Korean media reports that Samsung Electronics has signed a 4.134 trillion Won ($3 billion) agreement with AMD to supply 12-high HBM3E stacks. AMD uses HBM stacks in its AI and HPC accelerators based on its CDNA architecture. This deal is significant, as it gives analysts some idea of the kind of volumes of AI GPUs AMD is preparing to push into the market, if they know what percent of an AI GPU's bill of materials is made up by memory stacks. AMD has probably negotiated a good price for Samsung's HBM3E 12H stacks, given that rival NVIDIA almost exclusively uses HBM3E made by SK Hynix.

The AI GPU market is expected to heat up with the ramp of NVIDIA's "Hopper" H200 series, the advent of "Blackwell," AMD's MI350X CDNA3, and Intel's Gaudi 3 generative AI accelerator. Samsung debuted its HBM3E 12H memory in February 2024. Each stack features 12 layers, a 50% increase over the first generation of HBM3E, and offers a density of 36 GB per stack. An AMD CDNA3 chip with 8 such stacks would have 288 GB of memory on package. AMD is expected to launch the MI350X in the second half of 2024. The star attraction with this chip is its refreshed GPU tiles built on the TSMC 4 nm EUV foundry node. This seems like the ideal product for AMD to debut HBM3E 12H on.

Velocity Micro, the premier builder of award-winning enthusiast desktops, laptops, high performance computing solutions, and professional workstations announces the immediate availability of a line of Linux powered PCs preinstalled with Ubuntu 22.04. Systems are designed for a wide range of customers and use cases such as individual enthusiasts, CAD and content creation professionals, machine learning/AI, and enterprise, to bring the flexibility and security of an open source OS platform into the mainstream. Desktops start at $1,429 with Linux laptops starting at $1,199. Shipments begin immediately.

"We've been preinstalling various flavors of Linux on custom server and workstation builds for years, which has really afforded us the opportunity to get hands-on to learn the OS," said Randy Copeland, President and CEO of Velocity Micro. "We're excited to bring what we've learned to market and introduce our customers to Ubuntu Linux."

Enthusiasts on the ChipHell forum scored an alleged image of AMD's upcoming "Strix Halo" mobile processor, and set out to create some highly plausible schematic slides. These are speculative. While "Strix Point" is the mobile processor that succeeds the current "Hawk Point" and "Phoenix" processors; "Strix Halo" is in a category of its own—to offer gaming experiences comparable to discrete GPUs in the ultraportable form-factor where powerful discrete GPUs are generally not possible. "Strix Halo" also goes head on against Apple's M3 Max and M3 Pro processors powering the latest crop of MacBook Pros. It has the same advantages as a single-chip solution, as the M3 Max.

The "Strix Halo" silicon is a chiplet-based processor, although very different from "Fire Range". The "Fire Range" processor is essentially a BGA version of the desktop "Granite Ridge" processor—it's the same combination of one or two "Zen 5" CCDs that talk to a client I/O die, and is meant for performance-thru-enthusiast segment notebooks. "Strix Halo," on the other hand, use the same one or two "Zen 5" CCDs, but with a large SoC die featuring an oversized iGPU, and 256-bit LPDDR5X memory controllers not found on the cIOD. This is key to what AMD is trying to achieve—CPU and graphics performance in the league of the M3 Pro and M3 Max at comparable PCB and power footprints.

Nixxes Software has released official PC system requirements for Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut that will officially launch on May 16th. In addition, the game will be the first PlayStation title on PC that will use the PlayStation overlay. The game will also feature support for NVIDIA DLSS 3, AMD FSR 3 and Intel XeSS, as well as support for NVIDIA DLAA and AMD FSR 3 Native AA.

Ghost of Tsushima: Director's Cut on PC will feature the full game, the Iki Island expansion, and the cooperative online multiplayer Legends mode. It will also support cross-play, allowing games on PC to team up with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 consoles. Of course, you'll still need to sign in to PlayStation Network account for Legends mode. In addition, this will be the first game on the PC to use the new PlayStation overlay, allowing users on PC to access Friends list, Trophies, Settings, and Profile.

