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Extinction is typically for good. Once a species winks out, it survives only in memory and the fossil record. When it comes to the woolly mammoth, however, that rule has now been bent. Its been 4,000 years since the eight-ton, 12-foot, elephant-like beast walked the Earth, but part of its DNA now operates inside several litters of four-inch, half-ounce mice created by scientists at the Dallas-based Colossal Laboratories and Biosciences. The mice dont have their characteristic short, gray-brown coat, but rather the long, wavy, woolly hair of the mammoth and the extinct beasts accelerated fat metabolism, which helped it survive Earths last ice age. Both traits are the result of sophisticated gene editing that Colossals scientists hope will result in the reappearance of the mammoth itself as early as 2028.AdvertisementAdvertisementThe Colossal woolly mouse marks a watershed moment in our de-extinction mission, said company CEO Ben Lamm in a statement. "By engineering multiple cold-tolerant traits from mammoth evolutionary pathways into a living model species, we've proven our ability to recreate complex genetic combinations that took nature millions of years to create."Woolly mice at Colossal Biosciences lab. Courtesy of Colossal BiosciencesColossal has been working on restoring the mammoth ever since the companys founding in 2021. The animals relatively recent extinctionjust a few thousand years ago as opposed to the tens of millions that mark the end of the reign of the dinosaursand the fact that it roamed the far north, including the Arctic, means that its DNA has been preserved in multiple remains embedded in permafrost. For its de-extinction project, Colossal collected the genomes of nearly 60 of those recovered mammoths. Recreating the species from that raw biological material is relatively straightforward in principle, if exceedingly painstaking in practice. The work involves pinpointing the genes responsible for the traits that separate the mammoth from the Asian elephantits close evolutionary relationediting an elephant stem cell to express those traits, and introducing the stem cell into an elephant embryo. In the alternative, scientists could edit a newly conceived Asian elephant zygote directly. Either way, the next step would be to implant the resulting embryo into the womb of a modern-day female elephant. After 22 monthsthe typical elephant gestation periodan ice age mammoth should, at least theoretically, be born into the computer-age world.But speedbumps abound. The business of rewriting the genome takes extensive experimentation with hundreds of embryos to ensure that the key genes are properly edited. The only way to test if they indeed are is to follow the embryos through gestation and see if a viable mammoth pops out; the nearly two years it would take for even a single experimental animal to be born, however, would make that process impractical. Whats more, Asian elephants are highly social, highly intelligent, and endangered, raising intractable ethical obstacles to experimenting on them. Enter the mouse, an animal whose genome lends itself to easy manipulation with CRISPRa gene-editing tool developed in 2012, based on a natural process bacteria use to defend themselves in the wild. Whats more, mice need only 20 days to gestate, making for a quick turnaround from embryo to mouse pup.In the current experiment, researchers identified seven genes that code for the mammoths shaggy coatidentifying distinct ones that make it coarse, curly, and long. They also pinpointed one gene that guides the production of melaninwhich gives the coat its distinctive gold colorand another that governs the animals prodigious lipid metabolism. Relying on CRISPR, they then took both the stem cell and zygote approach to rewriting the mouses stem cell to express those traits. The next steps involved more than a little hit and miss.Over the course of five rounds of experiments, the Colossal scientists produced nearly 250 embryos. Fewer than half of them developed to larger, more-viable 200- to 300-cell embryos, which were then implanted in the womb of around a dozen surrogate females. Of these, 38 mouse pups were born. All of them successfully expressed the gold, woolly hair of the mammoth as well as its accelerated lipid metabolism. The Colossal scientists see the creature theyve produced as a critical development."The woolly mouse project doesn't bring us any closer to a mammoth, but it does validate the work we are doing on the path to a mammoth, Lamm tells TIME. [It] proves our end-to-end pipeline for de-extinction. We started this project in September and we had our first mice in October so that shows this worksand it works efficiently.Theres plenty still to accomplish. A mammoth is much more than its fur and its fat, and before one can lumber into the twenty-first century, the scientists will have to engineer dozens of other genes, including those that regulate its vasculature, its cold-resistant metabolism, and the precise distribution of its fat layers around its body. They would then have to test that work in more mouse models, and only if they succeed there try the same technique on an elephant."The list of genes will continue to evolve, says Lamm. We initially had about 65 gene targets and expanded up to 85. That number could go up or down with further analysis, but that's the general ballpark for the number of genes we think we will edit for our initial mammoths.Woolly mice at Colossal Biosciences lab. Courtesy of Colossal BiosciencesColossal scientists see all of this work as just a first step in developing a more widely applicable de-extinction technology. In addition to the mammoth, they would also like to bring back the dodo and the thylacineor Tasmanian tiger.Our three flagship species for de-extinctionmammoth, thylacine, and dodocapture much of the diversity of the animal tree of life, says Beth Shapiro, Colossals chief science officer. Success with each requires solving a different suite of technical, ethical, and ecological challenges.The work cant start soon enough. The company points to studies suggesting that by 2050 up to 50% of the Earths species could have been wiped out, most of them lost to the planets rapidly changing climate. The Center for Biological Diversity puts the figure at a somewhat less alarming 35%, but in either case, the widespread dying could lead to land degradation, loss of diversity, the rise of invasive species, and food insecurity for humanity. Arresting climate change and the loss of species that will result is a critical step away from that brink, but one that policymakers and the public are embracing only slowly. Restoring the species that will vanishor fortifying the genetic heartiness of those that are endangered to help them adapt to a changing worldis one more insurance policy against environmental decline.We do not argue that gene editing should be used instead of traditional approaches to conservation, but that this is a both and situation, says Shapiro. We should be increasing the tools at our disposal to help species survive.

