The Hot Take: Now we know why M$ is trying to squeeze out every ounce of performance in Windows 11.....
Microsoft says youâll be able to run Windows 11âs local Language Model APIs on non-Copilot+ PCs as long as you meet the new hardware requirement: an RTX 30+ GPU with 6GB of VRAM. Itâs a major change, as it means Copilot+ PCsâ advantages are getting âthin,â and I wouldnât be surprised if Microsoft drops the NPU requirement entirely in the future.
Copilot+ PCs officially debuted on June 18, 2024, and theyâve been driving sales for PC makers. However, itâs not because of the âCopilotâ or âNPUâ factor. Itâs largely because newer PCs are now sold as âCopilot+ PCs,â so even a regular laptop purchase gets counted as proof that AI PCs are taking off.
For a PC to meet the âCopilot+ PCâ requirement, it would need to have 16GB of RAM, an SSD, and at least a 40 TOPS NPU. For those unaware, an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) is a chip designed to run AI models, specializing in efficiency rather than raw power. On the other hand, a GPU is a heavy-duty processor designed for massive parallel tasks.
What is a âCopilot+ PC?â
Microsoft sold you Copilot+ PCs as the only way to run local AI, but that was never due to the design. A GPU can always run an AI model far better than an NPU due to its raw power, but Microsoft didnât want Copilot+ PCs to appear less appealing, so it restricted local AI capabilities like Windows Recall and Click to Do to PCs with NPUs.
This means perfectly capable GPU-based PCs do not support Windows 11âs native local AI features, such as text-to-image, text generation, image generation, Windows Recall, and other capabilities, but that could change soon.
In a post on GitHub, first spotted by Windows Latest, Microsoft has quietly confirmed that Copilot+ PCs are losing one of their biggest advantages, as local AI is coming to RTX GPUs, as long as you meet the two requirements:
Own an RTX 30+ GPU
Have a supported GPU with 6GB of VRAM
According to the updated docs, if youâre a developer, you can now run local Language Model APIs on non-Copilot+ PCs by leveraging the GPU.
âLanguage Model APIs on GPU [Experimental]. The Language Model APIs now run on non-Copilot+ PCs equipped with a supported GPU, bringing local language model capabilities to a broader range of Windows 11 devices,â Microsoft noted. âSupported hardware includes NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30 series and newer with 6+ GB VRAM.â
This effectively broadens the range of Windows 11 devices capable of running local language models beyond just the new Copilot+ PCs equipped with NPUs.
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Recall-feature-demo-in-Windows-11-Copilot-Plus-PCs.mp4
Of course, a language model API isnât something you can normally run on your PC unless you know how to build apps and call the API, but itâs actually the beginning of the end of Copilot+ PC-exclusive features.
What are the potential new AI features coming to all PCs with GPUs via Language Model APIs?
I looked up Microsoftâs official documentation to understand how unlocking this API for all PCs with capable GPUs would change the AI integration in Windows, and I found some interesting details.
Language Model APIs allow Windows apps to access AI features directly on your PC, and these APIs are powered by a small language model called âPhi Silica.â We previously spotted references to Phi Silica in Microsoft Edge for Windows for features like âRewrite using AI.â
Windows PCs do not have AI models by default unless you buy a Copilot+ PC, so that means if you run a new app that uses Local Model APIs, it can call on Windows Update to download the Phi Silica model on your PC and run it locally using the GPU, if supported. Right now, an app can tap into the following Windows AI features:
AI-powered text formatting in apps using Windows.AI.Text APIs
Summarize (TextSummarizer)
Rewrite (TextRewriter)
Text-to-Table (TextToTableConverter)
General prompt generation.
In other words, youâll be able to use some ChatGPT-like features natively in Windows apps on Nvidia PCs, and everything will run locally, which means your privacy is fully protected compared to cloud models like Copilot or ChatGPT.
At the moment, it doesnât look like Microsoft plans to bring Windows Recall, Click to Do, and AI in MS Paint to PCs without an NPU chip. Right now, the extended local AI capabilities are restricted to a single API, which mostly powers text and general prompt-related capabilities.
The post Microsoft is killing the Copilot+ PC advantage, brings Windows 11âs local AI to RTX 30+ PCs with 6GB vRAM appeared first on Windows Latest
The Hot Take: Well look at that, it's very interesting that Microsoft is suddenly knocking out all these windows 11 issues. Kinda like they're afraid Linux will take their user base.