Lenovo is putting finishing touches on the Yoga Slim 7 14 2024, one of the first non-reference laptop to feature Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon X processor. Leaked images circulating on X (formerly Twitter) reveal a sleek and stylish design, with a 14-inch or 14.5-inch display encased in a slim and portable form factor. Qualcomm has previously showcased eye-catching demo reference systems in a striking red color scheme, but Lenovo's Yoga Slim 7 14 2024 marks the first time a significant laptop manufacturer with actual product images incorporating the Snapdragon X chip. The Yoga Slim 7 14 2024 is part of Lenovo's popular Slim laptop lineup, including models powered by Intel and AMD processors. The latest "Gen 8" iteration featured options for AMD Ryzen 7040 series and Intel 13th Gen Core i and Core Ultra series CPUs.

One notable addition to the Snapdragon X-powered model is the inclusion of a dedicated Microsoft Copilot button. Qualcomm has heavily touted the Snapdragon X's Neural Processing Unit (NPU) performance and its ability to directly accelerate various AI and machine learning algorithms on the device. There have been a few comparison points between Meteor Lake with Intel's NPU and Snapdragon X Elite with Qualcomm's NPU. The chipmaker's X Elite and X Plus laptop offerings are expected to arrive soon, and there are strong indications that this may happen during the Computex trade show.Update 17:28 UTC: X user WalkingCat has posted images of Lenovo Thinkpad T14s laptop, which can be seen below.

MSI is here to announce the latest AGESA ComboPI 1.1.7.0 Patch A BIOS update for AM5 next gen CPU support on X670E, X670, B650, A620 motherboards. Users would simply need to update the BIOS to the latest version accordingly. MSI will continue to update the latest news for our users. Please follow MSI's official channels and check the product pages for the latest BIOS updates to guarantee optimal experience, heightened performance, and enhanced stability.

For more about MSI AMD 600 series motherboards, please check here.

Today, AMD announced new products that will expand its commercial mobile and desktop AI PC portfolio, delivering exceptional productivity and premium AI and connectivity experiences to business users. The new AMD Ryzen PRO 8040 Series are the most advanced x86 processors built for business laptops and mobile workstations. In addition, AMD also announced the AMD Ryzen PRO 8000 Series desktop processor, the first AI enabled desktop processor for business users, engineered to deliver cutting-edge performance with low power consumption.

With AMD Ryzen AI built into select models, AMD is further extending its AI PC leadership. By leveraging the CPU, GPU, and dedicated on-chip neural processing unit (NPU), new Ryzen AI-powered processors provide more dedicated AI processing power than previous generations, with up to 16 dedicated NPU TOPS (Trillions of Operations Per Second) and up to 39 total system TOPS. Commercial PCs equipped with new Ryzen AI-enabled processors will help transform user experience, offering next-gen performance for AI-enabled collaboration, content creation, and data and analytics workloads. With the addition of AMD PRO technologies, IT managers can unlock enterprise-grade manageability features to simplify IT operations and complete PC deployment faster across the organization, built-in security features for chip-to-cloud defense from sophisticated attacks, as well as unprecedented stability, reliability and platform longevity for enterprise software.

Lenovo has unveiled a selection of ThinkCentre desktops powered by AMD Ryzen PRO 8000 Series desktop processors with up to 16 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of integrated NPU capability dedicated to process AI workloads, including the performance focused ThinkCentre M75t Gen 5, the flexible ThinkCentre M75s Gen 5, and the compact ThinkCentre M75q Gen 5. Designed to meet the diverse needs of modern business, the ThinkCentre M75 Gen 5 family of desktops harnesses the AI capability of its component while optimizing its energy efficiency to deliver impressive results.