After taking a massive tumble in February, crypto markets rallied on Sunday following Donald Trumps announcement that he would create a national crypto strategic reserve. Trump wrote on Truth Social that a working group would move forward on facilitating the strategic federal purchases of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and three other smaller cryptocurrencies.The announcement comes ahead of the White Houses first cryptocurrency summit on March 7, and builds on Trumps fixation on crypto over the past year, which has included a crypto venture, a crypto czar position in the White House, and a TRUMP meme coin which has fallen in price from $70 to $13 within a month and a half.AdvertisementAdvertisementIt is unclear whether taxpayers will fund the reserve, how big it will be, or whether it will be used to pay off the U.S. federal debt, as some have suggested.Trumps strategic reserve announcement drew criticism from economists and even some of cryptos biggest boosters. The U.S. has a long history of creating strategic reserves in key assets such as oil, in order to ensure access and stabilize prices in times of crisis. But this crypto reserve seems fundamentally different in nature, because it hinges not upon the assets importance to the nation, but the idea that its prices will increase going forward, says Stephen Cecchetti, an economist and professor at Brandeis International Business School who has written skeptically about crypto for several years.Cecchetti called the idea of a strategic crypto reserve absurd.It's foolish to purchase risky assets with leverage in the hope of making it easier to repay your debt, he says.What is a strategic reserve?In the past, the U.S. has stockpiled scarce assets to protect against supply disruptions. For instance, Congress created a Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 1975 after the Arab oil embargo crisis caused gas shortages across the country and decimated the American economy. Creating a store of petroleum, its backers argued, would stabilize prices.The U.S. has also created strategic reserves of other goods, like medical equipment and helium. A strategic reserve is for something that is essential, either for national defense or national economic security, Cecchetti says. What exactly is essential about Bitcoin in our lives that makes it so the U.S. would want a reserve?Why do crypto enthusiasts want a reserve?Most crypto enthusiasts dont want to stabilize prices; instead, they hope that a reserve would send prices shooting upward. Federal purchases of crypto would send a signal that crypto is here to stay, encouraging other respected financial institutions to buy in. Other governments, too, might follow the lead and create their own reserves, further upping prices.Some Bitcoiners also believe that a reserve could serve as a hedge against inflation. They point to the fact that the dollar has gotten less valuable over time, and argue that Bitcoins value could be stronger than the dollars during global economic crises. However, crypto has proved highly volatile during recent geopolitical conflicts, such as Russias invasion of Ukraine. And the U.S. government buying Bitcoin could actually threaten the dollars global value, some experts say. Austin Campbell, a crypto entrepreneur and a professor at NYU Stern, wrote on X that We should be doing everything we can to keep our fiscal house in order in dollar terms, which means cutting the deficit and future expenditures to a sustainable path, not trying to YOLO into an asset that benefits from dollar decline.How will Trump pay for a crypto reserve?On Sunday, many people online expressed worry that a Bitcoin reserve could be funded with taxpayer dollars, effectively transferring money from everyday Americans to crypto millionaires and billionaires. Trumps crypto czar David Sacks, however, batted down this idea on X on Monday, writing: Nobody announced a tax or a spending program. Maybe you should wait to find out whats actually being proposed. (He also refuted