The Windows 11 June 2026 Patch Tuesday update, KB5094126 brings Low Latency Profile, Shared Audio, Multi-App Camera, and a handful of other noteworthy changes. Buried deeper in the changelog, without much fanfare, are two improvements to the Microsoft Store, one addressing a long-standing download speed problem and another fixing a frustrating gap in error reporting for managed devices.
Neither of these fixes will generate hype the way the CPU boost feature does. But for anyone who has watched a 500MB app update crawl through the Store for twenty minutes while the same file would download in under two minutes through a browser, at least one of them will feel this improvement was overdue.
This feature is being rolled out gradually, and will be available to everyone in the coming weeks.
Microsoft Store downloads were throttled for years, and the June update fixes it
For a significant portion of Windows 11 users, downloading apps and updates from the Microsoft Store has been noticeably slower than downloading the same files from almost any other source.
The Store would throttle to a fraction of the available connection speed, pause mid-download for no apparent reason, and occasionally get stuck in a pending state that required restarting the app.
Itâs not a question about internet speeds or system specifications. For a user with a 1 Gbps connection, Steam downloads take around ten minutes for a full game, but the same hardware on the same connection sees Microsoft Store speeds drop to somewhere between 200KB/s and 4MB/s.
High-end specs like a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, a 5070 Ti, and 32GB of RAM sitting idle while the Store slowly grinds through a download is humiliating enough for Windows 11.
Personally, I run into it most often with CapCut updates, which arrive roughly every two months and clock in at around 700MB. Clicking Update in the Store would usually take a long time to even begin, sometimes stall partway through, and occasionally require a restart to finish.
In the screen recording below, after installing the June 2026 update, Microsoft Store download speeds are finally fixed. Iâm now staying at a hotel with just a 30Mbps connection, but I am seeing the Store download the CapCut update at around 3MB per second without pauses.
For the first time in my regular use of the app, the download feels like it is actually using the full available connection.
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Microsoft-Store-now-downloads-Apps-faster.mp4
Microsoftâs official description is characteristically understated:
âThis update includes underlying changes that improve download performance and bandwidth usage.â
Whatever the âunderlyingâ change is, whether it is a fix to the BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) configuration the Store uses, a change to how download priority is assigned, or an adjustment to how bandwidth is allocated between Store downloads and other system processes, the practical result is that Store downloads are now significantly faster, without any interruption in the process.
Microsoft Store now tells managed devices why downloads are blocked
The second Store fix in the June update addresses a more specific but common issue in corporate and educational PCs.
When certain Windows Update Group Policy settings are enabled on a managed device, downloads from the Microsoft Store can fail silently or show a generic, unhelpful error.
What causes this is a known dependency between the Microsoft Store and Windows Update.
The Store uses some of the same download infrastructure as Windows Update, and IT administrators who configure policies to restrict direct Windows Update access, such as the âDo not connect to any Windows Update Internet locationsâ policy used in environments with internal WSUS or SCCM update servers, can inadvertently block Store downloads as a side effect.
When this happens, users on enterprise or domain-joined devices have historically seen errors like âThis install is prevented by policy. Ask your admin to enable Windows Updateâ with codes like 0x8024500C, without a clear explanation of which specific policy is the cause.
Microsoftâs changelog entry for the June update says it âimproves error reporting when downloads fail due to Windows Update group policy settings being enabled.â
In plain terms, when a Group Policy setting is blocking a Store download, the Store will now report that accurately, pointing toward the relevant policy rather than showing a vague failure message.
For IT admins who troubleshoot issues with the Store on managed PCs, a specific policy name in the error message saves a lot of time.
Faster downloads are welcome, but the Microsoft Store still has a sluggish interface
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Microsoft-Store-is-too-slow-to-load-pages.mp4
From the screen recording given above, itâs very clear what the issue with the Store is. Itâs just too slow. Loading different pages shouldnât be taking this long.
Scrolling apps in the Microsoft Store isnât smooth and is borderline laggy.
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Scrolling-in-the-Microsoft-Store-is-not-choppy.mp4
The Microsoft Store is built on UWP, not WinUI 3 (or WinUI). UWP is the older framework that Microsoft has been gradually moving away from. Scrolling through the app library or the game section feels choppy. Clicking between pages has a frustrating delay.
