liquid that it transcends the typical measuring system.) Willis Lai / Foundry Missed our live show? Subscribe now to The Full Nerd Network YouTube channel, and activate notifications. We also answer viewer questions in real-time! Don’t miss out on our NEW shows too—you can catch episodes of Dual Boot Diaries and The Full Nerd: Extra Edition now! And if you need more hardware talk during the rest of the week, come join our Discord community—it’s full of cool, laid-back nerds. This week’s flood of nerd news So in the last newsletter, when I predicted there would be a lot of news for this one, I had ballparked more than usual. Boy, did I end up understating that. Much of the big tech news is packed in the link-filled thoughts above, of course. But there was plenty of smaller, interesting tidbits too—some fun, some sobering. And some downright dangerous, depending on your viewpoint. Arctic holds its own pretty well against Noctua, according to testing done by Tom’s Hardware. Neat.Noctua Cheap, but good: Tom’s Hardware did a bit of hands-on testing to comparing the Noctua’s legendary fans and Arctic’s equally legendary alternative. (I own multiple packs of Arctic’s P-series fans, because, yeah. That value.) Turns out, us frugal types aren’t missing out on too much. I’m glad for this news: Magnetic switches are all the rage, and Cherry is still fighting the good fight for its survival with not one, but two new magnetic TMR keyboards. Happy birthday, Blu-ray: First, I can’t believe it’s been 20 years since Blu-ray first appeared. Second, how the heck has it been 20 years? So cute: The deep nerdery of creating art within the intersection of time and space is weirdly profound, with adorable results. (The effort creates images of cats. Meow.) Computer Chronicles rocked: Producer and host Stewart Cheifet passed away at age 87 this past December. In addition to being part of PBS’s stellar educational programming, there’s also a PCWorld connection. Both Gordon and Will were on an episode back in the day! I’m glad I’m not alone: Game publisher Hooded Horse’s head honcho says that any titles it releases can’t have AI assets, because as the CEO says: “I [censored] hate gen AI art.” I feel less on my own in a universe currently full of endless AI slop. Who’s a good pup? I’m more of a cat person, but I still think dogs are great. Even more so after reading this Ars Technica article. And some of the hilarious comments from Ars readers—particularly this one about a dog who knows the names of about 100 toys: “Okay, there’s being a good boy, a very good boy, and then just being a show off.” ??????InWin InWin showed off yet another bonkers case? I’m in: The Aeon looks like an egg, sports a ton of glass, and requires an RFID card to open? Already a fan. Thank you, Mr. Rosen: I was always more of a Nintendo kid, but Sega was a big part of my childhood still. Here we go again! Pebble lives once more, and now it’s revived its round smartwatch. I own an original Round, and boy, this Round 2 is tempting…even though it lacks some important features I’ve come to expect from my smartwatches. (Really, no heart rate monitoring?!) Man, I’m so on the fence. Some welcome news: Color me surprised, especially after so many vendors basically kill aging hardware by refusing to support it. Good on Bose for allowing people to take further updates into their own hands. Weird, but cool: Keychron is well-known for its mechanical keyboards, but this CES 2026, they decided to bring something a little different with them to the show… (Yes, I’ve notified Adam of this.) Y’all, I’m in trouble: Brad wore a cool circuit-patterned shirt during CES. I asked him where he got it. He gave me the link. The site could be ThinkGeek reborn. I’ve already immediately fallen in love with the most fantastic and absolutely ugliest Excel cardigan. (Help.) Gosh, what a banger of a start to the new year. I thought I’d spend most of this week sneaking in complaints about crowded gyms. Yes, it’s absolutely other people’s fault I ate too much and drank a ton of Will’s excellent eggnog. (Thanks again for sharing that with us!) Catch you all next week! Alaina This newsletter is dedicated to the memory of Gordon Mah Ung, founder and host of The Full Nerd, and executive editor of hardware at PCWorld. Read...

Fewer than half of New Zealand`s incorporated community sport organisations have registered under new legislation. Read...

