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AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X: Two-minute review

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is an HEDT workstation processor built for an extremely specific — and extremely demanding — audience.

Nothing about this chip is ‘mainstream’, including the fact that just about every enthusiast consumer processor available right now will mostly outperform this chip in most workloads that 95% of users will run on their computers, and they will do so at a minuscule fraction of the Threadripper 9980X’s price.

There is part of me that wants to slag this processor as overpowered, overengineered, and overpriced—except I can’t. With 64 full-fat performance cores, 128 threads, a base clock of 3.2GHz, and the ability to push far beyond that under controlled thermal conditions, this chip feels like its sole purpose is to blow through Cinebench R23’s multi-core benchmark and shame every other chip that tries to do the same.

(Image credit: AMD)

I would say that this is a ridiculous waste of time, energy, and resources, but the thing about Cinebench R23, as well as all the other multi-core benchmarks that this chip leaves defeated in its wake, is that there are professionals out there who need exactly this kind of power from a processor, and no other consideration really matters.

Database administrators, IT managers dealing with web servers, machine learning researchers and developers, 3D designers of every kind, and high-end video productions are among those who will look at the multi-core performance of this chip and see past the bar on a graph stretching well past every other chip in the test group and see the hours of work saved every week with a processor specifically designed to break up their workloads into as many as 128 individual processing threads to be worked through in parallel.

That definitely isn’t everyone, and the incredible parallel processing power available with the Threadripper 9980X comes at a cost. To keep those 64 cores from setting your workstation on fire under load, per-core clock speeds start nearly a full GHz lower than the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X, which means that single-core or lightly-threaded processing power suffers somewhat, though the 9980X can still hold its own at a system and productivity-minded processor, and its TSMC N4P/N6 architecture does translate into some solid responsiveness.

With eight compute dies under the lid and 256MB of L3 cache, there are a lot of interconnects between all that discrete silicon, and communication between all those parts introduces latency as well, though it isn't debilitating.

(Image credit: AMD)

What's more, at $4,999 / £4,499.99 / AU$8,399, this is a very expensive processor. It’s not the most expensive HEDT chip on the market, that’d be the 96-core Threadripper Pro 9995WX at nearly three times the price of the 9980X, but it’s still not a CPU you buy because you ‘want the best.’

You buy it because your workflow would bring even the best processors on the consumer market to their knees. This is the kind of chip you slap into a workstation because you need to render the 12-second Gargantua approach sequence from Interstellar in a matter of days rather than weeks, and not because you want to play Cyberpunk 2077 at the highest framerate possible. For the former, it’s an outstanding, special-use processor. Not at all for the latter.

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

Then there’s the matter of platform requirements. You’ll need a TRX50 motherboard, which isn’t just more expensive—it’s physically larger, requires more robust power delivery, and usually comes loaded with workstation-focused features that add to the price.

You’ll also need to spend a lot of money on cooling, because under full multi-core load, the 9980X can pull upwards of 350W from the socket, so a 360mm AIO cooler is the absolute rock-bottom, bare minimum cooling solution you can use to keep this chip from throttling, and there aren't many that fit this chip out there.

And believe me, having sat next to the open-air test bench running high-intensity multi-threaded workloads on the 9980X, this thing pumps out an enormous amount of heat, so plan your workstation environment accordingly.

(Image credit: AMD)

All that said, if you’re the kind of user who spends whole workdays in Premiere Pro, Houdini, or TensorFlow, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is a dream, but you do have to really ask yourself if you need this much focused power for your particular situation.

I love multi-threaded programming and working on asynchronous processes when developing my own software tools, but in no universe would I ever be able to fully utilize all 64 cores on this processor unless I was actively trying to, and I don't work with anything nearly that complex.

If your workflow is even moderately mixed, or gaming is even a quarter of your use case, this chip delivers diminishing returns that will make you regret investing so much into it, especially when the significantly cheaper Threadripper 9970X is ideal for those situations at half the cost.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X: Price & availability

(Image credit: AMD)

• How much does it cost? $4,999.99 / £4,499.99 / AU$8,399
• When is it available? It is available now
• Where can you get it? You can get it in the US, UK, and Australia

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is available now in the US, UK, and Australia for $4,999.99 / £4,499.99 / AU$8,399.

While not 'cheap' by any means, if you're seriously looking at buying this processor, you're not window shopping. You know you need it, and it will either make back the money you spent on it in relatively short order, or it is a processor you have to have for academic or scientific research, and it's simply the price paid for progress.

It should be noted, though, that while the Threadripper 9980X's multi-core performance is second only to the high-end Threadripper Pro 9000-series chips, the Threadripper 9970X's multicore performance is actually not that far behind the 9980X's, and it costs half the price of this chip.

If you're wincing at the price tag of the 9980X, but you really do need something like this for your workflow, give the 9970X a long look and see if it's a better fit for your needs.

• Value: 3 / 5

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X: Specs & Features

(Image credit: AMD)

• 64-cores/128-threads chew through multi-core workloads
• Slower clock speeds than AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X
• 256MB L3 cache

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X specs

Socket

sTR5 (TRX50)

Architecture

AMD Zen 5

Cores

64

Threads

128

Base Clock

3.2GHz

Boost Clock

5.4GHz

L3 Cache

256MB

PCIe Lanes

Up to 80 PCIe 5.0

Memory Support

Up to 1TB Quad-channel DDR5‑6400 ECC

TDP

350W

tjMax

95℃

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X is built on AMD’s Zen 5 architecture, an MCM design featuring TSMC’s N4P process for the compute dies and its N6 process for the I/O die, all tied together using AMD’s Infinity Fabric interconnect. Each of the eight CCDs contributes eight cores and 16 threads to the massive 64-core, 128-thread chip, supported by a staggering 256MB of L3 cache. This is particularly ideal for keeping large datasets close to the cores and minimizing memory latency in heavy workloads.

The base clock speeds sit at 3.2GHz, with boost frequencies climbing up to 5.4GHz under lightly threaded tasks, depending on cooling and power headroom. The processor is fully unlocked for overclocking, although thermal and power constraints will make manual tuning challenging without extreme cooling solutions. Out of the box, this processor is pulling 350W, so you’ll likely need more than a 360mm AIO to cool this properly if you push it even modestly.

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Memory support is another standout. The 9980X works with up to 1TB of DDR5-6400 ECC RAM across quad-channel configurations, a 1,200MT/s increase over the last-generation Threadripper line.

I/O capabilities have also gotten a significant boost. Now, you can utilize up to 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes, meaning you can run multiple GPUs, storage arrays, and capture or networking cards without lane-sharing bottlenecks.

As with previous Threadrippers, there’s no integrated GPU, but that’s expected. Power consumption is rated at an extremely high 350W TDP, and the physical chip uses the sTRX5 socket, meaning it requires a TRX50-series motherboard. These boards are large, expensive, and purpose-built for heavy-duty computing.

• Specs & features: 4.5 / 5

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X: Installation & test setup

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X installation is much more involved than you might be used to if you've only ever used consumer-grade motherboards that seat a standard desktop CPU.

The Threadripper 9980X uses AMD’s sTR5 socket, which is physically longer and more delicate, and so requires a specific installation procedure.

Included with the 9980X is a torque-limiting wrench that you'll need to ensure even pressure across the heat spreader, which for this chip is a vital step for both thermal performance and long-term reliability.

I highly recommend watching some installation videos on YouTube after you've read over the installation instructions before you attempt to install this processor, since slacking on proper installation can create uneven contact with the socket or even damaged pins on the TRX50 motherboard. You've spent a lot of money on this chip, so definitely make sure you don't wreck the whole thing on the installation step.

For testing the chip, I used the ASUS Pro WS TRX50-SAGE motherboard together with an Nvidia RTX 5090 GPU, 128GB (4 x 32GB) G.Skill G5 Series DDR5-6400 ECC memory, along with a Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 SSD as my primary system drive. Cooling was handled by a Silverstone XE360-TR5 AIO cooler, and power was supplied by a Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum PSU, and a fresh install of Windows 11.

This configuration is more or less what an enthusiast HEDT rig or professional Windows workstation would look like, and it definitely outclasses what you'll find in all but the most tricked-out gaming PC, so it's a solid representative system for carrying out my testing.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X: Performance

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• Best-in-class multi-core performance
• Slower clocks mean it can lose out to the Threadripper 9970X in key workloads
• Gaming performance is unimpressive

The performance of the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9800X ends up being a somewhat mixed bag for all of the reasons I've already gone over, but now that we're at the 'take-a-look-at-the-actual-numbers' stage, hopefully you'll see what I mean.

Across most workloads I tested, the Ryzen Threadripper 9980X can't keep up with the 9970X, falling behind some Ryzen 9 desktop chips, and even losing a couple of times to the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K. This is especially true when it comes to single-core performance and gaming, where the Threadripper 9980X just isn't competitive at all with any of the consumer-grade enthusiast processors I tested.

First, the single-core performance of the 9980X consistently loses out to not just the Threadripper 9970X, but it gets roughed up pretty bad by pretty much all the high-end Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 9000-series processors. Ultimately, it just doesn't have the base clock speed to sustain enough performance to compete in focused, application-specific tasks.

This difference across all single-core tests is about 3% slower than the 9970X (which isn't terrible), but about 10% slower than the Ryzen 9 9950X (which is at least bad, if not quite terrible).

However, when we look at the 9980X's multi-core performance, things flip rather drastically. At first, it looks like more of the same with Geekbench 6, where the 9980X only outperforms the 9970X by about 4% (though it does beat out third-place finisher, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, by about 36%).

Once we hit the Cinebench tests, though, it's over for everyone else. In Cinebench R23, the 9980X's score of 115,098 is about 51% better than the 9970X's 76,136 score, and an increadible 173.4% better than the third-place finisher, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which scored a relatively measly 42,098.

In Cinebench R24, it's more or less the same, with the 9980X finishing 56% better than the 9970X's multi-core score and nearly 168% better than the third-best performer, the Core Ultra 9 285K.

Across all multi-core tests, the 9980X comes in about 36% better than the 9970X and about 106% better than the Core Ultra 9 285K, with the rest of the Ryzen 9 and 7 chips falling even further behind.

In whole system performance, as measured in CrossMark, the Threadripper 9980X does pretty well in terms of overall performance, though it comes in about 125 points behind the 9970X (or about 5%). That's still better than the Ryzen 9s and Ryzen 7s, though. It falls behind quite a bit in productivity workloads, coming in second to last, just ahead of the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D.

In terms of responsiveness, it's well ahead of the Ryzen 9 and Ryzen 7 chips, as well as Intel's flagship desktop processor, coming in second only to the 9970X.

Creative workloads are one of the areas where the 9980X shines like the powerhouse chip it is, notching substantial wins in Blender Benchmark 4.3, V-ray 6, and PugetBench for Creators Adobe Premiere.

Over all workloads, the 9980X chalked up a roughly 30% better performance than the 9970X, and that's taking the geomean of all the creative benchmark results, something that really undersells how dominating the 9980X's Blender Benchmark and V-Ray 6 CPU performance is (about 71% and 65% better than the 9970X). If I just averaged all the scores to give some of these tests more weight, the 9980X comes in about 50% better than the 9970X across creative workloads, with every other chip far, far behind.

Where the 9980X really fails is in terms of gaming performance, so PC gaming enthusiasts out there who want a Threadripper 9980X as a flex, you'd be doing yourself a massive disservice.

On average, across all the games tested, the 9980X had the worst gaming performance both in terms of average FPS and 1% FPS. The 9970X did marginally better, but the consumer-grade Ryzen chips and even the Core Ultra 9 285K are far better suited for gaming than either of the Threadripper 9000-series chips, but expecially compared to the 9980X.

This poor gaming performance also extends into game AI, largely because game logic is a largely single-core task that can't easily be disaggregated across multiple threads.

Independent NPC actors might benefit from multithreading in games, of course, but if that was the case, the 9980X should have done better simulating a full in-game year of Stellaris gameplay with 42 AI empires on a huge map, exactly the kind of asynchronous agent logic processing multithreading might have helped.