On a budget Android phone in 2026, the Google Play Store scrolls fluidly at 60fps. On a premium Windows 11 laptop, the Microsoft Store still feels like it is running behind by multiple frames.
Recently, we covered Microsoftâs explanation of why the Gallery section in File Explorer scrolls smoothly but not everywhere else, and the answer was that the parts of File Explorer that were rebuilt in WinUI have smooth scrolling, and the parts that were not still do not.
WinUI renders through the compositor correctly and gets the benefits of frame-rate-independent animation. UWP does not.
Although the technology and application are different, rebuilding the Store in WinUI 3 would likely bring smooth scrolling to it. But WinUI 3 currently has its own problem to work through.
As we reported, Microsoft admitted that WinUI 3 apps have a black screen tearing issue during window resizing. Fortunately, a fix is coming this summer. Once that is resolved, a WinUI 3 version of the Store would be a significant step forward. Currently, the Store, built on UWP, doesnât have any screen-tearing issues, but resizing it isnât smooth.
The Store has also not been immune to the AI integration wave that swept through Windows apps last year. We covered how Microsoft was testing a Copilot floating button inside the Microsoft Store to drive app downloads.
However, it seems like Microsoft has removed this button, which is a good thing.
Microsoft has been pulling back Copilot integrations from native Windows apps, and the Store is better for not having a floating AI button when itâs already sluggish enough. Even in Office, Microsoft admitted that the floating Copilot button in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint was a mistake and now lets users hide it.
To be fair to the Store, the use of AI in review summaries that condense user reviews into a quick overview before you install something is a good practical application.
Microsoft is not abandoning AI on Windows regardless of the individual retreats, as the company has pledged to make Windows 11 the OS for building AI, but the focus on useful AI over visible AI is a healthier direction for apps like the Store.
Microsoft Storeâs download speed fix in the June update is a meaningful improvement, and it is something users will notice in everyday use. But if the software giant wants people to reach for the Store rather than a browser download or Steam, the app needs to feel as smooth as those alternatives.
The macOS App Store is noticeably faster, more responsive, and more visually consistent than what Windows 11 has today. As more developers publish apps built in WinUI on the Store, the app quality inside the Store should improve. But the Store itself needs to follow Microsoftâs recommendation of making apps in WinUI.
That said, the June 2026 Cumulative Update has a bunch of useful features and improvements. Hopefully, weâll see more improvements in the Store as the year goes by.
The post Microsoft just killed the slow Microsoft Store downloads in Windows 11, after years of throttling appeared first on Windows Latest
The Hot Take: Question is, do I go HPDT with Z990 or Consumer Z970? I guess I'll have to see the benches on if HPDT does anything for Gaming.
The Z990 PCH for Nova Lake motherboards is apparently 22% smaller than Z890, despite featuring a higher power maximum power draw of up to 14W. The leaked picture of the PCH shows a 11.15 x 6.5mm die and 25 x 24mm package, but we're unsure what motherboard it actually comes from.
The Hot Take: CISC muscle on display... When you don't care about how many watts your cpu consumes ARM/RISC will never touch the raw throughput of these chips.
AMD has shared the first official results for its 256-core EPYC Venice CPU, saying it beats Nvidia's Vera by 3.3x in a rack-level deployment.
The Hot Take: What about that small file handling, any better on that yet?
Microsoft admitted that File Explorer on Windows 11 is slower than the previous version and is taking steps to make it faster, but the performance improvements extend beyond just UI surfaces. Iâm told that Microsoft is internally testing a major performance boost for file operations, starting with batch deleting files.
When you select dozens or hundreds of smaller files, or a few large files, and delete them all in one go, the speed depends on both the SSD/HDD and Windows.
Windows file system overhead matters as well because the OS has to update NTFS entries, permissions, indexes, thumbnails, metadata, and a bunch of other items when you delete or bulk delete files.
Of course, Iâm not saying a faster Windows alone can magically purge files faster. Hardware still matters, especially the SSDâs random I/O speed when youâre dealing with many small files. But itâs also wrong to say the speed only comes down to SSD I/O. If Windows handles file operations more efficiently, bulk delete can still get noticeably faster.
Microsoft also confirmed that a combination of hardware and software advancements could help make file operations faster on all PCs.
