Amazon ends secret data center pacts and pledges $1 billion to host towns

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Tom’s Hardware • Anton Shilov • October 5, 2026

Amazon announced on Friday that it will no longer require nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) with government agencies involved in its data center projects. This decision is part of a new Data Center Commitment program designed to increase transparency and address opposition to AI infrastructure. The company also unveiled plans to invest more than $1 billion over five years in communities hosting its facilities. These announcements come as more than 100 data center moratoriums are being considered across the U.S., prompting Amazon to make its projects more attractive to locals through open houses, early information disclosure, and listening to local concerns.

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Modder brings original Xbox emulation to jailbroken PS5

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AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Tom’s Hardware, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

Tom’s Hardware • Jhet Borja • October 5, 2026

A popular Xbox emulator named Xemu has been ported to jailbroken PlayStation 5 consoles by Reddit user u/Yzenxam. The new version, called XPSemu, runs on the modder’s GitHub page at ZiZc3. According to the creator, XPSemu is functionally identical to Xemu; the only change was enabling it to run as an application on the PS5. To achieve this, the project utilizes QEMU’s TCG JIT technology to translate the Xbox CPU in real time and connects to the PS5’s AMD GPU via the open-source RADV Vulkan driver.

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32GB dethrones 16GB as top RAM capacity in gaming rigs despite memory shortage

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Tom’s Hardware • Jowi Morales • October 5, 2026

Despite being in the midst of an unprecedented memory chip shortage , it seems that gamers are still willing to invest in their gaming PCs to extract the best performance out of their favorite titles. The September 2026 Steam Survey results show that 42.22% of the surveyed units now have 32GB of system RAM — a 4.77% increase compared to the previous month — while 16GB configurations have shrunk by 3.38%, falling to just 37.82%.

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Tencent scores 100,000 offshore AI chip deal with Oracle for $7 billion despite climbing prices

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Tom’s Hardware • Shane Downing • October 5, 2026

Oracle has reportedly made a deal with Tencent for a five-year lease at several Oracle data centers in Southeast Asia, covering about 100,000 advanced AI chips unavailable in China. The deal is estimated to be worth about $7 billion, which would come out to about $1.60 per chip per hour over five years, with about 30% upfront, according to a report by the Financial Times ( FT ). The deal lands as compute rental prices continue to climb, per Chief Strategy Officer James Mitchell on Tencent’s August 12 earnings call. Neither company has commented on the report, but such leases are legal under current U.S.

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Take $40 off the blistering Ryzen 7 9800X3D and get two freebies

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Tom’s Hardware • Joe Shields • October 5, 2026

Over the past several months, we’ve been stuck in the murky depths of the AIpocalypse and have been hit with sky-high prices on RAM, storage, and graphics cards. Luckily, processor prices haven’t really changed, but finding a decent deal that isn’t bundled with multiple items you may not need was tough at times. Today we found a solid discount on AMD’s Ryzen 7 9800X3D for only $429 with promo code FTT7668, and it’s not in a bundle! That’s right, you can upgrade from your older or non-X3D AM5 processor to the latest and greatest for gaming without buying extra parts.

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AMD attempts to get ahead of expected RTX Spark launch with Gorgon Halo benchmarks

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Tom’s Hardware • Jake Roach • October 5, 2026

Ahead of Nvidia’s expected RTX Spark launch later this week, AMD has shared benchmarks for its new Gorgon Halo chips to highlight their generative AI capabilities. The company is comparing its Ryzen AI Max+ Pro 495 chip against Intel’s Core Ultra X9 388H using the ComfyUI software to measure performance. AMD utilized a top-spec configuration with 192GB of memory, while the Intel system used 64GB. Results showed throughput ranging from 1.1x to 32.2x in favor of AMD, though the highest figure was identified as an outlier that may stem from optimization issues or hardware limitations on the Intel side.

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Intel’s Googlebooks might not run some Android apps as well as Qualcomm’s

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AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Tom’s Hardware, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

Tom’s Hardware • Jhet Borja • October 5, 2026

Google recently launched five new laptops called Googlebooks, which are designed to run Android applications directly on the device. While Google stated that most apps will function smoothly on both Intel and Qualcomm processors, they acknowledged in a statement to Android Authority that some complex applications or games may not perform as well on the Intel-based models compared to those using Qualcomm chips. This is because many Android apps were originally built for Arm chips, and without specific developer tuning, they might struggle on Intel platforms. Google confirmed it is working with developers and chip manufacturers to improve performance and compatibility over time.

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Grab this $79.98 TP-Link wireless router with Wi-Fi 7 support at its lowest ever price

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Tom’s Hardware • Ben Stockton • October 5, 2026

Amazon has lowered the price of the TP-Link Archer BE3600 wireless router to $79.98, which is a 33% discount off its list price and the lowest it has ever been on the platform. This sale occurs before the official Big Deal Days launch. The device includes Wi-Fi 7 support along with strong performance for both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.

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Snag an Apple MacBook or Mac Mini with these Amazon Prime Big Deal Days deals that can save you up to $600

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AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Tom’s Hardware, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

Tom’s Hardware • Stewart Bendle • October 5, 2026

Apple recently raised prices on its computers due to AI demand and memory shortages, but Amazon Prime Big Deal Days offers discounts of up to $600 on 2025 and 2026 models. The MacBook Neo 13-inch laptop with an A18 Pro chip is listed at £689, featuring an 8GB memory configuration and 256GB SSD storage. The new 2026 MacBook Air with the M5 chip was $1599 but is now $1399, offering a 16GB memory setup and 1TB SSD. A similar model with 512GB storage was $1299 and is now $1099.

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Nintendo Switch 2 drops to £354.99 all-time low to defy the AI tax — pocket £65 in savings across these retailers

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AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Tom’s Hardware, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.

Tom’s Hardware • Zhiye Liu • October 5, 2026

Rising component costs have led major console makers to increase prices, but Amazon U.K. has offered a significant exception by reducing the Nintendo Switch 2 price by 15%. This brings the retail cost down to an all-time low of £354.99. Other retailers in the U.K., including Argos, John Lewis, and Smyths Toys, have also adjusted their prices to match this level.

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