Unfortunately, the 9980X came in dead last in that test, only being able to finish the year in about 55.72 seconds, which would extrapolate to 393 in-game days in one minute. Meanwhile, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D finished the year in about 44.75 seconds, which translates to about 489 days simulated in one minute.

In the end, all of this is to say that the 9980X isn't going to be awful at gaming, especially if you have one of the best graphics cards like the Nvidia RTX 5090 and crank up the settings so that the frame rate bottleneck moves from CPU to GPU.

Moving on to the more physical aspects of performance, the thermal and power consumption of the 9980X are what you would expect from a 350W TDP chip. I can assure you, the 9980X uses up every last watt of headroom its TDP will allow, ranging from 54.515W when idle all the way up to 349.623W peak power draw under 100% load.

Surprisingly, this did not directly translate into the chip overheating, and its temperatures ranged from 41℃ to 75℃ at its peak with a 360mm AIO cooler.

As you can see above, the real strength of this chip is in its multi-core performance. It's general system performance is decent and it's a pretty responsive chip, but you don't buy a 64-core Threadripper to try and max out your single-core clock speed for better FPS in games, you use it to chew through asynchronous workflows as fast as possible. The Threadripper 9980X is all about throughput, and in this regard, it's in a class all its own.

Normally, I take the geomean all of the different performance scores to arrive at a final score that accounts for some tests having very large numbers as their results compared to other tests (Cinebench R23 and R24's single and multi-core scores being a prime example).

However, when I do that, in the case of the 9980X, I all but erase the dominating results that make this chip what it is in the one workflow category it is designed to excel at.

As such, I've done something different and included both the aggregate geometric mean of all the chips' scores as well as a straight average. This allows you to appreciate how much the multi-core performance of the 9980X skews the results when the scores are averaged normally.

The 9980X is in an effective geometric tie with the Ryzen 9 9950X3D and only a little bit ahead of the rest of the processors I tested in the end. But give the 9980X the proper weight of its multi-core performance with a straight average, and the 9980X runs away with it, beating out the 9970X by about 30% and the Intel Core Ultra 9 and AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D by about 87%.

Taking all of those scores and looking at them in terms of performance-for-price, however, and the 9980X does not fair very well, coming in dead last in terms of value for your money. At least at first glance.

Given how this processor is designed for a very specific (and often lucrative) kind of work, I don't really think that the standard value metric I'd use with other products is applicable.

Yes, this chip is expensive, but if you're the kind of professional who would benefit from the 9980X's multi-core prowess, you're likely to make that money back fairly quickly just from speeding up your workflow and this chip will pay for itself in very short order.

• Performance: 5 / 5

Should you buy the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X?AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X Scorecard

Value

This chip is very expensive, but for those who are seriously looking to buy it, money probably isn't the biggest concern here.

3 / 5

Specs & features

The 9980X has some impressive workstation-friendly specs, like a huge capacity for PCIe 5.0 I/O and faster 6400MT/s DDR5 ECC memory. The only shame is that it's base clock speeds aren't higher.

4.5 / 5

Performance

While there are some areas of weakness in terms of the 9980X's performance, this chip is built around one thing: chewing through multi-core workflows, and in that, it's a spectacular success.

5 / 5

Final Score

The 9980X is a very particular chip that is not going to be great for everybody, but if you're the type of person who needs this kind of chip for work, only the high-end Threadripper Pro 9000-series chips can best the 9980X.

4.17 / 5

Buy the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X if...

Your work will benefit greatly from improved multi-core performance
The only real reason to buy this chip is its absolutely dominant multi-core performance. Nothing else is really in the same league as the 9980X in this regard, so if your workflow will benefit substantially from this kind of processing, this is the chip you need.

Don't buy it if...

You don't need the absolute fastest multi-core performance you can afford
If better multi-core performance isn't your number one priority for upgrading your workstation to speed up your workflow, then you will be better off with the Threadripper 9970X, which is much more balanced as well as cheaper.

Also consider

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X
The Ryzen Threadripper 9970X is no slouch when it comes to multi-core performance and is second only to the 9980X in my testing, but offers a better performance and price balance.

Read the full AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X review

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
If you're not hellbent on setting Cinebench R23 records your multi-core performance on a HEDT workstation, the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K is pretty good for these kinds of workloads without costing a fortune.

Read the full Intel Core Ultra 9 285K review

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
If you're looking to get the best processor for your enthusiast gaming, streaming, or prosumer content creation workstation, in most cases, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D will be more than enough for your needs at a fraction of the price.

Read the full AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D review

How I tested the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X

• I spent about two weeks testing the Threadripper 9980X
• I used it for content creation, gaming, and intensive office productivity
• I put the chip through my standard suite of CPU benchmark tests

I used the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X for about two weeks in my day-to-day work PC, using it for content creation for work, CPU experimentation and stress testing, and general productivity.

I didn't spend a whole lot of time gaming with this chip, as it definitely isn't its intended use case, and it was obvious early on that this wasn't a great gaming chip.

I used my standard CPU testing suite to stress the 9980X under load, including running custom scripts to maintain the highest CPU utilization possible for hours at a time to stress the chip's multi-core performance. For benchmarks, I focused most of my attention on benchmarks like V-Ray 6, Handbrake 1.9, Cinebench R23 and R24, as well as PugetBench for Creators Adobe Premiere.

I've tested dozens of processors for hundreds of hours over my time here at TechRadar, so I know my way around a processor and a testbench to push a chip to its limits to evaluate its quality and value, and I bring that expertise to bear with every review I do.

• First reviewed August 2025

The very first time I booted up Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S on Nintendo Switch 2, I had to look up a list of what had actually been changed.

This is a port of one of my favorite puzzle games ever, the original Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 from 2020 - a title that I’ve sunk more than a hundred hours into across PC, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. Still, the tweaks present in this new version are so slight that even I struggled to see them at first.

Review info

Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch 2
Available on: Nintendo Switch 2
Release date: June 5, 2025

You’re basically getting a single new mode here: the co-op Puyo Tetris Double Mode which features fast 2v2 battles. It’s a fun way to play for sure, but it’s not a necessary addition in a game that is already overflowing with content. If you own the Nintendo Switch 2 Camera accessory, you have the option of showing your face as you play too - another ultimately superfluous extra.

There’s also support for the mouse controls of the Joy-Con 2, though they’re disappointingly awkward to use. Playing Tetris or Puyo Puyo with a cursor is considerably slower than button inputs, making matches more fiddly thus putting you at a clear disadvantage.

At least GameShare is well implemented, giving you an easy way to play with friends on either Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch 2.

Bursting at the seams

(Image credit: Sega)

The original version of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 offers so many modes that it’s almost hard to keep track of them, so here’s quick run-down of the most significant ones so you know what you’re in for before I get into the new stuff:

• Versus - a traditional competitive match of either Puyo Puyo or Tetris
• Big Bang - clear a board of existing pieces faster than your opponent
• Party - competitive Puyo Puyo or Tetris with special items added in
• Skill Battle - play Puyo Puyo or Tetris as a character with special skills and items
• Fusion - Puyos and Tetris pieces fall at the same time
• Swap - Swap between Puyo Puyo and Tetris every 25 seconds

These can either be played solo against bots or as part of a robust online offering that’s complete with a basic competitive ranking system.

This is on top of loads of unique challenge modes, a detailed ‘Lessons’ tutorial mode, and a full-on RPG style single-player campaign with cute artwork and fully voiced dialogue scenes packed with charming moments.

This all results in what is without a doubt one of the most comprehensive and content-rich puzzle games of all time. Seriously, after more than a hundred hours, there are still some modes that I’ve barely touched.

Mix and match

(Image credit: Sega)

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S adds just one new mode, available as an option when you select the Versus mode. It splits four players into two teams of two, with each team sharing their own board.

It’s nothing particularly wild in comparison to the modes found in the base game, but still very entertaining as you desperately try to coordinate placing pieces with your partner in high-speed matches. As good as it is, however, it sits in a sea of other excellent modes so doesn't justify much of the $39.99 / £34.99 asking price.

Best bit

(Image credit: Sega)

The game has a wide range of colorful characters that you can play as, including some crossovers like Sonic the Hedgehog. The artwork for all of them looks great and there are plenty of voice acted lines as you play.

The same is true of the new mouse controls, which allow you to browse the menus with a cursor or drag the Joy-Con 2 around to position falling pieces on the board.

The latter implementation is awkward though, proving significantly slower than just using the buttons, so it’s something that anybody would probably never want to use. The Nintendo Switch 2 Camera support is lackluster too, simply allowing you to show your face in matches instead of the usual character portrait.

GameShare is great at least, and, in my testing, proved impressively responsive when I paired my Nintendo Switch 2 up with my Nintendo Switch Lite. If this all was sold as a $9.99 / £9.99 or so Nintendo Switch 2 Edition upgrade rather than a more pricey standalone release, then I could see this feature alone being well worth the cost.

Ghost town

(Image credit: Sega)

In the graphics department, things haven’t changed as much as you might think. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 was already a great looking game on Nintendo Switch and, while the picture quality of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is a smidge sharper, it’s not a noticeable upgrade unless you directly compare the images side by side.

Loading times seem extremely similar too, which is to say that they’re still good but not substantially improved.

This apparent lack of technical differences leaves me wondering why Sega has made the baffling choice to split multiplayer matchmaking pools between Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 and Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 still has a very active online scene, even after all these years, so you can reliably find matches at almost any time. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S, on the other hand, seems deserted after just a few weeks.

I have managed to get into a couple of games here and there, but waiting times are significantly longer than the original game. It’s a huge shame and means that existing Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 owners have no real reason to splash out for this release, as it comes at the cost of online play.

If you’ve never experienced Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 before, then the purchase is a bit more justifiable. You’re still getting a great game here at the end of the day with hundreds of hours of quality puzzle action and a handful of new features designed to take advantage of the capabilities of your brand new console.

This is technically the most definitive version of the game so far, so it’s not a bad starting point if you’re a newcomer.

Should I play Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S?Play it if…

You’ve never tried Puyo Puyo Tetris
If you’re completely new to the Puyo Puyo Tetris series, then Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S isn’t a bad place to start. It’s the most complete version of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 yet thanks to its new mode and additional features.View Deal

You’re scrambling for a great puzzle game
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S is still a fantastic puzzle game. It has heaps of content for both solo and online players, plus local play options if you’re looking for something to bring to a party or family gathering.View Deal

Don’t play it if…

You already own the original version
If you already own Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on Nintendo Switch, then it’s hard to justify Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S. If you desperately want to try the new mode, make sure to wait for a steep discount.View Deal

You want something that makes better use of mouse controls
The mouse controls in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S are a let down. If you want a title that makes better use of the Joy-Con 2 hardware feature, try something like Drag x Drive.View Deal

Accessibility features

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S doesn’t feature any dedicated accessibility settings. It has a limited settings menu, with options like turning off auto save, disabling controller vibration, and tweaking the language. The game is fully voice acted, but subtitles are still featured throughout.

How I reviewed Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S

I played just under five hours of Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S on Nintendo Switch 2, having played a significant amount more of the original Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 on Nintendo Switch, PC, and PS5.

During my time with the game, I compared my experience with that of the original release, making careful note of any differences. I endeavored to test every one of the new features, plus the new mode extensively.

First reviewed August 2025

Scientists have recorded a human embryo implanting in a womb in real time. The implications of how it happens could lead to more and better treatments for infertility.

(Image credit: Institute for Bioengineering of Catalonia (IBEC))

The Rainmaker.'/>

A TV version of The Rainmaker is out this week, which gave critic Linda Holmes as good a reason as any to rank the on-screen adaptations of John Grisham's legal novels.

(Image credit: Christopher Barr)

Nacon Revosim: one-minute review

It’s official: direct drive PC racing wheels have entered the affordable mainstream. While the prices of your groceries continue to skyrocket, simultaneously, sim racing hardware manufacturers have found a way to package high-quality, high-torque bundles together for south of $1,000, and newcomer Nacon introduces a new level of build quality and construction materials in that sub-$1,000 price point with its debut Revosim bundle.