"The AI PC era is already here and at Lenovo we are embracing it to unlock new possibilities," said Sanjeev Menon, vice president and general manager, Worldwide Desktop Business in Intelligent Devices Group, Lenovo. "The need for businesses to integrate AI into their operations continues to grow and our ThinkCentre M75 family of desktops, with a strong and stable power supply, the ability to upgrade components when needed, and the space to expand memory and optimize thermal management are the ideal options to enhance productivity with AI without heavy investments. Lenovo and AMD have a long-standing partnership focused on delivering value to our customers and we know users will be delighted by the leap in performance of our new desktops."

Minisforum has unveiled a game-changing device that blurs the lines between tablets and laptops: the Minisforum V3. Today, the V3 laptop has hit the Minisforum store. This innovative 3-in-1 tablet is powered by the high-performance AMD Ryzen 7 8840U processor, offering a unique blend of portability and computing power. Unlike its traditional Mini PC design, Minisforum has adopted the popular form factor of Microsoft Surface and Lenovo Yoga tablet PCs with the V3. This versatile device can be a handheld tablet, a laptop with an included magnetic attachable keyboard, or a solo kickstand. At the heart of the Minisforum V3 lies the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 7 8840U processor, capable of delivering exceptional performance for demanding tasks. The tablet features a stunning 14-inch 2560 x 1600 IPS screen with a 165 Hz refresh rate and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, making it an ideal choice for creative professionals and content creators.

The V3's standout feature is its advanced cooling system, which allows the Ryzen 7 8840U and onboard Radeon 780M iGPU to operate at a stable 28 watts. This ensures smooth and efficient performance even under heavy workloads, making it a reliable device for all your tasks. The tablet's screen boasts a remarkable 500 nits of brightness, and its high color gamut coverage makes it perfect for professionals who require accurate color representation. Minisforum has priced the V3 competitively at $1199 at the pre-sale offering, making it an attractive option for those seeking a powerful and versatile device that can adapt to various scenarios. This primary option includes 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB SSD for storage. For early birds, Minisforum offers a V Pen, tempered glass screen protector, and laptop sleeve as a gift. Here is the link to the Minisforum V3 store.

NVIDIA's next-gen Blackwell platform, which includes B-series GPUs and integrates NVIDIA's own Grace Arm CPU in models such as the GB200, represents a significant development. TrendForce points out that the GB200 and its predecessor, the GH200, both feature a combined CPU+GPU solution, primarily equipped with the NVIDIA Grace CPU and H200 GPU. However, the GH200 accounted for only approximately 5% of NVIDIA's high-end GPU shipments. The supply chain has high expectations for the GB200, with projections suggesting that its shipments could exceed millions of units by 2025, potentially making up nearly 40 to 50% of NVIDIA's high-end GPU market.

Although NVIDIA plans to launch products such as the GB200 and B100 in the second half of this year, upstream wafer packaging will need to adopt more complex and high-precision CoWoS-L technology, making the validation and testing process time-consuming. Additionally, more time will be required to optimize the B-series for AI server systems in aspects such as network communication and cooling performance. It is anticipated that the GB200 and B100 products will not see significant production volumes until 4Q24 or 1Q25.

MSI, a leading global server provider, is showcasing its latest GPU servers powered by AMD processors at the 2024 NAB Show, Booth #SL9137 in the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 14-17. These servers are designed to meet the evolving needs of modern creative projects in Media and Entertainment industry. "As AI continues to reshape the Media and Entertainment industry, it brings unprecedented speed and performance to tasks such as animation, visual effects, video editing, and rendering," said Danny Hsu, General Manager of Enterprise Platform Solutions. "MSI's GPU platforms empower content creators to execute every project with efficiency, speed, and uncompromising quality."