According to Microsoft, bulk delete will be more than 30% faster on Windows 11 after a new update, which is a massive improvement. Itâs unclear how Microsoft achieved this feat, but I can tell you that the number could go well above 30%. 30% is the baseline weâre looking at.
Microsoft shared this tidbit at a Windows Insider meetup in the United States, and one of the Insiders who shared this information with us was present.
The company plans to roll out faster bulk delete to testers in the coming weeks, but itâs not the only file operation getting faster. Other file operations, such as file transfer or copy, could get faster as well. The Windows team is going after everything to make the OS feel smoother.
File Explorer to launch faster, reduce context menu clutter, and improve overall UI/UX with modernization
When Microsoft confirmed it would focus on Windowsâ quality, reliability, and craft, it also teased a massive update for File Explorer.
In a statement, Microsoft clearly said itâll make File Explorer launch quicker and flicker a lot less. It also said itâll address those âwhiteâ flashes when you use it in dark mode.
âOur first round of improvements will focus on a quicker launch experience, reduced flicker, smoother navigation and more reliable performance for everyday file tasks,â the company said.
Weâre already seeing some of the general improvements, including faster launch time, paths with different characters working, and file names now being case-sensitive when you rename manually in File Explorer.
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Windows-11-File-Explorer-improvements.webm
In addition, Microsoft is testing preloading for File Explorer, which will allow it to open as fast as the Windows 10 version.
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Windows-11-File-Explorer-with-preloading-vs-Windows-10-File-Explorer.mp4
In fact, Iâm told that File Explorer on Windows 11 could soon work better than Windows 10, as improvements extend beyond just performance. I already highlighted file rename fixes, and itâs only the tip of the iceberg.
For example, Microsoft is testing a new right-click menu experience for File Explorer that allows it to load faster and is streamlined by default, so it doesnât feel crowded.
And more importantly, for power users, Microsoft says itâll finally allow you to configure the context menu, which means you can choose the additional items that must or must not appear when you right-click your files.
https://www.windowslatest.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/File-Explorer-Loading-speed-tested-in-slow-motion-with-and-without-Preloading.mp4
Weâre also told that Microsoft is looking at reducing File Explorerâs memory footprint and modernizing the legacy classic menu, including the Properties tab.
Microsoft plans to roll out as many as 19 features in 2026 to improve Windows, including a movable taskbar and a customizable Start menu.
Iâm personally pumped, and Iâm not defending Microsoft, because thereâs no denying that the company put Windows on the back burner in recent years. But itâs good to see one of the most beloved OSes with the greatest backward compatibility getting back on track. A good Windows is great for the entire ecosystem, as Microsoft could challenge Apple.
The post Microsoft reveals Windows 11 will bulk delete files at least 30% faster, and itâs only the start appeared first on Windows Latest
Intel appears to be cooking up a beefier Nova Lake socket clamp to stop its future desktop chips getting bendy or crispy.
If you are a hardware enthusiast, you probably know Intelâs independent loading mechanism, or ILM, can warp CPUs over time. The ILM is the retention clamp that holds the CPU in the socket, which sounds dull until your chip starts looking like a Pringle.
According to Hot Hardware Chipzilla released a reduced-load version of the ILM with Arrow Lake, which mostly fixed the issue, but made it optional. Now Chipzilla appears to have another ILM variant coming with Nova Lake. This one looks less about correcting curvature and more about dealing with high current.
Older processors used pin grid array sockets, or PGA, where the pins sat on the CPU itself. Modern chips use land grid array sockets, or LGA, where the pins live in the socket instead.
LGA has plenty of advantages, including denser pins, better electrical performance and CPUs that are less likely to be mangled by ham-fisted builders. The downside is that it needs a precise compression force to ensure the CPU and socket contact each other properly.
That is why Intel uses ILMs, while AMD calls its equivalent on socket AM5 a SAM. Chipzillaâs next-generation Nova Lake processor family is expected to include models with as many as 52 CPU cores.
That will need a silly amount of socket power. One earlier leak claimed top-end Nova Lake parts would have a short-period boost power limit of 471W. Carrying hundreds of amps across tiny contacts is a splendid way to start a fire if the contact is not secure.
That means the landing pads on the bottom of the CPU and the pins inside the socket need to behave themselves. Enter the 2L-ILM.