The wheelbase can exert up to 9Nm of torque (translation: loads), which is notably more than the Thrustmaster T598, the no-brainer entry-level direct drive wheel. It’s cheaper than Moza’s R9 bundle while offering very similar build quality. It’s also more affordable than most variations of Fanatec’s CSL DD 8Nm bundles, and while Fanatec generally has the edge with the wheels it produces, Nacon’s pedals are superior to the ones Fanatec bundles in its sub-$1,000 CSL packages and it includes a strong and sturdy quick-release mechanism.

All that talk of prices and rival offerings is abstracting the headline news, though: driving feels good with this bundle. Although it’s still missing some default force feedback profiles and control assignment schemes in some titles (like F1 24, for example), there’s power and articulation right out of the box, with no need to tweak alpha values in the accompanying software.

And in the likes of Rennsport, Assetto Corsa Evo, The Crew Motorfest, and Le Mans Ultimate, which support it natively already, it feels right as soon as you hit the track. Extras like the phone mount attachment and swappable button fronts with custom stickers are also a very impressive value-add.

There’s a caveat: while it’s a fantastic option to add to a sim racing cockpit, it’s wholly impractical for desktop use. The pedals move around on the floor and will tip over when you hit the brake, and the desktop clamps protrude so far below the desk that they’re bound to hit your knees.

It’s for Playseat setups only, but in that context, Nacon’s bundled together a winning combo of powerful wheelbase, nicely finished wheel with customizable buttons, and smart and solid pedals with adjustable load cells so you can adjust the required stamping force to taste.

(Image credit: Future)Nacon Revosim: Price and availability

• List price: $799.99 / £699.99 (around AU$1,435)
• Priced higher than Thrustmaster’s T598 but lower than Moza and Fanatec 8Nm and 9Nm bundles
• Considering features and quality, it hits the price sweet spot

Price is a huge factor in this bundle. Nacon’s hit a really competitive point while adding extra features like a phone mount and customizable buttons, and with no signs of having cut corners on construction materials. Plastic is not prevalent in this bundle, and all the weighty, brushed aluminum used throughout is impressive for the price.

Thrustmaster’s T598 is the chief rival, since it’s currently the best affordable DD wheel bundle on the market, but Moza’s R5 and R9 bundles, along with Fanatec’s various CSL DD bundle configurations, are also in similar price territory.

Nacon Revosim: Specs

Price

$799.99 / £699.99 (around AU$1,435)

Weight

52.9lb / 24kg

Peak torque

9Nm

Features

Direct drive, customizable button covers, quick release wheel, two-pedal base, phone mount attachment

Connection type

USB-A

Compatibility

PC

Software

Revosim Software

(Image credit: Future)Nacon Revosim: Design & features

• Great finish quality on wheel and pedals
• Wheelbase looks like Fanatec or Moza’s designs
• Customizable details

The simplest terms you can use to appraise the design of a piece of sim racing hardware are these: does it look like it came out of a racing car, and does it feel like you’re driving a racing car when you use it? You don’t see RGB light zones on sim wheels for that reason. It’s supposed to immerse you in a virtual cockpit.

I’m really impressed by how well Nacon has managed to nail this aesthetic with its debut sim racing product. The wheelbase is compact and no-frills like Moza and Fanatec’s direct drive servos, but the wheel, quick release, and pedals all look and feel admirably automotive.

The wheel is the star of the show here. The wheel itself is finished in stitched pleather with a mixture of grippy perforated texture around the contact points and a smooth finish at six and twelve o’clock, with a white centering stripe at the very top. The quality of the stitching is extremely neat and tidy with zero loose threads on my review sample, and there’s a satisfying amount of cushioning to the wheel that I appreciated when the base was giving me jolts of feedback at full force to indicate collisions.

The input layout includes 12 face buttons, 11 of which have swappable keycaps with different color options and supplied stickers, one scroll wheel, a POV hat switch, and two magnetic switches on the back. Additionally, the scroller and hat switch can be pushed in to register a separate input binding.

That’s plenty for any racing sim. Personally, the most demanding title I play in terms of inputs is Assetto Corsa Competizione, and generally, I prefer to have two on-wheel dials to adjust TC and engine maps. That’s achieved easily enough on the Revosim, though, since the hat switch also has a rotational dial input. That leaves plenty of button inputs free for lights and wiper controls, menu commands, pit controls, and a view change.

The wheel shape and size is round, with less of a flat bar bottom than Moza’s R5 or R9 wheels, but neither is it perfectly round like the Thrustmaster T598. That means it’s just about applicable for any racing discipline from open wheeler stuff to rally and drift, though being a round wheel, it’s better suited to the latter two.

Nacon doesn’t currently make any other wheels to swap in its place, so if you’re a hardcore F1 racer, you might be better served by the likes of Fanatec’s CSL F1 bundle with its smaller F1-shaped wheel, though let’s be honest – in terms of lap times, there’s going to be very little difference.

(Image credit: Future)

I love the feel of the face buttons. They feel almost like mechanical switches (they’re not), and although there’s a tiny bit of lateral play, they feel of far superior quality to the input buttons on most sub-$1,000 wheels. The fact that their faces can be swapped out in different colors and stickers can be added to them from a supplied sheet is, I’m surprised to note, quite a big deal to me. It’s intrinsically enjoyable to set the wheel up with buttons particular to a specific game. The rotary dial and hat switch are less spectacular in how they feel, but they do the job reliably.

And if you’re going to install this into a cockpit, that’s all you need to know. There’s no ‘but’. For desktop users, though, the ‘but’ is considerable. This isn’t really a desktop-use wheel.

Some might argue that it’s priced high enough that the vast majority of its end users will have race seats anyway, but the fact that it’s bundled with desk clamps and marketed as being compatible for use on a desk means I have to judge it on those terms too, and the fact is it’s very awkward to use this base when clamped to your desk. The clamps will secure it tightly enough to withstand that 9Nm of force, but the clamps’ positioning and length mean you’re very likely to bang your knees against them, or else have to sit in a strange position to avoid them.

Down at ground level, the design of the pedal modules themselves is problem-free. Nice big contact patches with your feet, a variety of elastomers for the brake pedal’s load cell, so you can adjust stiffness. But the base design is once again not really fit for use outside of a cockpit.

The grip surfaces on the base don’t grip hard enough, and there’s nowhere near enough weight at the bottom of the pedal base to prevent it from tipping when you hit the brake, even when using the weakest elastomer. When you screw this directly to a cockpit pedal mount, it’s rock-solid and feels fantastic to use… but only then.

Let’s finish with a positive, though, to underline that poor desktop use is the only negative about this bundle. The quick-release mechanism is really exemplary stuff. Fanatec owners will probably break into a sweat at the mere mention of quick releases, since the company’s move from the QR1 to QR2 standards was nothing short of a debacle due to stock issues and the consumer experience is still confusing since several different tiers of QR2 mechanism are available for purchase, separate from the wheels themselves, and both wheel-side and base-side components need to be bought. Nacon’s mechanism creates a wonderfully tight, secure feel with no rattle or play between the wheel and base, and taking the wheel on and off is a smooth operation.

(Image credit: Future)Nacon Revosim: Performance

• Smooth, powerful torque delivery
• Low latency articulation in games
• Not all games have default mappings yet

Yes, it feels great to drive a lap with the Revosim. But to quantify exactly how good, we need to break it down in context.

First, direct drive versus belt-driven wheels. Belt-driven was the prevalent technology during force feedback wheels’ emergence in gaming, and it can give you plenty of feeling and a meaty jolt when it needs to. But inherent to the technology is a grainy feeling when rotating the wheel, a noisy motor, and ‘cogging’ – a sensation of the wheel snapping between tons of resistance and none, because the motor can’t keep up with the information being fed into it to articulate the feedback quickly and precisely enough.

Direct drive is a pricier alternative that articulates the force feedback without any belts, gears, or pulleys, and that means it’s faster, smoother, and feels closer to the real thing. Until very recently – the last 2-3 years – it’s been a prohibitively expensive tech which only enthusiasts have invested in, but following the lockdown sim racing boom, manufacturers including Thrustmaster, Logitech G, Fanatec, and the major industry disruptor Moza have all brought affordable, sub-$1,000 direct drive wheels to market.

So, firstly, in the most fundamental terms, Nacon’s Revosim wheel feels like a big step up compared to any belt-driven wheel, like the Logitech G923, or even Thrustmaster’s T-GT II, the Rolls-Royce of conventional belt-driven models.

(Image credit: Future)

So the real question is how it compares to those other direct drive bundles in the same price bracket. Most enthusiasts who follow the market will look straight to the 9Nm of torque, since on paper it’s a big selling point.

Thrustmaster’s T598 offers just 5Nm on the spec sheet, though the wheelbase uses a new axial drive tech which seems to be able to effectively ‘overclock’ torque and generate a much more muscular sensation than the number suggests. Moza’s R9 bundle offers 9Nm but sells for around $1,000, while Fanatec’s CSL DD QR2 base will get you to 8Nm for under $400, but that’s just for the base, not a bundle with a wheel or pedals.

However, after spending many hours with both the T598 and this wheel, I’m less of a stickler for the power numbers. The Thrustmaster is capable of outputting enough resistance to make my hands feel like they’re in a Tough Mudder after five laps, and let’s not forget that turning the steering wheel of a real car is not a feat of strength, even at speed and during traction loss. Articulation is what matters, and while max torque output is a part of that equation, it’s not as simple as looking for the higher number and deciding that’s better.

Back to the opening statement, then: it feels good to drive a lap with the Revosim because it’s capable of conveying weight transfer, traction loss, the unsettling floatiness of a car under heavy braking, and the quick spasms your wheel can make in complaint when you try to put a lot of power down in a low gear. For their part, the pedals both feel comfortable and offer the right amount of resistance, particularly so for the adjustable load cell brake pedal.

A final word should go to the inclusion of a phone mount, so that you can use a smartphone app like Simhub to turn your phone into a digital cockpit display. In real terms, this is just an extra piece of plastic in the box, but it’s a small inclusion that elevates the driving experience so much. That tells the story of the overall package: little details and additions that turn a good bundle into a great one.

(Image credit: Future)Should I buy the Nacon Revosim?Buy it if...

You race in a cockpit
Look at other options if you race at your desktop, but if you’re mounting to a cockpit, this is as sturdy as it is comfortable.

You’re considering your first direct drive wheel
What a great price this is for an entry-level DD wheel. You don’t need to make a big fiscal commitment to enjoy smoother driving.

You’re not going to upgrade piece by piece
The Revosim ecosystem is small so far – in fact, it’s really just this bundle, plus a handbrake and sequential gearbox – so look elsewhere if you want a base that you’ll keep adding to.

Don't buy it if...

You’re already racing a direct drive wheel
As great as this package is, you don’t need to worry that you’ve lost the competitive advantage that your Fanatec, Moza, or Thrustmaster wheel offered; now this one’s come along.

You need an F1-style wheel
Despite the nice, quick-release mechanism, there aren’t currently any other first-party wheel shapes besides this round wheel.

You race on consoles
The Revosim is PC only for now, so Gran Turismo 7 pros need not apply.

Nacon Revosim: also consider...

If the Nacon Revosim doesn’t turn your head, try these similarly priced rivals.

Nacon Revosim

Thrustmaster T598

Thrustmaster T-GT II

Price

$799.99 / £699.99 (around AU$1435)

$499.99 / £449.99 (around AU$899.99)

$799.99 / £699.99 (around AU$1,211.99)

Weight

52.9lbs / 24kg

14.1lbs / 6.4kg

29lbs / 13.2kg

Peak torque

9Nm

5Nm

Around 6Nm

Features

Direct drive, customizable button covers, quick release wheel, two-pedal base, phone mount attachment

Direct drive, modular pedal base, detachable rim, 100% torque overshoot

Detachable wheel, three-pedal base

Connection type

USB-A

USB-A

USB-A

Compatibility

PC

PS5, PS4, PC

PS5, PC

Thrustmaster T598
For a slightly more affordable entry point into direct drive racing, the T598 has a wonderfully smooth wheel actuation and tons more power than its Nm output suggests. Odd wheelbase shape and size, though.