The G4101 is a 4U 4GPU server platform, purpose-built to unleash the full potential of creative professionals in the Media and Entertainment industry. It supports a single AMD EPYC 9004 Series processor equipped with a liquid cooling module, along with twelve DDR5 RDIMM slots. Additionally, it features four PCIe 5.0 x16 slots tailored for triple-slot graphic cards with coolers, ensuring increased airflow and sustained performance. With twelve front 2.5-inch U.2 NVMe/SATA drive bays, it offers high-speed and flexible storage options, catering to the diverse needs of AI workloads. The G4101 combines air flow spacing and liquid closed-loop cooling, making it the optimal thermal management solution for even the most demanding tasks.

In yet another clear sign that we could see some action from AMD on the next-gen desktop processor front this Computex, motherboard maker MSI released its first beta UEFI firmware update that packs an AGESA microcode that reportedly supports the upcoming AMD Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" processors. The "7D74v1D2 beta" firmware update for the MSI MPG B650 Carbon Wi-Fi motherboard encapsulates AGESA ComboPI 1.1.7.0 patch-A, with the description that it supports a "next-gen CPU," a reference to the Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge."

A successor to the Ryzen 7000 Raphael, the Ryzen 9000 Granite Ridge introduces the new "Zen 5" microarchitecture to the desktop platform, with CPU core counts remaining up to 16-core/32-thread. The new microarchitecture is expected to introduce generational increase in IPC, as well as improve performance of certain exotic workloads such as AVX-512. The processors are said to be launching alongside the new AMD 800-series motherboard chipset. If AMD is using Computex as a platform to showcase these processors, it's likely we might see the first of these motherboards as well.

Over a year ago, EK Water Blocks introduced its first mainstream CPU water block, designed explicitly for delidded Intel CPUs. Since its debut, there has been a significant increase in users opting to delid their CPUs to enhance performance. Building on this trend, EK just recently released the market's first-ever All-In-One CPU cooler tailored for delidded Intel CPUs, a product that has received highly positive feedback and reception. EK, as the market leader in high-performance PC liquid cooling, is committed to constant innovation and bringing the best user experience on the market. They're reaffirming this commitment by announcing several upcoming products designed for direct die cooling. For those unfamiliar with delidding and direct die cooling, we recommend checking out EK's blog post on the topic.

First up is the highly anticipated EK Direct Die solution for Socket AM5 AMD Ryzen CPUs. Countless hours of engineering and testing were invested into these products to ensure consistent performance results and a user-friendly installation process. Unlike other solutions that require modifying an existing cold plate, this water block features a cold plate specifically designed for delidded AM5 Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs. The mounting mechanism differs from the Velocity² Direct Die water block, as it relies on standoffs at the four corners of the water block instead of the cold plate making contact with the die guard. The entire fin structure has been adjusted to direct 100% of the flow over the chiplets themselves, but more details on this topic will be available in the following days when these AMD-specific Direct Die CPU water blocks become available for order.

The RDNA 3+ graphics architecture will power integrated graphics solutions of AMD processors for the foreseeable future, a reliable source with AMD leaks says. The company is planning to debut RDNA 3+, a feature update to RDNA 3, with the upcoming Ryzen "Strix Point" mobile processor. A scaled-up version will power the "Strix Halo" processor meant for notebooks with powerful integrated graphics. Given that AMD is able to scale between a certain number of compute units for its "Strix Point" and "Strix Halo" processors, it could stick with the graphics architecture for iGPUs with its upcoming processor microarchitectures even 3 years into the future.

This isn't new for AMD, the company's Vega graphics architecture debuted in 2017, but powered the iGPUs of its "Cezanne" mobile processor that came out as recently as 2021. The RDNA 3-based iGPU powering the current "Hawk Point" processor trades blows with the Arc "Alchemist" Xe-LPG iGPU powering Intel's "Meteor Lake" processor. Intel is expected to make a generational jump in iGPU performance with its upcoming "Lunar Lake" processor that debuts the Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture for its iGPU, to which AMD is responding with a new iGPU based on the updated RDNA 3+.