accusations that he personally stands to benefit from the proposal.)U.S. law enforcement already holds about 200,000 Bitcoin, worth around $17 billion, which has mostly been obtained through criminal seizures. These assets, managed by the U.S. Marshals Service, are typically auctioned to support law enforcement operations and compensate victims of crypto-related crimes. Its unclear if Trump aims to co-opt those Bitcoins for the reserve, or how the government could go about transferring those funds from Justice to Treasury.In response to email questions, a representative for the White House referred to Sacks X post which stated that more information will be provided at the summit on Friday.Could a crypto reserve help pay down the U.S. governments debt?Crypto enthusiasts believe the answer to that question is yes. Senator Cynthia Lummis, who proposed a Bitcoin reserve bill last year, has contended that because Bitcoin will continue increasing in value, simply investing in it would raise far more money than levying taxes. Those gains, she argued, could then be sold, allowing the U.S. to cut its debt in half in 20 years. (The bill has no co-sponsors.) But experts say that relying on a volatile asset like Bitcoin for debt reduction is risky. Just because an asset has gone up in the past doesnt mean it will go up in the future, says Chester Spatt, professor of finance at Carnegie Mellon Universitys Tepper School of Business. If we think our markets are pretty efficient, then we would expect the markets to be forward-looking, and so that would suggest there wouldn't necessarily be a lot of predictive power from the past.Cecchetti likened the ploy to a homeowner running up their credit card to gamble in the hopes of paying off their mortgage faster. He also argues that using U.S. debt to buy a large amount of crypto would increase the likelihood that credit rating agencies would downgrade the U.S., increasing the cost of borrowing.Meanwhile, some crypto enthusiasts are also concerned about what would happen to Bitcoin if the plan actually works. If Bitcoin increases massively in price and then the U.S. decides to sell off the reserve to pay down its debt, that transaction itself could trigger a significant decrease in Bitcoins price.Why are some crypto fans unhappy with Trumps announcement?While the larger crypto market responded positively to Trumps announcement, influential crypto voices criticized it for a slew of reasons. Some pointed to the irony of the federal government having so much power over a currency that is supposed to be decentralized. Its wrong to steal my money for grift on the left; its also wrong to tax me for crypto bro schemes, wrote the entrepreneur Joe Lonsdale on X.Others worried that the reserve would become a vector for scams and insider trading. One anonymous trader drew scrutiny for making a $200 million bet on Bitcoin hours before the announcement, and immediately cashing out for a $6.8 million profit.Trumps announcement also surprised many people for its inclusion of not just Bitcoin, but also smaller, more volatile currencies like ADA and XRP. So the U.S. will use taxpayer money on XRP, SOL and ADA? Why would one build a strategic reserve of something you can just print? Bad look, wrote Gabor Gurbacs on X.Given the lack of clarity around many of the ideas central details, its difficult to say whether a crypto reserve will actually come to fruition. However, Trump is far from the only one pushing this idea: several states are considering their own versions, including Oklahoma, which passed a strategic Bitcoin reserve act out of committee last week. Utah and Arizona have also advanced similar proposals.Dennis Porter, the CEO and co-founder of the crypto advocacy group Satoshi Action Fund, wrote on Twitter that the group had helped over 20 states introduce strategic reserve legislation. Yes, many will fail, but all we need is one then the door is wide open, he wrote. Andrew R. Chows book about crypto and Sam Bankman-Fried, Cryptomania, was published in August.