For more information, read our full Thrustmaster T598 reviewView Deal

Thrustmaster T-GT II
Priced similarly but featuring older belt-driven tech, the T-GT II nonetheless offers a great experience for desktop users with minimal grainy sensation or cogging.

For more information, read our full Thrustmaster T-GT II reviewView Deal

How I tested the Nacon Revosim

• Tested in F1 24, F1 25, Rennsport, ACC, and AC Evo
• Two weeks of testing in a cockpit and on a desktop
• Variety of elastomers used, custom FFB profiles tested

Although it’s cheap for a direct drive wheel, this is still a big financial outlay, so the intended audience is the sim racer who goes where the serious competition lies. With that in mind, I headed to various racing sims where the hotlap leaderboards are fiercely contested and where PvP racing is (usually) conducted with a degree of sporting consideration. I also played F1 24 and F1 25.

Those titles run the gamut of supported and non-supported games, but even in the non-supported ones, I didn’t run into any major difficulties besides having to set my input binds button by button. Force feedback response was convincing and useful in every game.

I swapped out the elastomers to try a variety of braking stiffness levels, and while everyone has a preference, the important thing is that there’s sufficient variance out of the box that most racers will be able to find their preferred feel.

The same goes for force feedback strength – I tweaked a few values in all the games I played, to get a sense of where the min and max are for its feedback types, and found that both the floaty (cheaty) super-low FFB feel and the muscular, jolty response types are possible here with minimal tweaks.

First reviewed August 2025

Read more about how we test

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Light spoilers follow for Peacemaker season 2 episodes 1 through 5. Full spoilers also follow for Peacemaker season 1 and The Suicide Squad.

It's incredibly rare to see a C-tier comic book anti-hero star in his own show. It's even less likely that such an individual, who's now arguably one of DC Comics' hottest commodities, would be positioned as the most important cog in a nascent cinematic franchise.

Few eyebrows are being raised about Peacemaker being that person, though. With season 1 of the titular character's TV series receiving critical and commercial acclaim in early 2022, it was a case of when, not if, a sophomore outing would arrive.

Over three years later, Peacemaker season 2 is not only ready to be unleashed, but also become a core component of James Gunn and Peter Safran's DC Universe (DCU). The fact that this chaotic tragicomedy's next installment is as super as its first, and sets the stage for future DCU and DCU-adjacent projects, proves they made the right decision to use it as a key building block for their burgeoning shared universe.

Hero to zero

Whether it's saving the world or being grilled by school kids, Chris Smith can't catch a break (Image credit: HBO Max)

Set a few months after Gunn's Superman movie, Peacemaker season 2 reunites us with Chris Smith (John Cena), aka the eponymous anti-hero, as he continues to struggle with reconciling his past.

Things aren't much better in the present, either. A failed job interview to join The Justice Gang, the corporately owned team of metahumans introduced in Superman, coupled with Emilia Harcourt (Jennifer Holland) continually rejecting his romantic advances, leaves Smith longing for a better life.

I really got a kick out of Cena plumbing the depths of Smith's inner turmoil

As fate would have it, such an opportunity presents itself to Smith via the secret Quantum Unfolding Chamber (QUC), an inter-dimensional location outside of normal space that exists in the home of his deceased father, Auggie Smith (Robert Patrick). Inebriated one night, Smith stumbles onto a parallel world where his dead dad and brother are alive, and the Peacemaker of this world is a celebrated hero who's in a relationship with this universe's Harcourt. Hypnotized by this idyllic reality, Smith is drawn to it time and again – but, as the saying goes, the grass isn't always greener on the other side.

If the hit HBO Max show's second season sounds like it's putting a multiversal spin on introspective movies like It's a Wonderful Life with a Sliding Doors-style narrative, that's intentional.

Indeed, if season 1 trained its lens on Smith's superhuman alter-ego and his attempts to redeem the 'Peacemaker' name, its sequel is all about the man himself reflecting on the choices he's made and, if he had a do-over, how he'd handle things differently. I really got a kick out of Cena plumbing the depths of Smith's inner turmoil and, despite Smith's efforts to deal with them more maturely, his deeply flawed approach to handling his demons with external vices and increasingly regular trips to an alternate dimension that allow him to live a double life.

Harcourt and Smith's relationship is put through the wringer this season (Image credit: Curtis Bonds Baker/Max)

Parallels can be drawn between Smith's methodology and that of his perennial love interest, Harcourt. Harcourt's sense of self is rattled after she's fired by ARGUS and blacklisted by every US intelligence agency for apparently helping to expose former ARGUS chief Amanda Waller's role in Project Butterfly and Task Force X last season.

Two sides of the same coin, this impulsive pair uses physical pleasure and pain to numb themselves to their deep-seated trauma, and continues the show's exploration of the nature versus nurture debate in engrossing fashion through their individual arcs. Meanwhile, surprise-laden flashbacks to events that occur after 2021's The Suicide Squad, but before season 1, add a fascinating extra layer of complexity to their dynamic.

John Economos' (left) loyalties are split between his job and his friends this season (Image credit: Curtis Bonds Baker/Max)

The rest of Peacemaker's primary ensemble – who, alongside Smith and Harcourt, are collectively known as the 11th Street Kids – also face similar soul-searching experiences as part of their season 2 arcs.

Indeed, the six-month time jump between Smith chancing upon another universe and this season's main storyline is sufficient enough to show how Leota Adebayo (Danielle Brooks), John Economos (Steve Agee), and Adrian Chase/Vigilante's (Freddie Stroma) lives have changed.

The fascinating regression of some friendships... gives Peacemaker 2 a more pronounced soap opera edge than its forebear.

There's a greater emphasis on what makes each character tick and how they deal with setbacks, too, through their more substantial individual arcs this season. The pleasing progression of certain core dynamics and nascent character pairings gives rise to new kinds of awkward, albeit heart-warming, camaraderie. Equally, the fascinating regression of some friendships adds more than a pinch of melodrama, giving Peacemaker 2 a more pronounced soap opera edge than its forebear.

Admittedly, some characters get more to do than others. I was pleased to see the often underappreciated Agee shine in a much bigger role this season, and even Eagly, Smith's rambunctious White Eagle pet/sidekick, gets a funny, though quickly resolved, subplot this time around. However, I wish Stroma's scene-stealing sociopath wasn't relegated to the sidelines as much as he is. Hopefully, season 2 will rectify this glaring oversight in its final three episodes.

Careful what you wish for

Langston Fleury and Sasha Bordeaux are two of numerous new additions to Peacemaker's cast (Image credit: Curtis Bonds Baker/HBO Max)

With numerous supporting cast members killed off in season 1, there are plenty of vacancies to fill on its follow-up's roster.

So, how do they fare in the DCU Chapter One show? They're all terrific, but Tim Meadows' Langston Fleury and Michael Rooker's Red St. Wild are the pick of the bunch. The former – a greasy, smug, and misogynistic sycophant – picks up the cocksure slack that Cena's Smith discards this season, while the latter plays to Rooker's character strengths as a delightfully unhinged individual who's drafted in by ARGUS director Rick Flag Sr (Frank Grillo) and his deputy Sasha Bordeaux (Sol Rodriguez) to track down Eagly for reasons I won't spoil.

Frank Grillo returns as Rick Flag Sr after appearing in Superman and Creature Commandos season 1 (Image credit: Jessica Miglio/Max)

Like Stroma's Chase, I was initially disappointed over the use of Grillo's Flag Sr. Apart from a couple of scenes, including one of the flashbacks I mentioned earlier, Waller's recently-installed replacement – he was hired by ARGUS eight months before season 2's primary story begins – mostly takes a backseat in this season's first four episodes.

Like Stroma's Chase, I was initially disappointed over the use of Grillo's Flag Sr

Okay, Grillo's active role in proceedings is dictated by how the plot unfolds. However, considering Grillo told me that Flag Sr would be "on a mission" for justice in Peacemaker 2 – remember, the titular anti-hero killed his son in The Suicide Squad – I'd hope this storyline would've featured more heavily in earlier entries. Thankfully, once season 2 refocuses its efforts on the Flag Sr portion of the plot, the full weight and impact of Peacemaker's actions in that 2021 Gunn-directed film reverberate through episode 5 and, hopefully, in its final three chapters.

Leota Adebayo and Adrian Chase spend more time together this season compared to its predecessor (Image credit: HBO Max)

While we're on the topic of The Suicide Squad, season 2 does a mostly good job of confirming what parts of the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), i.e., Warner Bros' previous superhero-packed cinematic franchise, are officially canon in the DCU.

Ever since Gunn confirmed Peacemaker's second season would be part of his new-look shared universe, fans have wondered how it would handle this. Season 1 and The Suicide Squad were technically part of the DCEU – learn more about it via my DC movies in order guide – before Gunn and Safran's reboot. Smith's surprising but crowd-pleasing cameo in Superman, as well as Peacemaker season 2's official trailer, did little to answer fans' biggest questions. Fortunately, all is revealed through a handy 'previously on...' segment just minutes into this season's premiere. No spoilers, but I think the vast majority of fans will be pleased with the way that Gunn humorously retcons a particular scene from last season's finale – one that was the biggest canonical headache for many.

Michael Rooker's Red St. Wild is the primary antagonist of this season's Eagly-led subplot (Image credit: HBO Max)

Expected though they are, it's marvellous to see events and characters from the wider DCU play active roles in Peacemaker 2. Whether it's references to Superman's story, or episode 1's brilliantly dysfunctional interview scene involving The Justice Gang, I was heartened to see these narrative yarns spun out further and prove that, unlike Marvel's cinematic juggernaut, events on the big screen can and should be felt keenly in their small screen counterparts.

I'll admit season 2's new title sequence steadily grew on me to the point where I was actively singing along to it

And what of the most anticipated part of the show's return – i.e., this season's new title sequence. Last season's opening credits went viral in early 2022, with Gunn telling Entertainment Weekly it was watched four billion times on TikTok. No pressure, then, to make it as good, if not better.

Initially, I wasn't a fan of season 2's glam-rock-inspired dance number. With each episode that passed, though, I'll admit it steadily grew on me to the point where I was actively singing along to 'Oh Lord' by Foxy Shazam, aka the licensed song this season's ambitious choreographed sequence is set to. Don't be surprised if you feel the same way after re-watching it multiple times.

My verdict

Peacemaker season 2 is an impressive, entertaining, and startlingly thought-provoking continuation of its predecessor. A series packed with the usual trappings of a James Gunn project – dark and awkward humor, heart-wrenching moments, action-heavy sequences, a banging soundtrack, reams of melodrama, and broken characters you can't help but adore – it's must-see TV for DC comic book devotees, nascent DCU fans, and casual observers alike.

There are blemishes, some of which I've outlined above and others, like the occasionally jarring tonal shift, ruin its chances of earning a better rating. However, those flaws are comparatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

As I mentioned up top, not many DC Comics characters could carry their own series and be an integral part of the DCU storytelling machine. And yet, Peacemaker proves that, with the right cast and crew, and a creator who understands the material, anything is possible. If Chris Smith existed in the real world, I'm convinced the high regard he's held in by viewers would finally help him to *ahem* make peace with his past.

Peacemaker's second season launches with a two-episode premiere on August 21 (North and South America) and August 22 (everywhere else). Read my dedicated guide for Peacemaker season 2 before it arrives.

The 40-minute special is the first new musical from the "Peanuts" franchise in more than 35 years.

• Crypto24 ransomware group was seen disabling AV protection before deploying the encryptor
• In some cases, it can even uninstall the AV programs
• A layered defense is the best approach to mitigate the threat

Security researchers have found another antivirus-killing tool out there that hackers are using before dropping any additional payloads.