During the Vision 2024 event, Intel announced that its upcoming Xeon processors will be branded under the new "Xeon 6" moniker. This rebranding effort aims to simplify the company's product stack and align with the recent changes made to its consumer CPU naming scheme. In contrast to the previous "x Generation Xeon Scalable", the new branding aims to simplify the product family. The highly anticipated Sierra Forest and Granite Ridge chips will be the first processors to bear the Xeon 6 branding, and they are set to launch in the coming months. Intel has confirmed that Sierra Forest, designed entirely with efficiency cores (E-cores), remains on track for release this quarter. Supermicro has already announced early availability and remote testing programs for these chips. Intel's Sierra Forest is set to deliver a substantial leap in performance. According to the company, it will offer a 2.4X improvement in performance per watt and a staggering 2.7X better performance per rack compared to the previous generation. This means that 72 Sierra Forest server racks will provide the same performance as 200 racks equipped with older second-gen Xeon CPUs, leading to significant power savings and a boost in overall efficiency for data centers upgrading their system.

Intel has also teased an exciting feature in its forthcoming Granite Ridge processors-support for the MXFP4 data format. This new precision format, backed by the Open Compute Project (OCP) and major industry players like NVIDIA, AMD, and Arm, promises to revolutionize performance. It could reduce next-token latency by up to 6.5X compared to fourth-gen Xeons using FP16. Additionally, Intel stated that Granite Ridge will be capable of running 70 billion parameter Llama-2 models, a capability that could open up new possibilities in data processing. Intel claims that 70 billion 4-bit models run entirely on Xeon in just 86 milliseconds. While Sierra Forest is slated for this quarter, Intel has not provided a specific launch timeline for Granite Ridge, stating only that it will arrive "soon after" its E-core counterpart. The Xeon 6 branding aims to simplify the product stack and clarify customer performance tiers as the company gears up for these major releases.

Acer today announced the new Nitro 14 and Nitro 16 gaming laptops, powered by AMD Ryzen 8040 Series processors with Ryzen AI[1]. With up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060[2] Laptop GPUs supported by DLSS 3.5 technology, both are backed by NVIDIA's RTX AI platform, providing an array of capabilities in over 500 games and applications, enhanced by AI. Gamers are immersed in their 14- and 16-inch NVIDIA G-SYNC compatible panels with up to WQXGA (2560x1600) resolution.

Whether in call or streaming in-game, Acer PurifiedVoice 2.0 harnesses the power of AI to block out external noises, while Acer PurifiedView keeps users always front and center of all the action. Microsoft Copilot in Windows (with a dedicated Copilot key) helps accelerate everyday tasks on these AI laptops, and with one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included with every device, players will enjoy hundreds of high-quality PC games. To seamlessly take command of device performance and customizations, one click of the NitroSense key directs users to the control center and the library of available AI-related functions through the new Experience Zone.

AMD today announced the expansion of the AMD Versal adaptive system on chip (SoC) portfolio with the new Versal AI Edge Series Gen 2 and Versal Prime Series Gen 2 adaptive SoCs, which bring preprocessing, AI inference, and postprocessing together in a single device for end-to-end acceleration of AI-driven embedded systems.

These initial devices in the Versal Series Gen 2 portfolio build on the first generation with powerful new AI Engines expected to deliver up to 3x higher TOPs-per-watt than first generation Versal AI Edge Series devicesi, while new high-performance integrated Arm CPUs are expected to offer up to 10x more scalar compute than first gen Versal AI Edge and Prime series devicesii.

On March 29th, the United States announced another round of updates to its export controls, targeting advanced computing, supercomputers, semiconductor end-uses, and semiconductor manufacturing products. These new regulations, which took effect on April 4th, are designed to prevent certain countries and businesses from circumventing U.S. restrictions to access sensitive chip technologies and equipment. Despite these tighter controls, TrendForce believes the practical impact on the industry will be minimal.

