HW News - Major Linux Vulnerability, Steam Machine Import, NZXT Safety Issue, 5800X3D Return

Welcome to the hardware news recap. This week, the Steam Machine may be appearing in import manifests, alongside information on the Steam controller and Steam input. NZXT is facing more safety problems, with miswired power supply cables. AMD's 5800X3D might see a 10-year anniversary re-release. Nvidia and Palantir are expanding their partnership, focusing on government contracts. First, a quick update on our channel content. We've released numerous hardware reviews, including the Fractal Pop 2 Vision case, and an in-depth review of the Steam Controller featuring an animation explaining tunnel magnetoresistive (TMR) sticks. We also covered the rebuild of two PCs for house fire victims, including an interview with Rob Teller, formerly of Hyte, discussing case manufacturing. Other recent content includes reviews of the 950 X3D2 and a teardown of the rare 4870X2 prototype. On GNCA, we discussed the PS5 face scanning requirement. Now, for the news. Nvidia's partnership with Palantir, a military industrial and surveillance company, is deepening. A recent Nvidia job listing seeks a "senior AI strategist" to lead their "strategic co-sell mission with Palantir across the US federal government," aiming to "grow revenue and market share for Nvidia data center, edge and cloud platforms through joint NVIDIA and Palantir solutions." This role involves aligning "joint go-to-market strategies" and identifying "new mission opportunities," championing Nvidia's accelerated computing with Palantir's platform for "critical federal missions including data-driven operations, AI-enabled decision-making and mission analytics." This marks a significant move for Nvidia, showing direct engagement with military and government ambitions. Jensen Huang, Nvidia's CEO, has increasingly voiced bold opinions on war-related matters. We've closely tracked this partnership, having two deep-dive videos on the GNCA channel. This is the first time we've seen explicit collaboration on sales and go-to-market strategies for the federal government. The partnership, announced last October, initially focused on integrating Nvidia's technologies into Palantir's ontology platform and later extended to accelerating data center construction and creating AI data center reference architectures. Nvidia is clearly prioritizing work with Palantir and the federal government. Palantir has secured billions from the US government, with its software used by agencies like the Department of Defense, State Department, and Department of Homeland Security, including a 10-year, $10 billion contract with the US Army. Palantir also developed "Immigration OS" for ICE, a surveillance platform with "self-deportation tracking with near real-time visibility." We believe Nvidia sees substantial revenue potential in federal contracts, possibly as private sector AI investments mature. The government represents a significant source of funding with potentially fewer new directions for Nvidia to explore. This engagement with the US government is not unique; AMD also works with the government, and Intel has significant federal ownership. It's becoming impossible to cover these companies without discussing their governmental partners and owners, as these relationships are increasingly central to their operations and intersect with geopolitics. In related news, Digitimes reports that Nvidia will "partially utilize Intel's fabs to manufacture its Fainmen AI-oriented GPUs," though TSMC will handle the bulk of production. Specifically, the GPU die will be made by TSMC, while the IO die will partially use Intel's 18A or 14A process, with advanced packaging handled by Intel's EMIB, accounting for up to 25% of final advanced packaging. Nvidia's Fainmen GPUs are slated for 2028. Digitimes suggests Nvidia will use Intel for "low volume, low-end, and non-core" products, potentially to comply with US domestic manufacturing incentives and tariffs. Given Nvidia's ownership stake in Intel, this arrangement also creates a financial feedback loop. Regarding Intel's discrete consumer GPUs, notable leakers Kepler_L2 and JK have indicated that "Celestial was canned long ago. Druid is up in the air." Further leaks suggest "No gaming GPUs" by late this year or Q1 2027, and while "Arc is fine," the "XC3P installment was canceled." We previously reported on Intel's XC3 architectural announcement, which was laptop-focused and considered a Battlemage refinement, not the true Celestial. XC3P was expected to provide desktop solutions. These rumors now suggest that desktop plans for these architectures are canceled or severely delayed. We've consistently advocated for Intel's continued investment in its discrete GPU division, despite initial challenges. Their drivers have significantly improved, making their sub-$300 cards compelling budget options. While Nvidia's investment in Intel and Intel's focus on AI and workstation GPUs could divert attention, we hope Intel maintains its commitment to gaming, as it's one of the few serious contenders in the affordable GPU market. Losing Intel in this space would be a significant blow to competition. Next, NZXT is again facing safety issues. Following a preliminary settlement for its rental PC program, the company has issued an "important safety notice" for its C-1500 modular power supplies. Some SATA power cables in US models were miswired, reversing the 12V and 3.3V lines. NZXT blames its supplier, but as a brand, it's responsible for quality control. Approximately 400 