The RTX 5070 the $550 GeForce 50 series GPU that Jensen confidently told gamers during the Nvidia CES keynote would deliver performance equal to the RTX 4090, the previous generation's $1,600 flagship product. After the announcement, comments were flooded with users celebrating this exciting new generation 4090 performance for $550? Yeah, that does sound pretty amazing.Of course, the excitement was quickly squashed after it became clear that Nvidia was using multi-frame generation to make these extremely misleading and, frankly, false marketing claims. We were quick to point this out in our CES coverage, but many still came away from the Nvidia announcement expecting great things from the RTX 5070. Now, we finally have it, and it is unbelievably underwhelming.The RTX 5070 is so boring, disappointing, and ultimately pointless that we are going to shorten our review. While we conducted extensive testing, we won't go over all the individual game data because it's highly repetitive and none of it is exciting.But first, let's address Nvidia's blatant lie the one we just mentioned where they proudly claimed the RTX 5070 would deliver 4090 performance. Obviously, this is a massive falsehood, and it's a damaging one that undermines features like frame generation by weaponizing them to mislead gamers.In simple terms, Multi-Frame Generation is just a more advanced version of Single-Frame Generation. Instead of generating one frame, it can generate up to three, increasing smoothness provided your monitor has a high enough refresh rate to display these frames. What it doesn't do is increase performance.In simple terms, Multi-Frame Generation is a more advanced version of Single-Frame Generation it can increase smoothness what it doesn't do is increase performance.Unlike rendering normal frames, generating frames doesn't lower latency. In fact, if anything, the overhead of generating frames makes latency worse. No reduction in latency means no performance increase. The game won't feel or play any faster, but it will look smoother with some artifacts thrown in. That's just frame smoothing, not a genuine performance boost.So, again generating frames doesn't boost performance. No matter how many frames are generated, the RTX 5070 cannot outperform the RTX 4090. These comparisons must be made before enabling frame generation, so let's quickly do that now.RTX 4090 vs. RTX 5070In reality, the RTX 4090 is, on average, 63% faster than the RTX 5070 across our 16-game sample at 1440p. But the deception gets even worse when we turn to ray tracing, as there are cases where the RTX 5070 doesn't work at all due to its much more limited 12GB VRAM buffer.One such example is Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a game Tim strongly recommended we add to our ray tracing tests because of its excellent use of path tracing, resulting in a truly transformative experience. So, we included it in this latest round of GPU testing. The only problem at least for the RTX 5070 is that it can't actually run the game under these conditions, rendering just 13 FPS on average, while the older RTX 4070 Ti Super is good for 47 fps.This is because the RTX 5070 a $550 GPU being released in 2025 only comes with a measly 12GB VRAM buffer. By now, we would have hoped this kind of memory capacity was reserved for entry-level products, and that an RTX 5070 would include at least 16GB, but that's not the case.As a result, in this example, the RTX 4090 is 462% faster, and even frame generation can't salvage a win for the RTX 5070. Also, keep in mind that this isn't even native 1440p we are enabling DLSS Quality upscaling to try and boost performance.You can't even load the game at 4K using these quality settings it immediately crashes to the desktop.The RTX 5070's Position in the MarketWhatever opinions exist about the RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070 Ti, we can confidently say all three of those products are much better than the RTX 5070.Things are already looking pretty bad for the RTX 5070, and while one could argue that the GeForce 50 series has been a flop so far, whatever opinions exist about the RTX 5090, 5080, and 5070 Ti, we can confidently say all three of those products are much better than the RTX 5070. For those who aren't up to speed on what the RTX 5070 actually is, let's quickly go over the specs.RTX 5070 TiRTX 4070 Ti SuperRTX 5070RTX 4070 SuperRTX 4070Price MSRP$750$800$550$600Release DateFeb 2025Jan 2024Feb 2025Jan 2024April 2023ProcessTSMC 4NDie Size (mm)378 mm378.6 mm263 mm294.5 mmCore Config8960 : 280 : 968448 : 264 : 1126144 : 192 : 807168 : 224 : 805888 : 184 : 64L2 Cache (MB)48 MB36 MBGPU Boost Clock2452 MHz2610 MHz2512 MHz2475 MHzMemory Capacity16 GB12 GBMemory Speed28 Gbps28 Gbps21 GbpsMemory TypeGDDR7GDDR7GDDR6XBus Type / Bandwidth256-bit, 896 GB/s256-bit, 672 GB/s192-bit, 672 GB/s192-bit, 504 GB/sTotal Board Power300W285W250W220W200WFor $550, you get a Blackwell GPU with 6,144 CUDA cores, 192 texture mapping units, and probably 80 ROPs. That's 31% fewer cores than the 5070 Ti and