Experts from Trend Micro have uncovered custom variant of the open source tool called RealBlindingEDR.

This tool comes with a hardcoded list of antivirus company names:

Trend Micro
Kaspersky
Sophos
SentinelOne
Malwarebytes
Cynet
McAfee
Bitdefender
Broadcom (Symantec)
Cisco
Fortinet
Acronis

When it is deployed on a device, it looks for these names in driver metadata, and if it finds one, it disables kernel-level hooks/callbacks, essentially blinding detection engines. Trend Micro’s researchers found the hackers are also able to silently uninstall antivirus programs altogether, opening the doors and enabling easy deployment of stage-two malware.

Crypto24

The tool was seen in the wild, used by a hacking collective called Crypto24, a nascent ransomware group first spotted in September 2024.

However, the researchers believe the group consists of former members of other, defunct hacking collectives, since its members are highly skilled and experienced.

When it gains initial access, establishes persistence, and removes antivirus roadblocks, the group usually deploys two pieces of malware - a keylogger, and an encryptor. All of the stolen secrets are exfiltrated into a Google Drive using a custom tool.

The identity, or location, of Crypto24 is currently unknown. However, researchers are saying that in its short lifespan, the group successfully hit a number of large organizations in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Most of their targets are in finance, manufacturing, tech, and entertainment.

There are many ways to protect against attacks looking to disable antivirus protection, including opting for a layered defense strategy.

Companies can use a reputable antivirus with tamper protection, enable real-time protection and firewalls, and use a separate anti-malware tool that can work alongside an AV.

Via BleepingComputer

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• A Mac Pro has again been rumored for launch later this year
• It'll come with an M4 Ultra based on clues drawn from Apple's internal code
• M4 UItra could run with a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU in theory

The next iteration of the Mac Pro might see Apple powering the computer with an M4 Ultra chip, we've heard again.

It's been a couple of years since the last incarnation of the Mac Pro, which used the M2 Ultra, so it would be a considerable leap in performance to upgrade to a theoretical M4 Ultra – but Macworld reports that this is what's in the cards.

This is based on Apple's internal code that Macworld caught a glimpse of somehow, which contained the identifier 't8152' – and we're told this suggests the use of the M4 Ultra, codenamed 'Hidra' (a name that's previously been aired on the rumor mill via Bloomberg).

There's not much else to this rumor, and Macworld doesn't have any details on the spec, although it theorizes that the M4 Ultra could run with a 32-core CPU and an 80-core GPU.

As ever with this kind of leak, it could be genuine and yet never come to fruition. It might just show us that Apple has been testing a Mac Pro configuration along these lines – but it's possible that this machine may never see the light of day, ending up canned at some point in prototyping.

(Image credit: Brittany Hosea-Small/ AFP/ Getty Images)Analysis: M4 or wait for M5?

This leak tells us a couple of things. Firstly, that Apple staff can't spell 'Hydra' (well, okay, alternatively let's say Apple engineers can't think up decent codenames). And, being serious, that it does appear increasingly likely that a new Mac Pro design is going to pitch up later this year.

Indeed, the Mac Pro coming out later in 2025, complete with M4 Ultra, was suggested over a year ago now, so this latest nugget of speculation backs up the previous buzz on the grapevine.

On top of the weight of rumors starting to add up, there's also the fact that for Apple, the Mac Pro is in something of an odd predicament right now. This is due to the M4 Pro flexing some considerable performance muscles, and outgunning the Mac Pro's M2 Ultra. The upshot is you can buy a Mac mini (with M4 Pro) and get better performance – at least in terms of raw CPU power – than the Mac Pro, which isn't a good look for the seriously pricey computer.

Not that the Mac Pro is competing with Apple's compact Mac mini, of course – it's a heavyweight pro-targeted PC that offers a lot of advantages in terms of hefty memory loadouts and PCIe expansion options. It is a very different beast indeed, but still, Apple needs to keep the Mac Pro on a reasonable footing in relative performance terms - again meaning that the rumored refresh with an M4 Ultra seems more likely.

A two-year gap also seems a fair enough timeframe for a refresh, and it feels somewhat unlikely to me that Apple would want to wait until the M5 series before pushing out a new Mac Pro given the above reasons.

That said, there are those who've argued that the M4 Ultra isn't going to happen – due to issues around jamming two M4 Max chips together, which is what the Ultra chips do – and that Apple will indeed wait it out for the M5 series to make another Ultra model.

So, everything's rather up in the air for now – but if an M4 Ultra is going to happen, it will surely be in a new Mac Pro, and we're likely to see more leaks soon enough. If the whispers go quiet over the next couple of months, that'll tell its own story.

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The defending champions kick off the new season at Anfield as the Reds host the Cherries.

It is not surprising that climate change is becoming a growing weight on society, with sustainability needing to take priority if we want to protect the future of our planet. To put this into context, over the last few years, the UK alone has been responsible for 1.6 million tons of electronic waste, and it is known to be one of the largest e-waste producers worldwide.

Although these figures are slowly decreasing, sustainability must become a growing business imperative if we want to seriously change the tide. For businesses to truly thrive, more sustainable practices are essential to success in the modern consumer climate.

Beyond both consumers and businesses, governments are also being seen to take note of the importance of increased sustainability and implementing a range of measures to help foster a circular economy. In particular, as part of the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) and its recent Energy Labelling Working Plan announcement, the EU aims to ensure tech companies that place products in the EU marketplace start implementing processes to tackle sustainability first hand.

The regulatory reasoning: The EU’s ESPR and Working Plan

Under its Circular Economy Action Plan (CEAP), the EU has led a series of efforts aimed at pushing businesses toward greater sustainability and circularity. A clear example of this commitment is the ESPR, which came into effect last summer and underscores the European Commission’s drive to build a more circular, resource-efficient economy.

For context, the ESPR aims to boost circularity and the practices that contribute to sustainability by creating a framework that “aims to make sustainable products the norm on the EU market.” In layman's terms, it focuses on the production of items that last longer, use energy and resources more efficiently, are easier to repair and recycle, contain fewer substances of concern and include more recycled content.

The circularity regulation is set to apply to select product groups, including those in the electronics and textiles space, and will apply to all businesses that place products within these groups on the EU marketplace, regardless of where they were produced.

As part of this, businesses will need to work towards the implementation of Digital Product Passports (DPPs) - a mandatory requirement for products that fit within the identified product categories.

As the ESPR’s first Working Plan was published at the end of April, a document officially listing the sectors due to be prioritized by the regulation, it is more pressing than ever for technology companies to begin their ESPR compliance journey now.

As the Working Plan provides a timeline for the delegated acts - a set of requirements concerning each product group - to be announced , compliance urgency is increasing at speed. Moreover, with the Working Plan outlining a range of upcoming horizontal requirements, such as repairability for consumer electronics and increased use of recycled content, the technology industry has been listed as a key priority.

In simple terms, the Working Plan aims to focus on the ESPR’s ability to have positive environmental impacts, its capacity to deliver, and the need to simplify regulations.

This update in legislation, and its focus on the timeline for the delegated acts to be announced, is only another reminder that the compliance clock is ticking for technology companies across the world that sell in the EU marketplace.

With the timelines for the delegated acts now established—some taking effect as early as 2026 for sectors like steel - businesses face significant changes in the near future. Companies that delay action risk not only non-compliance but also losing their competitive edge.

Where do DPPs fit in? The mandate and fostering eco-products

To unpack DPPs - a key component of the compliance exercise - they largely act as a digital record of a physical product, securely keeping track of information across its lifecycle. This can include anything from the material used in its production, the environmental impact of its manufacturing, a record of its authenticity, and guidance for end-of-life handling. In most circumstances, this data will be accessible via a data carrier like a QR code or barcode affixed to a product and accessible by scanning with a device such as a smartphone.

DPPs are set to play a key role in advancing the ESPR’s circularity ambitions by offering greater visibility into a product’s entire lifecycle. By embedding DPPs into products, the regulation encourages everyone who interacts with them, from manufacturers to end-users, to adopt more sustainable practices and embrace circular thinking.

For consumers, DPPs provide the information needed to make environmentally conscious purchasing decisions and dispose of products responsibly at end of life. For businesses, this level of transparency opens up opportunities to enhance sustainability across supply chains, from sourcing materials to refining internal processes.

DPPs also prove beneficial to tech industry businesses when considering notions of brand engagement and customer loyalty. For example, they could help businesses to prove the sustainability credentials of their products to the end consumer and can help to avoid accusations of greenwashing.

By potentially even verifying authenticity and keeping a history of any repairs made to a product, technology firms could even utilize the information in DPPs to facilitate take back or resale schemes, encouraging users to recycle their products, turning them back into usable products to be resold - another effort towards the circular economy.

Action point one: Data and DPP solution strategies

As the ESPR’s Working Plan has just been released, it is very easy for businesses to feel overwhelmed by the upcoming regulation and its DPP mandate. In particular, with the Working Plan establishing the horizontal requirements and its focus on product repairability and recyclability, the technology sector must begin considering its DPP compliance journey now to ensure the products they create meet sustainability standards.

As a first step, businesses should assign an employee or team to be at the forefront of upcoming compliance efforts. By ensuring that an employee or group of employees is staying updated on legislation, businesses can ensure they remain aware of specific industry requirements coming down the pipeline.

As part of this, it would be advisable to reach out to a DPP advisor and gain a deeper understanding of the mandate’s industry-specific impact. By doing so, companies can carve out a coherent and bespoke strategy accordingly.

To stay ahead of the ESPR, businesses should start by mapping where critical product data resides - both within their own operations and throughout their supply chains. It's also essential to evaluate which partners are best equipped to support the rollout of DPPs. Once a solution is in place, piloting becomes the logical next step.

Running a pilot allows companies to test implementation in real-world conditions, identify process gaps, and gather valuable data to better estimate the scale and timing of a full rollout. With this groundwork laid, businesses will be well-positioned to accelerate their efforts as soon as the delegated acts come into effect.

For all tech companies selling into the EU marketplace, the ESPR’s forthcoming DPP mandate represents a range of challenges and opportunities for the industry. As the Working Plan’s recent publication only heightens the need for DPP compliance, this moment represents a critical chance to advance a circular economy.

As companies are faced with an opportunity to advance their sustainability credentials (and subsequent business success), the way they choose to tackle this legislation will determine whether they merely meet compliance standards or accelerate as sustainable brands of the future.

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The current distribution model is broken.

The channel is flooded with innovation: AI, automation, infrastructure, security. Everywhere you turn, another vendor is promising the future. But most of them won’t make it. Not because their tech isn’t good, but because the legacy route-to-market isn’t built to support them.

The traditional distribution model was designed for scale, but the kind that follows success, not the kind that builds it. It’s focused on process over potential. It rewards predictability, not boldness. And for emerging vendors trying to break into the market, that’s a problem.

Growth-stage vendors don’t need a distributor. They need a distribution partner. They need experts in their corner who can recognize early potential, do the heavy lifting to bring it to life, and move quickly when opportunities arise. That’s not the job most distributors were built to do. But it’s the job that needs doing now.

Distribution isn’t dead

When Pax8 took out a full-page ad in the New York Times to challenge the legacy distribution model, it raised eyebrows across the channel. It was bold, unapologetic, unexpected, and whether you agreed with the tactic or not, it was a conversation starter.

And that’s the point. Distribution is being disrupted; it’s changing. But it’s not dying.

And no, we’re not talking about changes like a move from hardware to SaaS, or from perpetual to subscription. This new age of distribution is about a new set of expectations. Think real-time analytics, partner orchestration, recurring revenue models, and AI-infused everything.

It is also, most importantly, about the human touch. Vendors and partners need to be able to have live conversations with humans that care and can address any challenges they face. The ability to make a call to your main contact at a distributor can’t be underestimated – the contact that knows your business inside out.

To serve this market, distributors need to behave more like GTM strategists and growth consultants – and behave like they have equal skin in the game. They need to know when to push, where to invest, and how to build momentum from zero.

