A new leak claims AMD’s upcoming Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor will see an 8% performance boost over the Ryzen 9 7800X3D — in other words, the chip that is regarded as one of the best gaming CPUs on the market now looks set to be dethroned.
This could stand as a significant boost for PC gamers, especially considering the improvement in 3D V-Cache, which was a downside in our AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D review. The leak from VideoCardz contains a marketing description of the 9800X3D, revealing ‘Next-Gen 3D V-Cache’ which points towards better thermal performance when operating at higher clock speeds.
VideoCardz also reports that it’s expected to have a 15% enhancement over the 7800X3D in multi-threaded workloads, ideal for multi-tasking duties and video editing, using 8 cores and 16 threads — this strikes a balance for both content creators and gamers, along with the aforementioned 3D V-Cache improvements. These pivotal enhancements being leaked ahead of the 9800X3D’s confirmed November 7th launch and AMD’s full spec reveal gives gamers some insight into what to expect.
Will the 9800X3D be worth the upgrade?
While we have yet to see the full scope of what the Ryzen 7 9800X3D will have to offer specification-wise, the leaked marketing description gives us a great idea of what is in store for PC gamers. Considering the aforementioned 8% boost in gaming performance and room for slightly higher clock speeds up to 5.2GHz compared to the previous 5GHz, the switch is certainly worth contemplating - and for gamers who have yet to upgrade to an AM5 chip, this performance boost could finally be the push they need.
Despite the improvements listed in the leak, it’s important to note that there is only so much that can be done when it comes to poor game optimization on PC — an upgrade can help specifically with reducing stuttering in certain games, but it’s not the silver bullet for achieving optimal performance. Besides, most modern games are far more dependent on your GPU and available VRAM.
If you’re using the best GPUs on the market, like the Nvidia RTX 4080 Super or RTX 4090, any kind of upgrade isn’t entirely urgent, but we’ll have to wait to see everything AMD’s new processor has to offer before we can pass judgment on the value of this new chip.
Back in March 2024, we reported how British AI startup Literal Labs was working to make GPU-based training obsolete with its Tseltin Machine, a machine learning model that uses logic-based learning to classify data.
It operates through Tsetlin automata, which establish logical connections between features in input data and classification rules. Based on whether decisions are correct or incorrect, the machine adjusts these connections using rewards or penalties.
Developed by Soviet mathematician Mikhail Tsetlin in the 1960s, this approach contrasts with neural networks by focusing on learning automata, rather than modeling biological neurons, to perform tasks like classification and pattern recognition.
Energy-efficient design
Now, Literal Labs, backed by Arm, has developed a model using Tsetlin Machines that despite its compact size of just 7.29KB, delivers high accuracy and dramatically improves anomaly detection tasks for edge AI and IoT deployments.
The model was benchmarked by Literal Labs using the MLPerf Inference: Tiny suite and tested on a $30 NUCLEO-H7A3ZI-Q development board, which features a 280MHz ARM Cortex-M7 processor and doesn’t include an AI accelerator. The results show Literal Labs’ model achieves inference speeds that are 54 times faster than traditional neural networks while consuming 52 times less energy.
Compared to the best-performing models in the industry, Literal Labs’ model demonstrates both latency improvements and an energy-efficient design, making it suitable for low-power devices like sensors. Its performance makes it viable for applications in industrial IoT, predictive maintenance, and health diagnostics, where detecting anomalies quickly and accurately is crucial.
The use of such a compact and low-energy model could help scale AI deployment across various sectors, reducing costs and increasing accessibility to AI technology.
Literal Labs says, “Smaller models are particularly advantageous in such deployments as they require less memory and processing power, allowing them to run on more affordable, lower-specification hardware. This not only reduces costs but also broadens the range of devices capable of supporting advanced AI functionality, making it feasible to deploy AI solutions at scale in resource-constrained settings.”
A new variant of the infamous ClearFake (AKA ClickFix) malware has been detected in the wild, and has already managed to compromise thousands of WordPress websites.
Researchers from GoDaddy claim to have spotted a variant of this campaign, which installs malicious plugins to sites on the website builder. The threat actors would use the credentials stolen elsewhere (or bought on the black market) to log into the website’s WordPress admin account, and install a seemingly benign plugin.
The victims are then enticed to download an update, which is just a piece of malware that steals sensitive data, or does something else but equally sinister.