just 4% more than the original RTX 4080 released two years ago.Interestingly, it also has 14% fewer cores than the updated RTX 4070 Super, with a core clock speed that is largely the same. However, making up for the reduced core count is a 33% increase in memory bandwidth. The RTX 5070 uses 28 Gbps GDDR7 memory on a 192-bit wide memory bus, providing 672 GB/s of bandwidth 14% fewer cores than the 4070 Super but 33% more bandwidth, and an 8% discount at MSRP.However, as we've already pointed out, one aspect that remains unchanged is memory capacity. Like the original RTX 4070 and the updated 4070 Super, the RTX 5070 also only features 12GB of VRAM. While the VRAM is faster, the capacity remains the same and no, speed or bandwidth cannot compensate for capacity. It just doesn't work that way.At this point, the RTX 5070 is looking like little more than a slightly discounted 4070 Super with $50 knocked off the MSRP. Of course, we have tested a variety of games to confirm this, so let's take a look at some of them and then go over the full performance breakdown with graphs.Test System SpecsCPUAMD Ryzen 7 9800X3DMotherboardMSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi (BIOS 7E49v1A23 - ReBAR enabled)MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6000 [CL30-38-38-96]Graphics CardsGeForce RTX 4070 GeForce RTX 4070 Super GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GeForce RTX 4070 Ti Super GeForce RTX 4080 GeForce RTX 4080 Super GeForce RTX 4090 GeForce RTX 5070 GeForce RTX 5080 GeForce RTX 5090 Radeon RX 7700 XT Radeon RX 7800 XT Radeon RX 7900 GRE Radeon RX 7900 XT Radeon RX 7900 XTXATX CaseMSI MEG Maestro 700L PZPower SupplyMSI MPG A 1000G ATX 3.0 80 Plus Gold 1000WStorageMSI Spatium 1TB M470 PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2Operating SystemWindows 11 24H2Display DriverNvidia GeForce Game Ready 572.60 AMD Radeon Adrenalin 24.12.1BenchmarksMarvel RivalsStarting with Marvel Rivals at 1440p, we see that the RTX 5070 is only 3% faster than the 4070 Super and just 15% faster than the two-year-old RTX 4070. We haven't had a chance to update our 7900 GRE data, but compared to the 7800 XT, the 5070 is 16% faster and 6% slower than the 7900 XT.At 4K, the 5070 and 4070 Super are neck and neck, delivering virtually identical performance, averaging just 44 FPS.Stalker 2: Heart of ChornobylNext, we have Stalker 2, where the 5070 actually performs worse than the 4070 Super, coming in 9% slower at 1440p. This meant it was just 11% faster than the 7800 XT and 12% slower than the 7900 XT.The 4K results were slightly better, but even then, the best that could be said is that the 5070 managed to match the 4070 Super, averaging just 33 FPS. Overall, a pretty disappointing showing.Counter-Strike 2Moving on to Counter-Strike 2, we see very similar results again. The RTX 5070 is essentially an RTX 4070 Super, as both delivered nearly identical performance at 1440p.The 5070 did pull slightly ahead at 4K, but even then, it only managed a 6% performance uplift.Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom LibertyIn Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p, the 5070 came in slightly behind the 4070 Super, though the difference was just 2 FPS in terms of average frame rate. Still, that meant the 5070 was only 7% faster than the 7800 XT in this example.At 4K, the 5070 performed slightly better relative to the 4070 Super, pulling ahead by a 6% margin with 51 FPS on average. This was without any RT effects enabled, using the second-highest rasterization preset.Hogwarts LegacyHogwarts Legacy is a bandwidth-sensitive game, which works in the RTX 5070's favor. At 1440p, it outperformed the 4070 Super by an impressive 21% margin, showing that under the right conditions, there are some notable gains. However, this only allowed the 5070 to match the 7800 XT.Oddly, the margin shrank significantly at 4K, with the 5070 only 8% faster than the 4070 Super and the 7800 XT, averaging 66 FPS.The Last of Us Part IThe Last of Us Part I delivered more typical results. At 1440p, the RTX 5070 performed identically to the 4070 Super, with both averaging around 90 FPS. This made the 5070 just 2% faster than the 7800 XT.At 4K, the 5070 pulled slightly ahead, but the average frame rate was only 4% greater than that of the 4070 Super a very underwhelming performance boost.StarfieldThe last game we'll cover is Starfield, another case where the 4070 Super outperformed the new 5070 at 1440p. Granted, the performance was nearly the same, but it was still disappointing to see the 5070 coming in 3% slower.At 4K, the 5070 was again 6% slower than the 4070 Super, averaging just 45 FPS. Another set of disappointing results.Performance Summary1440pAcross the 16 games tested at 1440p, the RTX 5070 was, on average, just 1% faster than the 4070 Super. That settles it the 5070 is basically a 4070 Super. Realistically, for this to be considered a next-gen GPU, it should have been called the 5060. But we've been down this road already with the 5070 Ti and 5080, and to some extent, even the 5090, which