Challenger brands need challenger distribution

The channel loves a leaderboard. Gartner. Forrester. IDC. And more often than not, the attention goes straight to the top-right of Gartner’s Magic Quadrant; to the ‘Leaders’ that already have market share, not necessarily those driving the next wave of innovation.

The problem is that innovation rarely starts at the top.

The most exciting technologies today are being built by vendors you won’t find in glossy analyst reports. These companies are small, focused, and fast. They’re solving problems in new ways. They’re thinking beyond incremental change. And they’re ready to scale, if they can find the right partner.

But most distributors aren’t built to serve them. Their KPIs don’t account for emerging vendor complexity. Their teams aren’t structured for market creation. Their onboarding processes weren’t designed for agility, and most distributors require healthy marketing budgets to get attention. As a result, the most promising solutions often get overlooked.

What challenger vendors need is a distributor that moves differently. One that’s selective, strategic, and unafraid to bet early.

Data-led, outcome-obsessed

The best distributors don’t just move quickly to identify new opportunities. They move with purpose. And that purpose is driven by data.

Emerging vendors don’t have the luxury of guesswork. Every GTM decision and every partnership matters. That’s why the distributors that really add value aren’t the ones offering the broadest line card, they’re the ones doing the best homework.

Before a single contract is signed, the best distribution partners are already elbows-deep in analysis. They’re evaluating financials, scrutinizing product maturity, interrogating GTM plans, and mapping market readiness. This ensures that they’re not dazzled by demos or led by hype. They’re guided by evidence.

And it doesn’t stop at onboarding.

Smart distributors monitor vendor growth signals in real time. They know which channel programs are converting, which partner profiles are selling, and where the real momentum is coming from—not just at the regional or vertical level but at the micro-layer of product features, deal size, and partner behavior.

Data drives every decision here. From which vendors are onboarded, to how they’re launched, developing a marketing plan and to the way pipeline is tracked and optimized over time.

There’s a growing divide between the brands that are truly ready to scale and the ones who just look good on paper. Spotting the difference is hard. That’s why most distributors don’t try. They wait until success is proven, then show up with a cookie-cutter pitch deck.

But that’s not how category leaders are built. Category leaders are backed early, built methodically, and launched with focus, strategy, and a GTM strategy that knows how to win.

The channel is changing

If one thing is certain, it’s that the channel is changing. Subscription-first, AI-led, everything-as-a-service. The challenge is that you can’t brute-force legacy systems into this new way of doing things and expect a different outcome.

What this moment demands is a new kind of distributor. Not just another name on a long list, but one that actually understands how to build traction in a saturated market, create meaningful differentiation, and help emerging vendors move from underdog to industry standard.

Because if growth is the goal, you don’t have time for slow ramp-ups or vague strategies. You need someone who’s ready to run with you.

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AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X: Two-minute review

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X isn’t just a “cut-down” version of the flagship AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X—it’s a deliberately tuned, high-clocked, 32-core workstation CPU that hits a sweet spot for many professionals.

By halving the core count from 64 to 32 while boosting base frequency to 4.0 GHz (and up to 5.4 GHz on single-core boost), AMD has created a chip that is easier to cool, faster in certain lightly threaded scenarios, and considerably more affordable.

When I first unboxed it, the 9970X didn’t feel like all that different proposition from the 9980X. The packaging, socket installation, and TRX50 platform requirements are the same, but it’s only after I spent two weeks extensively testing both HEDT chips that the performance story for the 9970X revealed itself.

(Image credit: AMD)

In heavily threaded workloads like Blender Cycles and Cinebench multi-core, it delivers S-tier throughput in absolute terms—my Cinebench R23 multi-core score averaged 76,136, which is closer to the 9980X’s 115,098 than it is to the third-best result from my test group, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with an average score of 42,100. That’s because the higher sustained clocks and reduced cross-die latency help the 9970X punch above its core count.

Where the difference becomes even more apparent is in day-to-day interactivity. Complex CAD assemblies, large Photoshop and Premiere projects, Unreal Engine scene editing, and other workloads with bursts of single-threaded or lightly threaded activity feel snappier than on the 9980X, a chip that feels purpose-built to maximize multi-core performance above any other consideration. That’s because the 9970X’s smaller core count means fewer CCDs to coordinate and a higher per-core thermal limit, allowing for faster frequency off the line. This will also pay dividends in applications that can sometimes scale unevenly across cores, such as large database server operations or multiple multi-threaded tasks running concurrently.

The 9970X’s power and thermals also proved more manageable in my testing. Under sustained all-core load, the chip’s maximum power draw hovered around 300W, but this was managed easily enough by the 360mm AIO cooler on the test bench. This kept the chip’s maximum tdie temperature at a balmy 74℃. For those who want to keep chip cooling simple in the form of a high-end AIO, this could make a tangible difference.

(Image credit: AMD)

Platform benefits are unchanged from the rest of the Threadripper 7000 Pro lineup: you still get quad-channel DDR5-6400 ECC memory support, up to 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes, and motherboard designs built for multiple GPUs, high-bandwidth storage, and add-in accelerators. That means it can serve as the central brain for a machine-learning workstation, a film-editing suite with multiple GPU accelerators, or a high-end simulation box without compromise.

Like earlier Threadrippers before it, the 9970X’s gaming performance is at best a distant secondary consideration—and like the 9980X, the 9970X won’t match the best processors on the consumer market, like the Core i9-14900K or Ryzen 9 9950X3D, in pure gaming FPS.

(Image credit: AMD)

However, with an average of over 240 FPS at 1080p in my tests, it’s more than capable of handling games competently between work sessions, especially when paired with one of the best graphics cards like the Nvidia RTX 5090.

The real magic of the 9970X, though, is how it blends workstation-class parallel compute with desktop-class responsiveness. For many pros, this chip will actually feel faster than the 9980X in mixed workloads, all while costing $2,499.99 / £2,299.99 / AU$4,199.

This is literally half the cost of AMD’s “best” HEDT processor. It’s still a major investment, but in the right pipeline, the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X delivers a better return on both performance per dollar and performance per watt than its bigger sibling, making it the best AMD processor for just about every workstation PC that can run it.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X: Price & availability

(Image credit: AMD)

• How much does it cost? $2,499.99 / £2,299.99 / AU$4,199
• When is it available? It is available now
• Where can you get it? You can get it in the US, UK, and Australia

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X is available now for $2,499.99 / £2,299.99 / AU$4,199 in the US, UK, and Australia, respectively.

From a prosumer, enthusiast, and industry perspective, though, the price of the 9970X is going to be much cheaper than the 9980X, not to mention the Threadripper Pro 9000-series chips. So while its hard to call something costing more than a couple grand "cheap", for this class of product, this isn't that bad, especially considering that there's no increase in price from the Ryzen Threadripper 7970X.

Meanwhile, for many professionals, the 50% difference in price between the 9970X and 9980X—for what can often feels like 75–99% of the real-world performance of the 9980X—has to weigh heavily in its favor.

It’s important to note that Threadripper chips aren’t typically sold through mainstream retailers, so availability will be more limited than with high-end consumer CPUs. You’ll need to check with specialty component retailers, workstation-oriented e-tailers, and system integrators building high-end rigs for creative, engineering, or research applications in your region if you’re looking to upgrade to the 9970X.

It’s also worth noting that a total platform investment might be necessary as well. A TRX50 motherboard, high-bandwidth DDR5 ECC memory kit, and capable cooling are all required for the 9970X, and these can easily add a couple of grand to a build. That said, for buyers who rely on multi-core compute and high I/O throughput to make a living, the 9970X offers excellent return on investment.

• Value: 4 / 5

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X: Specs & Features

(Image credit: AMD)

• AMD Zen 5 architecture
• Higher base clock than 9980X
• 32-cores/64-threads for excellent multi-core throughput

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X specs

Socket

sTR5 (TRX50)

Architecture

AMD Zen 5

Cores

32

Threads

64

Base Clock

4.0 GHz

Boost Clock

5.4 GHz

L3 Cache

128MB

PCIe Lanes

Up to 80 PCIe 5.0

Memory Support

Up to 1TB Quad-channel DDR5‑6400 ECC

TDP

350W

Tjmax

95℃

The Ryzen Threadripper 9970X is built on AMD’s Zen 5 architecture, manufactured using a MCM design with the TSMC’s advanced N4P process for the main compute die and TSMC’s N6 proccess for chip I/O.

It combines 32 high-performance cores for 64 total threads, offering strong parallel compute capabilities while maintaining high per-core speeds that benefit lightly threaded workloads.

With a 4.0 GHz base and up to 5.4 GHz boost, it delivers both sustained throughput and the snappy responsiveness that closely parallels mainstream consumer CPUs.

A major strength of the Threadripper 9000-series is its quad-channel DDR5 memory controller, supporting ECC DDR5-6400, up from ECC DDR5-5200 from the Threadripper 7000-series, for higher data bandwidth and integrity, which are key for high-resolution video editing, scientific computation, and large-scale 3D rendering.

(Image credit: AMD)

PCIe connectivity is equally formidable, with up to 80 lanes of PCIe 5.0 for GPUs and NVMe drives (up from 48 with the 7000-series), plus an additional 8 PCIe 4.0 lanes for legacy devices. This level of I/O capacity is ideal for multi-GPU render farms, expansive storage arrays, or specialized accelerator cards.

Its 350W TDP highlights the need for serious cooling (I would not recommend anything less than a 360mm AIO cooler), but it also enables sustained all-core performance without throttling when thermals are under control. The chip is fully unlocked as well, allowing fine-grained tuning for workloads that benefit from higher clocks.

Combined with the TRX50 platform’s durability and expandability, the 9970X’s specs make it a workstation CPU that can anchor a system for years of demanding use.

• Specs & features: 5 / 5

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X: Installation & test setup

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

Installing the Ryzen Threadripper 9970X is more involved than seating a standard desktop CPU. It uses AMD’s sTR5 socket, which is physically massive and requires a specific installation process.

AMD includes a torque-limiting wrench with the processor to ensure even pressure across the integrated heat spreader, an important step for both thermal performance and long-term reliability. Skipping proper installation can lead to uneven contact or even bent pins on the TRX50 motherboard, so definitely watch some installation videos on YouTube and read the instructions carefully before touching anything.

For testing, I used an ASUS Pro WS TRX50-SAGE board, paired with an Nvidia RTX 5090, G.Skill 128GB DDR5-6400 ECC memory (4x32GB), and a Crucial T705 PCIe 5.0 SSD as the primary system drive running a fresh copy of Windows 11. Cooling was handled by a Silverstone XE360-TR5 AIO cooler, and power was supplied by a Thermaltake Toughpower PF3 1050W Platinum PSU.

This configuration is more or less what a professional workstation or enthusiast HEDT rig might look like, and definitely exceeds what you might find in a typical gaming PC (this will be important in a bit). Every component—from the motherboard’s VRM design to the memory configuration—was selected to match the demands of a CPU built for long, heavy, and complex computing tasks.

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X: Performance

(Image credit: Future / John Loeffler)

• Phenomenal multi-core performance
• Very responsive
• Gaming performance is unimpressive

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X’s performance reflects its 32-core, 64-thread design and high clock speeds, as demonstrated by my various benchmark data.

Everything from Geekbench 6.4 and Cinebench R23 to V-Ray, Blender Benchmark, and HandBrake 1.9 shows that it delivers exceptional throughput across professional workloads while maintaining strong single-core responsiveness.

In Geekbench 6.4, the 9970X scored a 3,010 in single-core and a 27,567 in multi-core performance, for example. This puts its single-core performance in the neighborhood of mainstream desktop CPUs like the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K, though it’s about 10% slower than the fastest processor I tested, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X, in Geekbench’s benchmark. Notably, the 9970X is about 1% faster in this test, on average, than the Threadripper 9980X.

For multi-core performance, however, the only real competition for the 9970X is the 9980X. In Geekbench 6.4, the 9970X is about 31% faster than the Core Ultra 9 285K, the third-fastest chip on this benchmark in my test group.

