The most exciting part of reviewing PC hardware is looking at brand new products from a fresh new company. Levelplay debuted its cooling line at Computex 2024, so its products are very new to the market. Today we get our first look at one of the company's AIO coolers, the Combat Liquid 360 HUD, equipped with a 360mm radiator, RGB fans, and an LCD screen, or you could say… a Heads-Up Display! 

Features:

• Integrated 2.6″ circular display: Combat Liquid 360 HUD is equipped with a built-in HUD, providing real-time system info like CPU temperature, power draw, usage rate, and clock speeds directly on the pump cap mounted LCD.
• Jet impingement pump technology: Levelplay AIOs use a high-velocity coolant flow pumped directly onto the cold plate to improve thermal transfer from the CPU.
• Rigid All-in-one fan design: Three 120mm ARGB fans are encased in a unified frame design, pre-installed to the cooler for less cable clutter and maximum airflow.
• Engineering designed to last: Durable metal brackets support installation on AMD and Intel desktop platforms while reinforced rubber tubing with braided sleeving allows for maximum flexibility, leak protection and a clean look.

Specifications:

• CPU Socket Compatibility: Intel LGA1851 / LGA1700, AMD AM5 / AM4
• Radiator Material: Aluminium
• Radiator Dimensions: 397 x 120 x 27mm
• CPU Block/Pump Dimensions: 89 × 80 × 64 mm
• Pump Speed: 800 ~ 3000 RPM ± 10%
• Cold Plate Material: Micro-Skived Copper
• Pump Connector: 4-Pin PWM / 9-Pin USB (LCD)
• Fan Dimensions: 360 × 120 × 25.5 mm
• Fan Speed (PWM): 800 ~ 2000 RPM ± 10%
• Fan Static Pressure: 2.1mm H20 (max)
• Fan Airflow: 71 CFM (Max)
• Fan Noise: 6 ~ 36 dBA
• Fan Connector: 4-Pin PWM / 3 Pin 5V ARGB
• LCD Screen: 2.6-Inch Segmen LED screen
• Warranty: 3 Years

Levelplay ships the Combat Liquid 360 HUD in a cardboard box with an image of the cooler and Combat logos on the front. On the back, some key features are listed with images. Inside the box, the contents are packed into a cardboard crate for protection during shipping. The cooler is wrapped in plastic, and the accessories are included separately in a smaller box.

The included fans are mounted in a single-frame design to reduce cable clutter and feature a PWM speed range of 800-2000 RPM. The opaque fan blades illuminate with ARGB lighting once the cooler is powered on, and a single cable connects from the centre, featuring standard 4-pin PWM and 3-pin ARGB connections.

The Combat 360 HUD uses a standard 27mm thick aluminium radiator with 12 waterways and a dense fin pitch with fixed position tubing at the radiator tank. The radiator is coated with a slightly textured, satin black finish that appears high-quality. The tubing is fitted with premium-looking braided sleeving.

For an LCD-equipped pump, the Levelplay Combat Liquid 360 HUD is a compact unit, with dimensions of 89 x 80 x 64 mm with the screen housing installed. The screen housing is attached to the pump body magnetically and can be easily removed and rotated so that the display can always be mounted in the correct orientation.

Tubing is flexible EPDM rubber connected to the CPU block on 90-degree rotary fittings. At the base of the CPU block, the cold plate is manufactured from micro-skived copper. Wiring to the pump is standard 4-pin PWM, and the LCD connects to the PC motherboard via a 9-pin USB header connection.

In terms of included accessories, all installation hardware for current AMD and Intel platforms is shipped with the cooler. There is also a small tube of thermal compound, as there isn't any pre-applied to the cold plate and a thermal paste spreading tool. A physical copy of the installation guide is included too, which I prefer to digital versions that seem to be more common these days.

The post Levelplay Combat Liquid 360 HUD AIO CPU Cooler Review first appeared on KitGuru.

For pretty much its entire existence, Call of Duty has operated using a familiar model, with the FPS franchise seeing a brand new title released on an annual basis from one of the 3 core COD studios. While this has worked in the past, Black Ops 7 seems to have been a breaking point for some. According to known insiders, Microsoft is now considering a major shake-up, including a standalone Zombies game.

As reported by known Call of Duty leaker TheGhostofHope, an internal delay of the next-gen Xbox console from Microsoft has “hurt a lot of CODs marketing plans as they wanted Modern Warfare 4 to be a launch title and draw a lot of hype to compete with people's attention alongside GTA VI.”

According to Hope, this has led to “the idea of two Call Of Duty games launching with the next Xbox” being considered – namely “a traditional Call of Duty multiplayer and a standalone Zombies title presumably developed by Treyarch.”

Alongside this, Microsoft is reportedly wanting “Activision to be more agile and less attached to annualized releases in the future,” with one example of its failings being the lack of evolution in MW2’s DMZ extraction mode due to it being attached to an annual COD entry.

Of course, Microsoft and Xbox are in a weird spot at the moment, so these plans could be altered or changed at any point.

Still, considering just how rigidly the franchise has stuck to its annual releases up until now, it would be interesting to see what Treyarch, Infinity Ward and Sledgehammer Games could achieve if given enough time and freedom. Hopefully we find out.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this leak? Would you welcome a shift in strategy? Between a standalone DMZ and Zombies game, which would you prefer? Let us know down below.

The post Insider claims Call of Duty could see a massive shake-up including no more annual releases first appeared on KitGuru.

The past year has been a big one for Ubisoft, with the publisher going through a ton of changes on an executive and strategic level. So far this has primarily led to a bunch of negative news, with countless project cancellations, lay-offs and more. Following the departure of the long-time Assassin’s Creed franchise boss Marc-Alexis Côté late last year, Ubisoft have now shared an official “Update on the Future of Assassin’s Creed.”

Taking to Reddit to make the announcement, the official AC team at Ubisoft detailed the future of the Assassin’s Creed franchise in the wake of these most recent shake-ups, stating:

“We know that what comes next has been a big topic within the community lately, and today, we can finally share some updates, starting with the introduction of newcomers to the leadership team that will shape the future of the franchise.”

As mentioned, Marc-Alexis Côté – who had been working on the AC franchise for the past two decades – was announced to be departing Ubisoft back in October of last year. Since then, the franchise’s future has been somewhat unknown.

Now however, the publisher officially unveiled Assassin Creed’s new leadership team – comprising of a “trio of experts of the series”:

• Martin Schelling (Head of Brand)
  • Leading the “franchise team, as well as the overall strategy, long‑term vision, and development of Assassin's Creed”
• Jean Guesdon (Head of Content)
  • Will lead “the creative direction of the franchise, support ongoing projects, and help shape the franchise’s future while ensuring it remains true to its DNA”
• François De Billy (Head of Production Excellence)
  • Tasked with “strengthening production practices and execution across the franchise”

Being one of Ubisoft’s biggest franchises, the publisher already had a solid half-a-dozen entries in development in one form or another. With some of these having reportedly since been cancelled, it will be interesting to see how this new trio navigate the future of the AC franchise. Additional details on each of these new heads can be found HERE.

KitGuru says: What do you think of this new team? Are you more or less confident in Assassin’s Creed following this announcement? Is the franchise’s best days behind it? Let us know your thoughts down below.

The post Ubisoft offers update on “the Future of Assassin’s Creed” first appeared on KitGuru.