units, identified by model PA5P1BBUS and specific serial number ranges, may be affected. The miswiring could lead to unpowered devices or damage to sensitive components. NZXT advises users to cut affected cables in half to prevent reuse and contact support for replacements. While they are at least informing customers, NZXT's quickness to blame the supplier and apologize for inconvenience rather than the mistake itself suggests a recurring problem with accountability, similar to their handling of the H1 fire hazard. Moving on, leaker HXL reports that AMD plans to re-release its Ryzen 7 5800X3D CPU, often dubbed a "goated" CPU, for the 10-year anniversary of the AM4 platform. An alleged AMD slide suggests availability in Q2 2026, possibly a Computex launch. The re-release would feature identical specs to the original, including 8 cores, 16 threads, a 4.5 GHz boost, 100MB of L2+L3 cache, and a 105W TDP. The 5800X3D remains competitive in gaming today. A re-release at a reasonable price would offer an excellent upgrade path for existing AM4 users, especially given current high DDR5 memory prices, allowing them to extend the life of their DDR4 systems. The original 5800X3D launched at $450 in 2022 and quickly became a top performer in gaming. A new security vulnerability, "copy-fail," has been discovered affecting "every major Linux distribution" since 2017. The vulnerability, a "logic bug in the Linux kernel's cryptographic template," allows an unprivileged local user to trigger a controlled 4-byte write into the page cache of any readable file, enabling root access with a small Python script. Described as portable, tiny, stealthy, and cross-container impactful, it stems from a combination of changes made in 2011, 2015, and 2017. Patching the kernel is advised. ProHight spotted the Eddish 32-core, 64-thread CPU at Expo Electronica in Moscow. This CPU, named after a river flowing through Russia and China, is reportedly a collaboration between Russian and Chinese entities. Notably, it's based on the Chinese LongArch architecture, not x86 or ARM. The Erdish C632, with its 32-core/64-thread configuration, was demonstrated running The Witcher 3 at 22-32 FPS on ultra settings with Proton, paired with an AMD RX960XT GPU. A higher-end C664 variant with 64 cores and 128 threads is also reported. Finally, Valve's Steam Machine may be appearing in US import records. After the recent launch of the Steam Controller, industry monitor sadlyitsbradley noted "a ton of game consoles" arriving at Valve's USA distribution warehouse. Import records for Valve Corporation show "game console" cargo descriptions on multiple dates in March and April. While the Steam Deck complicates interpretation, the timing aligns with a potential production lifecycle for the Steam Machine. Following our Steam Controller review, we're providing more detail on Steam Input functionality. For full functionality, the controller requires Steam Input via the Steam client, especially for non-Steam games. Controllers need a translation layer like XInput, Game Input, or Steam Input. Steam Input is designed for devices with unique inputs and many buttons, like the Steam Controller's trackpads. The Steam Controller appears to Windows as multiple mice and keyboards, not a standard XInput gamepad, to preserve features like grip sensing and gyro controls without cumbersome mode switching. On Linux, a kernel driver for the original Steam Controller provides basic Xbox-style functions without Steam, and this holds true for the new controller. On Windows, however, Steam Input relies on the Steam overlay. This means non-Steam games must be launched through Steam to enable controller functionality. The controller is directly compatible with SDL, so software using the SDL API (like Dolphin with SDL3) might recognize it as a gamepad outside of Steam. Steam Input can theoretically add a small amount of latency, but our tests showed a negligible 0.2ms difference compared to XInput, well within the margin of error. Each Steam game or non-Steam game added to the library can have a unique Steam Input profile. The default desktop configuration for the Steam Controller (accessible via settings) contains "desktop" and "gamepad" action sets. The "desktop" set maps joysticks/trackpads/triggers to mouse functions and face buttons to keyboard keys. While playable, it's not a true gamepad experience. The "gamepad" action set, intended for a normal controller layout, currently has no effect on Windows without the Steam overlay. Even if the Steam overlay is toggled off visually, Steam Input still functions if the game is launched through Steam. However, launching games like Cyberpunk 2077 (GOG executable), Fortnite (Epic Games Launcher), or Minecraft (Windows 11 store) without launching them *through* Steam resulted in no controller inputs from the "Gamepad" action set. No Steam overlay means no Steam Input, and no Steam Input means no gamepad functionality on Windows, barring SDL3 titles. Launching games by adding them as non-Steam games within Steam allows correct controller inputs, except for software that prevents the overlay, such as some Microsoft PC Game Pass titles. Valve has acknowledged this issue for older UWP Game Pass games and is "interested in working on those on a case-by-case basis." In summary, the Steam Controller fundamentally relies on Steam Input for its unique features, and on Windows, the Steam client and its overlay are essential for useful controller functionality. While complicated, this system allows the controller to offer a highly customizable experience.