Meanwhile, the 9970X comes in about 4% slower than the 9980X in this test. Before you go thinking the 9970X can hang with the 9980X in overall multi-core performance, though, in Cinebench R23, the 9970X scored an astounding 76,136 points in multi-core performance, which is about 81% faster than the next chip on the podium, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, score of 42,098 (followed very closely by the Intel Core Ultra 9 285K with 41,281).

The 9980X, meanwhile, clocked in 115,098 points in Cinebench R23 multi-core, which puts the 9970X about 34% slower than the 9980X. The story is essentially the same in Cinebench R24, with some tightening in the 3DMark CPU Profile (Max Thread) and PassMark CPU tests. Overall, the 9970X is the second-best multi-core performer, coming in about 54% faster than the third-place Core Ultra 9 285K, and about 25% slower than the multi-core champ 9980X.

The faster clock speeds in the 9970X give it a responsiveness edge over the slower 9980X, which you can see play out in system benchmarks like CrossMark. Here, the 9970X beat or roughly matched the productivity performance and responsiveness of the 9980X, Core Ultra 9 285K, and Ryzen 9 9950X. It’s only real competition here is the Intel Core i9-14900K, which has a noticeably higher boost frequency for its performance cores, which is vital to app performance and responsiveness.

In creative workloads, the 9970X outperformed nearly all of the chips in my testing, save for the 9980X, though there are some notable quirks in the results that might point to poor optimization for certain tests, like PugetBench for Creators.

Here both Threadripper chips fell way behind their client-grade competition in Adobe Photoshop, or essentially tying with them in PugetBench’s Premiere test—as the 9970X did—or only slightly beating the competition—hats off to the 9980X for the win there.

Other workloads, however, show that the 9970X is substantially better suited for these workflows than consumer-class chips. The 9970X takes the top spot in the CrossMark Creativity and Handbrake encoding tests overall, and loses only to the 9980X in Blender Benchmark 4.3 and V-Ray 6’s CPU test while nearly lapping its next closest rival on the consumer side on all four benchmarks.

Since the 9970X is classified as an HEDT chip rather than a full-on industrial workstation CPU, there are a lot of non-pro enthusiasts out there who like Threadrippers for the elite performance on offer, but I’ll warn you now that gaming is not where this chip is going to excel.

In my gaming benchmarks, the 9970X consistently came in at the bottom of the rankings, averaging about 241 FPS at 1080p on low settings (with a 1% FPS average of about 169). Every other chip besides the 9980X cleared 340 FPS on average, with 1% FPS averaging at least 40 FPS better. On the bright side, the 9970X did manage to beat out the 9980X, which came in dead last on every game I tested it with.

In terms of game AI performance, its also a bit of a mixed bag, with the 9970X doing very well in Civilization VII’s AI benchmark, but coming in a good deal behind in the mainstream consumer chips in the group in the Stellaris 1-year, 42 empire autoplay duration tests.

Of course, that’s not all there is to be said about gaming, since few with this kind of chip will be playing at 1080p with the lowest graphics settings on a cheap graphics card. If you’ve got the money for a Threadripper 9970X, you’re likely going to be able to swing a 4K graphics card like the Nvidia RTX 5080 or better; and gaming at higher resolutions shifts the FPS bottleneck from the CPU to the GPU, so the difference in actual framerates while playing might not be nearly so dramatic.

Thermals and power consumption were in line with what I was expecting from a 350W TDP chip. I recorded power draw ranging from 6.77W while idle to 300.6W peak, with temperatures between 37°C when idle and 74°C under sustained load using a 360mm AIO— an excellent result given the chip’s capabilities.

Overall, then, the 9970X really strikes a phenomenal balance between the responsiveness and everyday capability of the best consumer-market CPUs and the high-end performance required from a workstation-level processor.

Of course, given its price, I cannot imagine anyone who isn’t doing serious, heavy-duty 3D design, video production, or scientific simulation work needing a chip like this. If you’ve somehow stumbled into this review wondering if you should go through the ridiculous amount of expense to upgrade from a Core i9, Core Ultra 9, or Ryzen 9 system that you mostly use for gaming and prosumer-level content creation, don’t do it.

The payoff just isn’t worth the expense for anyone other than creative, AI, or scientific professionals. If you’re in a field that demands this kind of multi-core performance for your day-to-day work, however, the 9970X delivers close to flagship throughput with better responsiveness, making it one of the most balanced HEDT CPUs you’re going to find anywhere.

Should you buy the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X?AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X Scorecard

Value

For a chip this expensive, 'value' is definitely a relative term here. But for a workstation chip, this is a great value.

4 / 5

Specs & features

With high clock speeds, lots of CPU cores, and support for up to 1TB ECC DDR5 and 80 PCIe 5.0 lanes, this chips brings the latest and greatest to the table.

5 / 5

Performance

While this isn't the most powerful chip for every use case, for professional workloads, the performance on offer is incredible.

5 / 5

Final Score

The AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X offers a perfect balance of performance, responsiveness, and price that is impossible to beat.

4.67 / 5

Buy the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X if...

You need strong multi-core performance
Of the non-Threadripper Pro 9000-chips, the 9970X outperforms everything on the market other than the 9980X, but it isn't that far behind.

You want excellent responsiveness and single-core performance
While the multi-core performance is the big selling point of this chip, it offers comparable system responsiveness and single-core performance as many of the best consumer-class processors.

You want workstation performance on a 'budget'
No one is calling this processor cheap, but compared to other workstation-class processors, the 9970X isn't terrible on price.

Don't buy it if...

You aren't running professional creative, academic, or enterprise workloads
This chip brings fantastic performance for key professional workloads, but it's general computing and gaming performance isn't as good as substantially cheaper consumer processors.

You're on an actual budget
The Threadripper 9970X, and the platform required to run it, will run you several grand at least. Many of the best consumer PCs for professional workloads are almost certainly a better value.

You are looking for a true, industrial-class workstation chip
While the Threadripper 9970X is a powerful processor, for serious industrial-grade workloads (such as rendering the Gargantua approach sequence at the end of Interstellar, let's say), you should only consider this chip if you've purchased all of the available stock of the Threadripper Pro 9000-series and 9980X and still need more compute.

Also consider

AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9980X
You get twice the cores for extreme parallel workloads, but at nearly twice the cost and with much lower sustained clock speeds for less responsive single-core or lightly-threaded tasks. But if you really need that heavy, all-cores-on-deck performance for your work, only the Threadripper Pro chips will give you better results.

Intel Core Ultra 9 285K
OK, seriously, hear me out. If you're looking for a responsive prosumer-grade chip with excellent multi-core performance, the Core Ultra 9 285K is as good as you'll find in a consumer system, even if it falls well short of where the 9970X lands. It's also substantially cheaper.

Read the full Intel Core Ultra 285K review

AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D
If you're an enthusiast who is looking for the best processor for gaming, prosumer-level content creation, and excellent all-around performance, this is the chip you actually need, not the 9970X.

Read the full AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D review

How I tested the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X

• I spent about two weeks testing the Threadripper 9970X
• I put the chip through my standard suite of CPU benchmarks, with special attention on professional workloads and multi-core performance
• I used it for content creation, gaming, and day-to-day work

I used the AMD Ryzen Threadripper 9970X in my day-to-day work PC, using it for general productivity, content creation for work, and a healthy dose of CPU experimentation. I also used it for gaming while running benchmarks on other systems, but that was not my primary focus.

While there are a lot of specialized workloads that this CPU will be running, most of those workflows or applications don't have readily accessible benchmarks, so I used my standard CPU testing suite to inform the potential performance for those I could not benchmark directly, and put special emphasis and attention on those benchmarks, like V-Ray 6 and Handbrake 1.9 Encoding, that directly relate to the intended market for this chip.

I've reviewed dozens of processors over my time at TechRadar, and have spent hundreds of hours of testing processors for features, special projects, and general maintenance of my benchmark score database, so I know how to push a processor to its limits and assess its quality and value, an expertise I bring to all of my reviews to ensure that you find the right chip for your needs and budget.

• First reviewed August 2025

• Canada’s House of Commons notified its employees of a cyberincident
• It lost sensitive employee data to unnamed hackers
• Threat actors apparently broke in through a Microsoft SharePoint flaw

Canada’s House of Commons has reportedly suffered a cyberattack which saw it lose sensitive employee data.

A CBC report, citing an internal email that the organization sent to its staff, says the attack saw an unidentified threat actor exploit a “recent Microsoft vulnerability” to access a database with information on employee computers and mobile devices.

Among the data stolen in the attack was employee names, email addresses, job titles, office locations, and information about the devices they use.

SharePoint under the magnifying glass

At the moment, both the House of Commons and Canada’s Communications Security Establishment (CSE) are investigating the issue.

"Attribution of a cyber incident is difficult. Investigating cyber threat activity takes resources and time, and there are many considerations involved in the process of attributing malicious cyber activity," CSE apparently said in a statement.

The organization told its employees to remain vigilant, and be wary of incoming communications.

The details are scarce, but the House of Commons saying the attackers used a “recent Microsoft vulnerability” fueled speculation that it was done through an infamous SharePoint flaw which has been exploited recently.

Canada’s Cyber Centre recently issued a warning about a SharePoint Server flaw called ToolShell, tracked as CVE-2025-53770.

ToolShell was first observed in late July 2025, and has been abused by multiple threat actors, including Chinese state-sponsored groups.

Multiple high-profile organizations have already been compromised this way, including the US National Nuclear Security Administration, Rhode Island General Assembly, and many others.

Via BleepingComputer

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If you're in search of the best website builder to create an eye-catching website for your startup or side hustle, HubSpot website builder is certainly worth a look. In our hands-on review, we’ll dive deep into HubSpot’s offering and decide whether it’s a game-changer for solo entrepreneurs and small business owners looking to make their mark online.

After all, HubSpot is more than just one of the best free website builders - it's the heart of HubSpot's comprehensive content management system (CMS) suite. Whether you're launching a side hustle or rebuilding your current site, this tool streamlines website creation. Despite a slight learning curve associated with advanced tools, HubSpot provides a powerful tool to support your online efforts.

To help you make the right choice, we've rolled up our sleeves and delved into the nitty-gritty of the HubSpot website builder. Our team of experts has rigorously tested this builder, creating multiple websites to assess its user interface, design flexibility, and integration with HubSpot's ecosystem.

So, whether you're a first-time website creator or want to level up your game, our Hubspot website builder review can serve as your roadmap to navigating this tricky tool.

Is HubSpot the right website builder for me?

Choosing the right site builder is crucial for the success of your online presence. Let's break down who HubSpot is best for and who might find it less suitable.

Who is HubSpot best for?

HubSpot drag-and-drop website builder is an excellent choice for solo entrepreneurs entering the online realm, especially those prioritizing inbound marketing. It provides tools to create and promote content that resonates with the target audience.

Additionally, HubSpot is one of the best small business website builders on the market, allowing entrepreneurs and marketers to benefit from its all-in-one solution with strong integration capabilities. If you're seeking a platform where your website, CRM, live chat, email marketing, and automation are interconnected, HubSpot is a solid choice. It also supports up to three languages with automatic connections between language variations.

Who might find HubSpot less suitable?

HubSpot's pricing structure can be confusing and costs significantly increase with advanced features. If you're on a tight budget, the leap from the entry-level plan to more advanced tiers might be limiting.

The user interface of HubSpot's builder can also be overwhelming, which might not be suitable for those who prefer a simpler, more straightforward dashboard. In such cases, a site builder like Wix, with a more intuitive design, could be a better fit.

HubSpot website builder - perfect for CRM and marketing integrations

HubSpot's website builder integrates with their CRM and other marketing tools. With a generous free plan, it makes HubSpot a great option for small, start up, and growing businesses. View Deal

HubSpot features and tools

From templates to setting up an online store, below we explore everything you need to know about all the tools and features the HubSpot website builder has to offer.