Minisforum has announced two new mini PCs at CES 2026. The two models are: the AI X1 Pro-470 a mini PC for creators, gamers, remote workers, and developers; and the MS 02-Ultra, a 4.8L mini workstation aimed at video editors, photography studios, content production companies, small media teams, and also gamers. The AI X1 Pro-470 is a flagship mini PC for Minisforum. It’s powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX470 processor designed to handle remote work, content creation, and gaming. For its GPU the AI X1 Pro-470 sports a Radeon 890M for smooth gaming performance. It also has an OcuLink port for easy access to external GPUs like Nvidia RTX or Radeon RX series cards for ultra-high frame-rates and 4K/8K gameplay. As well as a kickass CPU and GPU, this mini PC has a dual microphone array with AI noise reduction as well as high-quality speakers for seamless communication. The I/O looks to be very solid too. You can expect USB4, HDMI 2.1, and an SD card slot for seamless multi-device connectivity. Creators will be pleased with the up to 12TB of storage for handling large 4K videos, 3D projects, or AI data sets. The AI X1 Pro-470 will be available worldwide next month. Pictured: The AI X1 Pro-470 mini PC. Minisforum The other new model, the MS 02-Ultra is an Arrow-Lake refresh. The top configuration features a high-performance Intel Core Ultra 9 285 HX processor making it powerful enough for engineering design, video editing, and 3D modelling applications. The PC’s tiny chassis supports up to 256GB of ECC memory, plus it includes four M.2 slots and three PCIe slots for storage. It also utilizes a pull-out structure for easy upgrades and maintenance. The mini PC’s ports include two USB4 V2 (80Gbps) ports and dual 25 Gigabit Ethernet ports, ensuring very quick throughput for tasks like 4K/8K video editing, color grading, rendering, and content distribution. This new version of the MS 02 Ultra expands its versatility further by supporting high-performance gaming GPUs. Its robust PCIe bandwidth and enhanced cooling capacity means users can expect high frame rates and immersive graphics while also enjoying workstation class stability. The Minisforum Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 285 HX/275HX MS-02 Ultra is available worldwide at the company’s brand shop, priced at $1,199 for the 285 HX Barebone and $949 for the 275 HX Barebone. Roy Jiang chairman of Minisforum had this to say about the two new models of mini PC. “With AI X1 Pro-470 and MS-02 Ultra, we set out to prove that ‘mini’ no longer means ‘compromise,” said Jiang. “By combining serious AI compute, 4K/8K-ready performance, and enterprise-grade connectivity in ultra-compact designs, we’re giving creators, gamers, and modern businesses the freedom to build full production and workstation workflows without sacrificing space, flexibility, or power.” Read...

As live sports becomes a bigger focus for the Peacock streaming service, so does the picture and sound quality. To that end, the NBC-owned service plans to support Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos object-based surround sound for sporting events. Peacock will roll out these formats for its Sunday Night Football, MLB, and NBA coverage over the course of 2026, including support for Dolby Vision 2 and Dolby AC-4 audio. Dolby Vision upgrade Compared to standard dynamic range video, high dynamic range allows for greater color detail, particularly in highlights and shadows, making the picture look more vibrant overall. Dolby Vision is a proprietary HDR format that can further optimize the picture on a scene-by-scene basis, while also taking into account the properties of the TV. While Peacock has already offered some content in HDR, including NBA games and its 2024 Summer Olympics coverage, it’s now committing to support Dolby Vision across a wider range of sporting events. That support will also extend to Dolby Vision 2, which offers further optimizations based on the type of TV and other factors such as room lighting. The upshot is that sports on Peacock should look more realistic, at least on compatible TVs. While many current TVs offer Dolby Vision support, none with Dolby Vision 2 are available today, although we’ll likely see a bunch of them announced at CES this week. On the audio side, Dolby Atmos takes advantage of the upward-firing speakers on some soundbars and multi-channel home theater systems to bring a dimension of height to surround sound. Peacock has already offered Atmos for its Olympics and NBA coverage, but now it’s committing to the format for football and baseball as well. Sports focus The Dolby Vision announcement fits with Peacock’s recent pivot toward live sports. It’s now a major source of NBA and WNBA coverage, and it will begin carrying MLB games on Sundays this year. That’s in addition to the streamer’s existing sports coverage, which includes English Premier League, Notre Dame Football, and some Big Ten football and basketball. (There’s no word on Dolby Vision and Atmos reaching those sporting events.) The infusion of live sports was one of Peacock’s justifications for a major price hike in July, from $8 to $11 per month for the ad-supported plan, and from $14 to $17 per month without ads. At least now you’ll get a boost in picture and audio quality to go with the higher prices. Read...