Thousands of compromised websites
In turn, the plugin displays the various popups, requesting the victims do different actions (all of which lead to the installation of infostealers).
The entire process is automated, GoDaddy is saying, and so far more than 6,000 WordPress websites have fallen prey.
"These seemingly legitimate plugins are designed to appear harmless to website administrators but contain embedded malicious scripts that deliver fake browser update prompts to end-users,” the researchers are saying. The plugins are “seemingly legitimate” as they carry household names in the WordPress world, such as Wordfense Security, or LiteSpeed Cache.
Here is the full list of the plugins spotted so far:
LiteSpeed Cache Classic
MonsterInsights Classic
Wordfence Security Classic
Search Rank Enhancer
SEO Booster Pro
Google SEO Enhancer
Rank Booster Pro
Admin Bar Customizer
Advanced User Manager
Advanced Widget Manage
Content Blocker
Universal Popup Plugin
ClearFake is a type of malware attack we’ve all seen in the past - a website is compromised and used to display a fake popup notification. This notification usually mimics an antivirus warning, or a browser notification, and informs the user that their computer is either infected with a virus, or outdated and therefore unable to display the desired website.
The OnePlus 13 is set to be one of the final flagship phones of 2024, though it will probably only be a 2024 release in China, with the rest of the world likely to get it in 2025.
Either way though, it could be worth the wait, as between leaks and teasers we have a good idea of what to expect, and that includes an extremely powerful and efficient chipset, a huge battery, and a striking design.
Below then, you’ll find everything we’ve heard about the OnePlus 13 so far, including its confirmed announcement date and design, and leaked specs and features.
Cut to the chase
What is it? The next OnePlus flagship
When is it out? October 31 in China, maybe early next year globally
How much will it cost? Likely upwards of $799.99 / £849 (around AU$1,200)
A rumored price increase
The OnePlus 12(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
Landing in China on October 31
Could cost more than the OnePlus 12
The OnePlus 13 will be unveiled on October 31 at an event in China. The company itself has confirmed this, with the event kicking off at 1am PT / 4am ET / 8am GMT / 7pm AEDT.
This event will most likely just be the Chinese launch of the phone though, with a global launch probably happening in early 2025 based on past form.
The OnePlus 13 might also cost more than the OnePlus 12, with one leak suggesting a 16GB model with 512GB of storage will cost ¥5,299 in China, which is up from ¥4,799 for the equivalent model of the OnePlus 12. That’s a difference of around $70 / £55 / AU$105.
For reference, the OnePlus 12 cost $799.99 / £849 (around AU$1,200) at launch for a 12GB / 256GB model, and rose to $899.99 / £999 (roughly AU$1,350) for a 16GB / 512GB version. So the OnePlus 13 might have a higher price than that.
Oh, and don’t count on being able to buy it in Australia, because the current model isn’t available there.
Can you trust these rumors?
We've only heard one price leak so far so we'd take it with a pinch of salt. But it's believable that the OnePlus 13 would cost more than the OnePlus 12, especially as the Snapdragon chipset we're expecting it to use reportedly costs more than its predecessor.
A familiar design and a new screen technology
The OnePlus 12(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
A familiar design in new colors
The screen has an interesting refresh rate technology
The phone will be available in White Dawn (white), Blue Moment (blue), and Obsidian Secret (black) shades, with the blue one apparently having a skin-like feel and the black one having an “ebony wood grain” textured finish.
The design of the back otherwise looks somewhat similar to the OnePlus 12, but the circular camera block doesn’t extend out to the edge here, and instead there’s a silver line running across the rear.
The OnePlus 13 in three colors(Image credit: OnePlus)
We haven’t yet had a complete official look at the front of the phone, but you can see glimpses of it in a OnePlus 13 teaser video, showing what appears to be a flat display with a punch-hole camera in the top center.
We’ve also seen actual photos of the OnePlus 13, from where it was spotted at a Chinese esports event, as you can see below.
Images of the OnePlus 13 at an esports event(Image credit: Weibo)
Still, it shows a seemingly flat screen with a punch-hole camera, similar to other teasers above.
A possible image of the OnePlus 13(Image credit: OnePlus)
In any case, leaks suggest the OnePlus 13 might have a 6.82-inch display, which is the same as the OnePlus 12. An early leak also suggested the OnePlus 13 would have a curved screen, but based on more recent leaks and teasers that doesn’t appear to be the case, unless it’s a very subtle curve.