is really just a 4090 Ti.4KIt's a similar story at 4K. The RTX 5070 was, on average, just 5% faster than the 4070 Super, delivering RTX 3090-like performance. So maybe Jensen meant the 5070 would match the 3090, not the 4090, and he simply misspoke yeah, that must be it.Power ConsumptionWe're not going to dive too deep into power consumption, as power usage tends to be a boring topic at the best of times. However, believe it or not, the 5070 is once again a 4070 Super in this regard, consuming roughly the same amount of power across the games we tested.Ray Tracing PerformanceRT - Metro Exodus EnhancedNow for the ray tracing benchmarks, starting with Metro Exodus Enhanced, where the 5070 matched the 4070 Super at 1440p. Well, technically, it was 4% faster, which is quickly starting to feel like a significant win for this new GeForce GPU.At 4K, it was 8% faster, averaging 53 FPS which is an embarrassingly low level of performance for a $550 GeForce GPU released in 2025. Of course, Radeon GPUs fare even worse, though none of them were released this year.RT - Alan Wake IINext, we have Alan Wake II, and the 5070 struggles at 1440p even with upscaling, only matching the original 4070 and falling 15% behind the 4070 Super. That's a disaster, considering we're only looking at 39 FPS.At 4K with quality upscaling enabled, the 5070 did manage to match the 4070 Super, but at just 22 FPS on average not exactly a win.RT - Cyberpunk 2077Moving on to Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, the RTX 5070 continues its trend of extremely underwhelming ray tracing performance, coming in 12% slower than the 4070 Super with an average of 58 FPS.Once again, the 5070 is only able to match the 4070 Super at 4K with quality upscaling, but now we're looking at just 31 FPS on average hardly an acceptable level of performance.RT - Marvel's Spider-ManThe Spider-Man Remastered results at 1440p are CPU-limited, but even so, the 5070 ended up 14% faster than the 4070 Super. Like Hogwarts Legacy, this game is very bandwidth-sensitive, which explains why the 5070 performs better here.That said, there seems to be another bottleneck at 4K, as the 5070 drops back down to 4070 Super-like performance. While 91 FPS is still a solid result, it's hardly impressive when compared to previous-generation GPUs.RT - Dying Light 2 Stay HumanIn Dying Light 2, the RTX 5070 managed to edge out the 4070 Super, but only by a mere 5% margin.At 4K, the gap remained small, with the 5070 being just 7% faster at an average of 44 FPS not exactly a game-changing improvement.RT - Black Myth: WukongThe RTX 5070 once again performs like a 4070 Super in Black Myth: Wukong, managing just 46 FPS at 1440p with upscaling. That said, at least it's not a Radeon GPU.At 4K with upscaling, the RTX 5070 becomes completely useless, only matching the RTX 4070 Super at 25 FPS.RT - Indiana Jones and the Great CircleLastly, we have Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, a late addition to this review. Tim suggested including it to highlight the RT performance of these new GeForce GPUs, and it certainly paints a bleak picture for the 12GB RTX 5070 just 13 FPS on average at 1440p with upscaling.Of course, you can lower the quality settings to avoid maxing out the VRAM, but these are the ray tracing settings Tim recommends for a truly transformative experience in this game.Naturally, 4K is completely out of the question. In fact, it's so far out of the question that the game will crash and refuse to relaunch on a 12GB GPU with full RT enabled. To get back in, you'll have to start in safe mode and lower the settings.So, how future-proof is the RTX 5070's RT performance and perhaps its performance in general as a 12GB GPU released in 2025? Not very, by the looks of it.Ray Tracing Performance Summary1440pSince the RTX 5070 completely crapped out in Indiana Jones and the Great Circle with full RT enabled, we have removed that game from the average, leaving us with six titles. Even then, the 5070 still fell just behind the RTX 4070 Super though, to be fair, overall performance was nearly identical.4KAt 4K, the 5070 was slightly faster than the 4070 Super, but again, overall performance was nearly identical. Even with the help of upscaling, frame rates were generally poor.Cost per FrameMSRPIn a perfect world where MSRP actually meant something, the RTX 5070 would be a decent value product if you overlook its obvious VRAM limitations, which will no doubt become a bigger issue in the coming years.But ignoring that reality, the 5070 at $550 looks good not amazing, but good. It offers 8% better value than the 5070 Ti and 20% better value than the RTX 5080. However, both of those products come with more VRAM. While it may only be the minimum amount of VRAM we'd want to see on a mid-range or better product, at least those cards meet that minimum.The 5070 is also 13% better value than the RTX 4070 Super. Again, that's not an amazing generational uplift, but if available at MSRP, it stacks up fairly well.RetailHowever, the RTX 4070 Super saw some small