Micro RGB is shaping up to be the TV industry’s overriding theme at CES 2026, and Samsung is going all in. The new technology resides in the middle ground between increasingly mainstream mini-LED TVs and still ludicrously expensive micro-LED sets. Where micro-LED TVs use self-emissive pixels that can be turned on and off individually–much like an OLED TV–micro RGB TVs still rely on a backlight. But that backlight consists of red, green, and blue LEDs that reduce the need for a color filter. It’s a significant improvement on conventional LCD TVs, but it still relies on LCD shuttering. A host of Micro RGB TVs Samsung plans to ship eight new Micro RGB TVs in 2026, including a massive 130-inch model in its R95H series as well as the 115-inch model MR95F. The TV manufacturer is also showing 65-, 75-, and 85-inch models in its R95H series, along with 100-, 98-, and 85-inch models in the step-down R85H series. Some Samsung TVs, such as the newly reissued Frame Pro, will be compatible with the minty fresh wireless version of Samsung’s One Connect breakout box, which previously used a thread-like optical cable to connect to the TV. That leaves you need to hide just the TV’s power cord. It’s not quite the magic of DisplaceTV series, but Samsung is getting there. QLED Samsung is also showing a new giant-sized model of its The Frame TV that measures 98-inches, just in case your local art gallery has some extra large digital creations it wants to display. The company has also added a 55-inch model to its The Frame Pro lineup, which provides a brighter picture. OLED Samsung hasn’t forgotten its stellar RGB OLED series either. It’s refreshing the S95H series, which offers modest improvements to our favorite “puppies on black velvet” (i.e., fantastic black and warm color) TV viewing experience. AI and other stuff Samsung’s AI Sound now creates “stems,” aka separate music, voice, and audio effects streams. This is a feature that’s been around in the pro audio arena for a while, but not in real time. The feature is said to let you mute the announcers while still hearing the actual game and crowd noise. Now that’s progress! The same algorithms are used to create a more immersive sports audio experience called AI Soccer Mode, where the effects are boosted to make it seem more like you’re sitting in the stadium. Google Photos The company is also working to integrate Google Photos into its smart TVs for, so users can interact with their personal images, and manage their photo libraries directly from their TV. Speaking of such, my favorite quote from the show so far is from the president of Samsung’s display division, Seok Woo Yong: “Samsung TVs are not just screens. They are entertainment companions….” Err… In a world that’s moving away from live social interaction, that’s exactly what we need our TVs to be. Read...

While the image up top is LG’s older, discontinued W9 Wallpaper OLED TV, the news is that LG is bringing its uber-thin smart TV back, this time in the form of the Evo W6 Wireless Wallpaper TV. The big difference? The Wallpaper Design is now endowed with truly wireless connectivity; yes, the thin cable shown in these images is history. The LG Evo W6 also sports Hyper Radiant Color Technology, which is said to improve blacks (really? LG OLEDs are already famous for their blacks), color, and brightness–up to 3.9 times brighter than conventional OLEDs. We’re assuming “conventional” includes LG’s own sets; maybe not. LG also touts an improved screen coating said to preserve those hard-won picture improvements in a wider array of ambient lighting conditions. LG’s third-generation Alpha 11 AI processor powers the Evo W6, as well as all its AI video and audio features, promising a five-fold improvement in neural processing according to the company. It’s said to be capable of running two separate algorithms simultaneously, with each correcting and optimizing the results from the other. Theoretically this should produce better results with fewer artifacts. The LG Evo W6 Wallpaper TV can access the same library of art as LG’s Gallery TV, with a Gallery mode that promises to optimize color and brightness to best reproduce the visual texture of physical art. LG’s WebOS smart TV software is also onboard, with Voice ID technology that can recognize a user’s voice and present their personalized home screen on demand. If you’re into gaming on your TV, it delivers 4K UHD resolution with a 165Hz refresh rate. There’s also support both Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s Free Premium technologies to prevent image tearing. Whatever the end result of the hype, the Evo W6 promises to blend into its surroundings far better than the average OLED–at a hefty price no doubt. We’re guessing in the 10s of thousands of dollars. Read...

BBC Sport Scotland`s chief sports writer dissects the outcome of Saturday`s Old Firm defeat for Celtic. Read...

The Sydney Cricket Ground rarely plays host to a “live” Test. But the result of any series has always been irrelevant to attendance, while there’s plenty at stake for the players, too. Read...

Gabon`s sports minister announces a series of punishments after the national team`s `disgraceful performance` at the Africa Cup of Nations. Read...

An Indycar icon, a name synonymous with bowls, long-distance runners and a Black Caps batter are among those who have been recognised in the New Year Honours. Read...