The company has also teased on Weibo that its screen will be able to deliver different refresh rates in different sections, so for example static text could be at 10Hz while a video playing elsewhere on the screen could be 120Hz. This is something we haven’t seen from other Android phones, and it might allow for improved battery life.
Most of the design has now been confirmed, and the leaked screen specs are all in line with what we'd expect. The one real question mark here is whether the OnePlus 13 will have an ultrasonic fingerprint sensor, but it sounds believable.
A mix of old and new cameras
The OnePlus 12(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
It would be a shame not see any upgrades there, but in an earlier leak the same source claimed OnePlus was working on the OnePlus 13’s periscope camera, so that at least might differ from the 64MP 3x zoom of its predecessor.
As for exactly how it might differ, well, both that source (Digital Chat Station, via Android Authority) and leaker Yogesh Brar have claimed that the OnePlus 13 might have three 50MP cameras. In which case that would also mean changes to the ultra-wide, as that’s 48MP on the OnePlus 12.
Can you trust these rumors?
The cameras are one of the things we're least sure about, as we haven't heard all that much about them. But the leaks we have heard generally all point in the same direction, so the specs above have a good chance of being accurate.
An efficient chipset and a huge battery
The OnePlus 12(Image credit: Philip Berne / Future)
That should help improve battery life, as should the ability to deliver different refresh rates to different parts of the screen, as mentioned further up in this article. And that’s on top of the OnePlus 13 reportedly having a massive 6,000mAh battery, so it’s likely to excel for stamina.
Leaks also suggest the OnePlus 13 will charge quickly, at up to 100W wired and 50W wireless – though based on past form the US might get slightly lower 80W wired charging speeds.
As for other specs, we’ve heard from leaker Digital Chat Station that the OnePlus 13 could come with up to 24GB of RAM, though the OnePlus 12 also did, but only in China, so there’s every chance international models will once again top out at 16GB.
Can you trust these rumors?
There are no red flags among the leaked battery or chipset details, and in fact we're almost certain the OnePlus 13 will use the successor to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.
Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Elite chips have been the star of many AI PCs released to market in 2024, greatly enhancing performance and battery life compared to their previous gen iterations. However, the manufacturer’s recent endeavor to improve on one of its negative points hasn’t panned out.
Qualcomm has canceled its dev kit, a Snapdragon mini-PC powered by Windows on Arms. Originally, it was planned for a June 2024 release window but missed that entirely. Now, as part of an official announcement, Qualcomm has stated that the kit has been canceled because it “has not met our usual standards of excellence.”
Interestingly enough, The Verge spotted that multiple developers had already received the mini-PC including YouTuber Jeff Geerling, who reviewed the product and performed a detailed hardware teardown of it. Despite Qualcomm not providing any specific reasons for why the PCs had been canceled, the conclusions from Geerling’s review are that despite it matching the Apple M3 Pro’s performance, it lacks Linux support and had restrictions around reselling the device.
There’s another theory for the cancellation as well, which comes down to the HDMI port — or lack thereof. Though the shipped mini-PCs all came with the chips for internal DisplayPort to HDMI conversion, the actual port was missing for some reason.
According to Richard Campbell, founder of DEVIntersection, the HDMI port could have been the cause of the massive delays if it failed FCC compliance testing. This seems to be supported by the fact that Qualcomm emailed anyone who ordered the PC in September that they would be sent a USB-C to HDMI dongle with their dev kit.
But what does this mean for the consumer?
One of the most well-known drawbacks to anything Qualcomm is that Windows on Arms still has compatibility issues with some Windows programs, tools, and apps. The manufacturer has improved this by leaps and bounds to the point that the average user wouldn’t know the difference, but for gamers and others using specialized programs, those compatibility problems can be quite difficult to parse.
In comes the Qualcomm mini-PC dev kit, which would have been the perfect tool for developers to port their apps to Windows on Arms. This potentially could have introduced a large amount of apps to the OS that otherwise would have never seen the light of day on Arm chips. This is especially important for the consumers who have been left in the dark due to the lack of app support for tools that they need themselves, limiting Qualcomm’s sales of its AI PCs to them in turn.
And with fellow industry rivals Intel and AMD teaming up to form the “x86 Ecosystem Advisory Group,” in response to Qualcomm and other competitors, the latter must figure out either how to fix the issues with the dev kits or figure out another way to resolve these app compatibility issues if it wants to see Arms continue to thrive.