discounts in 2024. If you bought one back then, the RTX 5070 only ends up being 10% better value. At that point, we'd rather give up 10% in efficiency for an extra 6 12 months of use, making an RTX 4070 Super purchase a year ago the smarter choice.Australian RetailThe RTX 5070 will have to compete with the Radeon RX 9070, so it's likely to hit the $550 MSRP sooner rather than later. That said, in Australia where I live, the RTX 5070 is expected to cost at least $1,250 AUD, which is a terrible price point. That makes it 8% more expensive in terms of cost per frame compared to the RTX 4070 Super, which was recently available for $1,100 AUD.It also makes the RTX 5070 worse value than the Radeon RX 7900 XTX, 7900 XT, and significantly worse than the 7800 XT. The cost per frame compared to the 7800 XT is 31% higher, despite the 5070 having less VRAM obviously a terrible trade-off.Operating BehaviorBefore wrapping up this review, let's take a quick look at how Nvidia's Founders Edition version of the RTX 5070 compares to the Asus Prime and Gigabyte Eagle models.Under full load, the FE model peaked at a GPU temperature of 72C, while the Eagle was significantly cooler at 63C, and the Prime ran at 62C. It was a similar story with memory temperatures 76C for the FE model, while the Eagle peaked at 64C and the Prime at 68C.Oddly, the FE model reported a fan speed of 2,350 RPM, yet it didn't seem loud, measuring just 39 dBA. Typically, at that fan speed, we'd expect noise levels to be well above 40 dBA. Meanwhile, the Eagle and Prime were much quieter at 35 dBA and 34 dBA, respectively.The Eagle consumed 20W less than the FE model, which led to a slightly lower clock speed of 2,760 MHz odd considering this is the OC version of the Eagle, yet it clocks lower than Nvidia's reference model. The Prime exhibited a similar pattern, though its power consumption was reported to be higher despite having a slightly lower core clock.Bottom LineWe are not impressed with the GeForce RTX 5070. It's a compromised product that will struggle to fully utilize the RTX feature set due to its limited 12GB VRAM buffer. And while this may not be a major issue right now, it's likely to become one within the realistic lifespan of this product.In terms of general performance, there's nothing exciting here. The RTX 5070 is essentially a refreshed RTX 4070 Super with $50 knocked off the MSRP. It can occasionally compete with the RTX 4070 Ti Super, but again, with just 12GB of VRAM, it's not a favorable comparison.Realistically, you would have been better off buying an RTX 4070 Super months ago if you wanted this level of performance. Six months ago, the 4070 Super was available for $585, and a year ago, it was selling for $600. Waiting an entire year to save $50 while only gaining 5% more performance hardly seems worth it another reason why the RTX 5070 is so underwhelming.For those looking to spend around $550 on a GPU right now, there isn't a better option at least not yet. However, the Radeon RX 9070 series launches tomorrow, and AMD is confident they can deliver models at that price. The RX 9070 could be faster, and it certainly offers more VRAM, making it a serious competitor. We have a detailed review of the new Radeons coming, and a dedicated look at FSR4 coming up.In other words, if you're considering a $550 GPU purchase, it would be wise to wait a little longer to see which card is truly worth your money. That said, we suspect that spending an extra $50 on the 9070 XT will be the best moveThe RTX 5070 hasn't impressed us in fact, it's extremely underwhelming. We'll wait to see what AMD brings to the table before making any recommendations at this price point.Shopping Shortcuts:Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 on AmazonNvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti on AmazonNvidia GeForce RTX 5080 on AmazonNvidia GeForce RTX 5090 on AmazonAMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX on AmazonNvidia GeForce RTX 4070 Super on AmazonAMD Radeon RX 7800 XT on AmazonAMD Radeon RX 7900 XT on Amazon

Rumor mill: Laptops powered by Qualcomm's first-generation Snapdragon X chipsets may have received a somewhat lukewarm response from consumers, but the company has big plans for the PC market this year. The chipmaker's Snapdragon X2 processors will reportedly feature up to 50 percent more CPU cores than their predecessors and employ a new System-in-Package (SiP) configuration whereby the memory and storage will be folded into a single package. According to German tech blog WinFuture, Qualcomm's Snapdragon X2 SoCs will ship with up to 18 Oryon V3 cores, which is 50 percent more than the 12 cores offered by the flagship first-generation Snapdragon X Elite for PCs. The new cores will be more powerful than the current generation, potentially making the chips better at handling both single-threaded and multi-threaded applications.The report adds that the next-generation Snapdragon X chips will employ an SiP design that includes memory and storage in a single package. That means the flagship chip in