The 2L-ILM could simply ensure the CPU is held firmly enough to avoid problems from the high power draw of top-end Nova Lake chips. It could also be connected to the CPU bending problem that annoyed DIY builders in the first place.
The reduced-load ILM helped avoid bending, but required a heatsink with enough mounting force to prevent dodgy contact between the CPU and pins. Chipzilla may have decided to stop leaving this to system builders and create a new ILM that spreads load more evenly while applying more of it.
It is unclear whether these new ILMs will appear on all Nova Lake motherboards or only posh models. It will be just as interesting to see whether top-end Nova Lake parts with dual compute tiles will work properly on boards without a 2L-ILM.
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AMDâs Zen 5 looked efficient, but weak demand and a dodgy RDSEED bug have taken the shine off.
For those with long memories, AMDâs Ryzen 9000 series arrived in 2024, promising strong efficiency and decent IPC gains. Months later, the launch looks messier. Sales were soft, prices fell quickly, and a documented random-number flaw has spooked some buyers.
The line-up included the 16-core Ryzen 9 9950X, 12-core 9900X, eight-core 9700X and six-core 9600X. Early benchmarks were mixed. Gaming gains were often single-digit at higher resolutions, while productivity wins varied by workload.
Reviewers liked the cooler running and lower power use, but Zen 4 owners saw little reason to upgrade. AMD leaned harder into X3D chips, where stacked cache delivered clearer frame-rate gains for gamers.
According to Webpro News in late 2025, AMD detailed an RDSEED flaw affecting all Zen 5 processors. The bug, tracked as AMD-SB-7055 and CVE-2025-62626, hits the 16-bit and 32-bit versions of RDSEED.
They can return zero far more often than proper randomness allows, while the carry flag still reports success. That means software trusting the hardware output can swallow predictable data, which is grim news for cryptography.
Linux patches moved to disable the affected instruction or use other sources, but AMD has not issued a recall and points to microcode and software mitigations.
By early 2026, AMD was preparing refreshed SKUs to counter Intelâs Arrow Lake updates. Leaks pointed to Ryzen 7 9750X and Ryzen 5 9650X models with higher TDPs, higher clocks and improved memory support in some setups.
That looks like squeezing more speed from existing silicon. Power rises and Zen 5âs efficiency pitch gets thinner. Corporate buyers have reason to wait until mitigations are stable. Gamers are likely to favour X3D models, which offer clearer frame-rate gains and less early-launch baggage.
Server and workstation buyers have more to worry about because secure boot, VPNs and database encryption depend on reliable entropy.
Zen 5 still brought gains in branch prediction, cache design and TSMC N4P fabrication. The RDSEED bug does not erase that work, but it exposes an awkward validation gap.
AMD keeps shipping Zen 5 parts, and AM5 support remains a useful strength. Still, modest adoption, a documented RNG flaw and fast refresh plans make Zen 5 look less tidy than AMD wanted.
System builders running cryptographic workloads should avoid first-wave Zen 5 chips unless mitigations are tested. Everyone else should look harder at refreshed SKUs or X3D parts while AMD patches the trust problem.
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By ckasprzak | TkOut
| June 10, 2026 | AMD, GPU, Hardware
The Hot Take: Ai sucking everything up.
AMD's next-gen Radeon GPUs based on the RDNA 5 architecture are still far away from launch as memory shortages grip the PC segment. Memory Shortages & Rising Component Prices Are The Reason Behind AMD's Push Back on Radeon "RDNA 5" Gaming GPUs The Radeon RX 9000 GPUs based on the RDNA 4 graphics architecture launched last year. This year, AMD launched the Radeon RX 9070 GRE for gamers, still based on the RDNA 4 architecture. While the new card aims to provide gamers with a good 1440p solution, the majority of those who have been waiting for next-generation solutions from [âŚ]Read full article at https://wccftech.com/amds-radeon-rdna-5-gaming-gpus-slip-to-late-2027-or-early-2028/
The Hot Take: We'll see, they keep teasing it. But i feel they don't feel they have milked that Ai money cow enough to drop new hardware yet.
For almost a year, the RTX 50 Super series has been part of the rumor mill, but with the AI boom snatching production lines, causing memory prices to skyrocket, hype for the lineup had died down. Now, a potential RTX 5060 Super with 12GB of VRAM is apparently in the works, with the 50 Super series as a whole allegedly getting "back on track."