Templates

HubSpot's themes are clean and bold, a great way to make a statement about your business. (Image credit: HubSpot)

HubSpot boasts a collection of over 170 themes, covering a diverse range of categories and you're invited to preview themes before installation. And if that's not enough, you can even spice things up by adding themes purchased from ThemeForest, expanding your design options.

When it comes to customization and adding a personal touch, the theme editor is your creative playground. You can easily tweak colors, fonts, and spacing to match your brand's vibe. What's best, these changes ripple across all your pages, saving you time and effort.

One advantage that sets HubSpot and Wix apart is HubSpot's ability to switch themes without bidding farewell to your content - it's really a rare gem in the website-building realm.

AI tools and features

If you don’t want to pick from one of the templates offered by HubSpot you can use HubSpot’s AI website builder instead. This tool allows you to create a full website by answering a few simple questions asked by the AI bot. The AI will then generate a website based on your answers, all without you needing to do any coding.

Although the HubSpot AI website builder will generate a full website for you, like most of the best AI website builders, a level of editing will almost certainly be required to bring it up to standard.

HubSpot also offers a range of other AI-powered tools to help you build and grow your website. This includes a full AI blog writing tool to help launch regular blog posts with little time investment. The Breeze content agent can also help you use CRM data to create bespoke content for everything from landing pages and podcasts to case studies and blog posts.

Content Remix is another AI-powered tool that can be used to create variations of existing content such as blog posts and landing pages in just a few clicks, making it easier than ever to have content targeted at different segments of your audience.

HubSpot website editor

HubSpot's website editor is easy to use, but lacks flexibility (Image credit: HubSpot)

Now, the heart of the matter - HubSpot's drag-and-drop editor takes center stage, offering an array of content elements and modules to elegantly populate your pages.

From dynamic galleries and testimonials to structured columns and vibrant videos, the editor is there to empower your creative choices. Tweak the finer details of your website's appearance effortlessly, from global fonts and spacing to typography, buttons, forms, and tables, ensuring a polished and cohesive design throughout.

However, despite the decent creative potential, HubSpot's website editor is far from being a champion of flexibility. Precise placement can sometimes feel like orchestrating a dance routine without mastering all the moves. Text editing takes a brief detour into a separate pane, introducing a slight interruption to the flow. For those meticulous about the alignment of elements like text and images, you might find yourself desiring a bit more control.

Domain

HubSpot offers a free subdomain, providing a starting point for your online presence. If you're seeking a personalized touch, HubSpot simplifies the domain registration process right within its platform. However, you don't need to upgrade to a paid plan right away.

Unlike many other of the best free website builders, with HubSpot, you have the benefit of connecting your own domain name for free - and it offers a simple step-by-step guide to help you do it.

If you don't own a domain, registering one usually falls in the range of $10-20, though it can vary based on factors such as popularity and the registrar you choose.

HubSpot ecommerce

HubSpot's app marketplace is the go-to for those looking for advanced ecommerce tools. (Image credit: HubSpot)

When it comes to ecommerce functionality, HubSpot CMS doesn't provide native features for selling products. Still, the platform allows you to receive payments through your site, primarily suitable for processes like donations or simple payments, but this functionality is limited to users based in the US.

Despite this limitation, HubSpot extends its ecommerce potential through its app marketplace. Here, you'll find plenty of free ecommerce Apps compatible with HubSpot, such as WooCommerce, BigCommerce, PrestaShop, Magento, and more.

As for transaction fees, HubSpot adopts a transparent approach with no setup fees, monthly fees, minimums, or hidden charges. The cost structure is based on a percentage of each transaction, ensuring you only pay for the service when it's actively utilized.

The specific fees, however, depend on the payment processing option you choose within HubSpot. If you opt for HubSpot Payments, expect to incur a 2.9% charge on all credit card transactions and a 0.5% fee (capped at $10) on ACH payments. Alternatively, if you integrate your Stripe account as the payment processor, HubSpot applies a platform fee of 0.5% per transaction, alongside the processing fee agreed upon with Stripe.

HubSpot marketing integrations

HubSpot's marketing integrations are plentiful and high powered. (Image credit: HubSpot)

HubSpot shines in the realm of marketing integrations, providing powerful SEO tools to boost your online presence. With features like personalized content, email marketing, and seamless integration with CRM and automation tools, HubSpot provides an all-in-one suite for managing various marketing aspects.

The platform's Marketing Hub is aimed at experienced marketers, offering capabilities like email campaigns, SEO strategy development, ad management, automated campaigns, content uploading, and detailed reporting. This makes it an attractive choice for businesses seeking streamlined lead generation and nurturing processes.

HubSpot doesn't stop there – it also integrates seamlessly with various social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, further enhancing your ability to reach and engage with your audience.

Website security

HubSpot offers top-notch security for your website. (Image credit: HubSpot)

As soon as you connect your domain, HubSpot will automatically set you up with a standard SSL certificate through Google Trust Services, giving your site a secure foundation.

Behind the scenes, HubSpot entrusts your website's security to top-tier cloud providers like Google Cloud Platform and Amazon Web Services. These providers adhere to strict security standards like ISO 27001 and SOC 2 compliance, ensuring your website is in good hands.

HubSpot employs a web application firewall (WAF) to safeguard against attacks, including DDoS threats. Real-time monitoring keeps an eye on traffic, promptly identifying and thwarting any malicious activity.

And when it comes to data protection, HubSpot has it covered. Your information is securely replicated and backed up across multiple storage locations ensuring your data's safety and quick recovery if needed.

To keep a pulse on your website's security, HubSpot's Security Health is your go-to tool. It provides a comprehensive overview of your security measures, pointing out areas for improvement. You just need to follow the links to address any concerns and strengthen your account’s security.

HubSpot pricing: Is HubSpot good value for money?

HubSpot offers a great free plan and an affordable starter plan, but for advance features the jumps in price are significant. (Image credit: HubSpot)

To start your journey with HubSpot, you'll have to choose from their CMS Hub plans, each tailored to cater to specific business needs.

There's a forever-free plan and it comes packed with essential tools for marketing, sales, service, content management, operations, and commerce. They're perfect for small businesses looking for budget-friendly yet impactful solutions that can be simply upgraded as their business grows. However, keep in mind that this fee plan comes with certain limitations, such as up to 25 website pages, no dynamic content, and includes HubSpot branding with a non-customizable favicon.

The next in line, the Starter plan ($20/month paid yearly) is likely enough for most small-to-medium businesses, but if you crave advanced features, the Professional plan ($360/month paid yearly) offers personalization, A/B testing, custom reporting, and more.

The Enterprise plan ($1,200 /month paid yearly) goes further with advanced development-focused features such as additional root domains, memberships, adaptive testing, web apps, and custom objects - everything needed to build a robust foundation for wide-ranging business growth.

HubSpot lets you create custom bundles for your business. The four key products - HubSpot CRM (free), Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub - come in Free, Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plans. For an all-inclusive approach, the Growth Suite bundles them together at a discounted price.

You have the option to optimize your HubSpot experience with expert assistance, ensuring you make the most of the platform's capabilities. To dive deeper into specifics about HubSpot's plans and pricing, check out their pricing page.

HubSpot help and support

HubSpot offers several good ways to get support and learn more about the platform. (Image credit: HubSpot)

Even on the Starter plan, you've got the backup of both email and live chat support, and the team is quick to respond and genuinely helpful when you're facing challenges. Also, if you're ever curious or need quick updates, hit up HubSpot support on X (Twitter) – they even encourage their users to do so.

The knowledge base is like a gold mine, covering a ton of topics. It might seem a bit overpacked at first glance, but think of it as your go-to resource, helping you through common issues and diving into advanced features.

There's also a community forum where you can chat with fellow users, tap into their collective wisdom, and pick up strategies to grow better with HubSpot. Plus, HubSpot keeps you in the loop with real-time updates on system status and security – just visit their status page.

However, to get round-the-clock phone support, you'll have to go with the Professional or Enterprise plans. For a pretty penny, this will add that extra layer of assistance for a smooth website-building journey.

HubSpot: What’s not included? What could be better?

While HubSpot CMS Hub offers an extensive array of business-focused, particularly marketing features, the platform could benefit from increased flexibility within its editor. Design flexibility is limited, requiring potential reliance on developers for precise customization, making it more akin to a comprehensive content management system like WordPress than other DIY website builders such as Wix and Squarespace.

One notable downside is the platform's learning curve, attributed to the multitude of features available. Less tech-savvy users may find it challenging to familiarize themselves with the different interfaces and editors for various tasks. The editor's rigidity, despite offering drag-and-drop functionality, might make it a bit challenging to customize the design exactly as you want.

Still, if you're willing to invest time in navigating the learning curve, HubSpot website builder can be a powerful choice, particularly if you're already using HubSpot's CRM or marketing tools.

HubSpot Review: Final thoughts

In summary, HubSpot’s website builder comes as a compelling all-in-one solution, especially when integrated with HubSpot's CRM or email marketing tools. It might not be the most beginner-friendly choice out there and isn't as flexible as some of its competitors, even free website builders. Nevertheless, HubSpot is a marketing powerhouse that excels with robust tools for SEO, blogging, and lead generation.

If you've decided on HubSpot but are looking for superior customization or lack the time to navigate the learning curve, consider collaborating with a developer. When understood and utilized effectively, this comprehensive solution can empower your online presence and marketing endeavors.

The bottom line is, if you are a small or growing business that wants an all-in solution for CRM, marketing tools, and website building, there is little out there that can beat HubSpot’s offering. However, if you want more flexibility in your website design, assessing other options will be worthwhile.

HubSpot website builder FAQs Is HubSpot really free?

Yes, HubSpot offers a forever-free version but with basic features, including CRM tools. For more advanced features and capabilities, you'll want to check out their paid plans.

Is it hard to learn HubSpot?

HubSpot can have a steep learning curve due to its extensive feature set. While it provides user-friendly interfaces, the diverse range of tools may require some time to master. Fortunately, HubSpot offers training resources and solid customer support to help you navigate the platform effectively.

Does HubSpot's website builder offer integration with third-party apps and services?

Yes, HubSpot's website builder offers integration with various third-party apps and services through its extensive marketplace of plugins and integrations. You can also connect your website with HubSpot’s extensive range of built in tools ranging from a complete CRM to AI powered marketing tools.

Can I connect a custom domain to the HubSpot website builder?

Yes, HubSpot is one of the very few free website builders that allow you to connect a custom domain to your website.

You can search for relevant domain names with any of the best domain registrars. Once you have purchased your domain, you can connect it to your website by going to settings > Content > Domains and URLs > Connect a domain.

If you don’t have a domain, don’t worry. HubSpot gives you a free subdomain to help you get started.

Can I sell on a HubSpot website?

Unlike Wix, Squarespace, and Hostinger, HubSpot doesn’t offer any dedicated ecommerce tools on its website builder. However, that doesn’t stop you from selling via your website.

This is because you can connect to a host of payment processors and ecommerce platforms through HubSpot’s app marketplace.

What AI website building tools does HubSpot offer?

HubSpot offers a range of helpful AI tools that can help speed up the website building process, but they should be used with some oversight.

Firstly, you can tap into the platform's full AI website builder that will create you a website from just a few prompts. Then you can use the AI blog writing tool to create and publish blog posts and the Breeze AI content agent to create bespoke content based on CRM data.

Can I migrate my website from another website builder to HubSpot?

No.

You cannot migrate a full website from another website builder to HubSpot. This is because website builders typically hide the code you would need to fully replicate your website on another platform.

HubSpot does offer a ‘Website Migration Service’. This service rebuilds your website content into HubSpot’s Content Hub. However, it also uses a new theme to do that, so your website will not look the same.

With a $500 set up fee and $20 per page to migrate, costs can add up, but it can be a good option for businesses that are time poor or want to avoid the headache.

Is HubSpot good for SEO?

Yes, HubSpot is in high demand for its SEO capabilities. The CMS Hub, in particular, provides robust tools for optimizing content, managing keywords, and enhancing website visibility on search engines. It is considered a powerful option for businesses focused on inbound marketing and SEO strategies.