the lineup will feature 18 CPU cores, 48GB of SK hynix RAM, and a 1TB SSD all folded into one package. The publication believes that the extra cores with additional power and the new SiP configuration will help Qualcomm better compete against AMD and Intel in the high-end PC market.An earlier report from the same publication claimed that Qualcomm was working on a new PC chip codenamed 'SC8480XP' under Project Glymur. It's believed that Qualcomm started testing the SC8480XP in July and August 2024 on platforms fitted with testing housings, enabling rigorous testing without hard soldering 3D NAND and DRAM chips.Other reports suggest that Qualcomm is also looking beyond the laptop segment and planning to target the desktop market with its second-generation Snapdragon X PC chips. According to WinFuture's Roland Quandt, the company is testing the SC8480XP chip with an AIO liquid cooler, suggesting that it is designed for desktop PCs.A recent leak via a shipping manifest further revealed that Qualcomm could market its second-generation Snapdragon X PC chips under the 'Ultra Premium' moniker. However, it's unclear whether they will also retain the 'Elite' branding or if the company has decided to ditch the name. // Related Stories

A new leak tells me that AMDs RX 9060 XT may repeat the same mistake as the RX 7600 XT, all the while missing out on a chance to win against rival Nvidia. While AMDs RX 9060 XT may compete against some of the best graphics cards, its going to be a mainstream card, which is great news for gamers. The downside, as is often the case, might lie in VRAM.As shown in this listing filed with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC), Acer has just registered several new trademarks for its upcoming GPUs. This includes the Acer Predator Bifrost RX 9060 XT OC in two variants: One with 8GB VRAM and one with 16GB.Recommended VideosVariety is good, but as weve seen in the last-gen RX 7600 XT, AMD walked in Nvidias footsteps and equipped both cards with a narrow 128-bit memory bus. This stifled their bandwidth, making the 16GB version pricier, but very similar in terms of performance. The reason I mention Nvidia here is simple: Nvidia did it first with the RTX 4060 Ti, achieving a similar end result. In fact, the RTX 4060 Ti barely managed to beat the RTX 3060 Ti in some benchmarks. The extra cost and extra VRAM didnt amount to much, what with the limited bandwidth.Jacob Roach / Digital TrendsRepeating the same memory configuration as in the previous gen may not do AMD any favors. Seeing as the RX 7600 XT ended up underwhelming in benchmarks, the RX 9060 XT might end up in the same position. Nvidias RTX 5060 will also have the upper hand due to having inherently more bandwidth, regardless of the bus width, and thats because itll use GDDR7 memory clocked at 28Gbps instead of GDDR6. Meanwhile, AMD is sticking to GDDR6 in this generation, capped at 20Gbps.Get your weekly teardown of the tech behind PC gaming There have been rumors of an RX 9060 XT with 12GB VRAM. Even that would be an improvement, with two versions at 12GB and 16GB, respectively, and with a 192-bit bus. A lot of it will come down to total bandwidth, and its too early to say where thatll end up. Leakers claim that the RX 9060 XT will rival Nvidias RTX 4060 Ti, which would place it behind the curve stacking more VRAM would certainly help here.Keep in mind that EEC listings dont mean that these GPUs are certainly coming out. Weve seen some wild listings in the past, such as an RTX 5090 Titan, and many never made it to market. However, it wouldnt be crazy to assume that we will get the RX 9060 XT in two configurations, and if AMD indeed keeps them at 16GB and 8GB with a 128-bit memory interface, we might see history repeat itself when the benchmarks come out. Meanwhile, the RX 9070 XT is almost here.Editors Recommendations

Love crossword puzzles but dont have all day to sit and solve a full-sized puzzle in your daily newspaper? Thats what The Mini is for!A bite-sized version of the New York Times well-known crossword puzzle, The Mini is a quick and easy way to test your crossword skills daily in a lot less time (the average puzzle takes most players just over a minute to solve). While The Mini is smaller and simpler than a normal crossword, it isnt always easy. Tripping up on one clue can be the difference between a personal best completion time and an embarrassing solve attempt.Recommended VideosJust like ourWordle hints and Connections hints, were here to help with The Mini today if youre stuck and need a little help.Please enable Javascript to view this contentBelow are the answers for the NYT Mini crossword today.New York TimesAcrossSecretly includes on an email chain BCCSEverything good? YOUOKBig name in nondairy milk OATLYFood, informally GRUBGame in which you might have to find something blue ISPYDownPigs with tusks BOARSSlice or dice CUTUPCheese mixed with Monterey Jack in an orange-and-white speckled block COLBYWhat the lens of a telescope faces SKYTeacher of meditative poses YOGIEditors Recommendations