The latest updates aim to refine the language and parameters of previous regulations, tightening the criteria for exports to Macau and D:5 countries (China, North Korea, Russia, Iran, etc.). They require a detailed examination of all technology products' Total Processing Performance (TPP) and Performance Density (PD). If a product exceeds certain computing power thresholds, it must undergo a case-by-case review. Nevertheless, a new provision, Advanced Computing Authorized (ACA), allows for specific exports and re-exports among selected countries, including the transshipment of particular products between Macau and D:5 countries.

At Embedded World 2024, Enclustra will showcase limitless potential to innovate the next big thing with over 20 FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) embedded system on module (SoM) technology solutions. Starting with unveiling Pluto, its tiny titan at 30 x 30 mm, the new coin-sized SoM with the strength of AMD Zynq UltraScale+ MPSoC, features ultra-compact embedded intelligence and portability, accelerating development of compact and portable low-power applications in industrial, healthcare, and security. Pluto's miniature form factor and high processing power are ideal for real-time video processing in medical smart glasses, VR, environmental monitoring, drones, autonomous navigation, and artificial intelligence inference.

"Enclustra leverages strategic partnerships with AMD, Altera and Microchip to provide customers with a comprehensive ecosystem of cutting-edge FPGA solutions optimized for performance and cost. We integrated their technology into our Pluto SoM, enabling unparalleled processing power and efficiency in a compact form factor," said Philipp Baechtold, CEO of Enclustra GmbH. "The future is bright for innovation with FPGA embedded chip technologies, creating life-saving, life-changing, and dream-making solutions."

AMD "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture will introduce a significant performance increase for AVX-512 workloads, with some sources reported as high as 40% performance increases over "Zen 4" in benchmarks that use AVX-512. A Moore's Law is Dead report detailing the execution engine of "Zen 5" holds the answer to how the company managed this—using a true 512-bit FPU. Currently, AMD uses a dual-pumped 256-bit FPU to execute AVX-512 workloads on "Zen 4." The updated FPU should significantly improve the core's performance in workloads that take advantage of 512-bit AVX or VNNI instructions, such as AI.

Giving "Zen 5" a 512-bit FPU meant that AMD also had to scale up the ancillaries—all the components that keep the FPU fed with data and instructions. The company therefore increased the capacity of the L1 DTLB. The load-store queues have been widened to meet the needs of the new FPU. The L1 Data cache has been doubled in bandwidth, and increased in size by 50%. The L1D is now 48 KB in size, up from 32 KB in "Zen 4." FPU MADD latency has been reduced by 1 cycle. Besides the FPU, AMD also increased the number of Integer execution pipes to 10, from 8 on "Zen 4." The exclusive L2 cache per core remains 1 MB in size.Update 07:02 UTC: Moore's Law is Dead reached out to us and said that the slide previously posted by them, which we had used in an earlier version of this article, is fake, but said that the information contained in that slide is correct, and that they stand by the information.

PowerColor, a leader in graphics card innovation, is thrilled to unveil its latest creation - the PowerColor Hellhound RX 7800 XT Sakura Edition. Leveraging the advanced AMD RDNA architecture and building on the Hellhound series' acclaim, this edition introduces a fresh aesthetic twist to the graphics card world.

Sakura Edition - Grace and Performance
The market has seen its share of themed graphics cards, but the Hellhound RX 7800 XT Sakura Edition stands apart with its all-white design accented by subtle pink details. This design choice not only maintains the card's sleek and unified appearance but also introduces a touch of grace, reminiscent of cherry blossoms. PowerColor's dedication to this theme is evident in every aspect of the card, from an all white PCB to the uniquely white heatsink and cooler design with adorned with pink accents.

AMD has introduced the Ryzen Embedded 8000 Series processors, the first AMD embedded devices to combine NPUs based on the AMD XDNA architecture with traditional CPU and GPU elements, optimized for workload versatility and adaptability targeting industrial AI applications. Embedded solution engineers and developers can harness the processing power and leadership features for a variety of industrial AI applications including machine vision, robotics, and industrial automation. AI is widely used in machine vision applications today to enhance quality control and inspection processes.

AI can also help robots make real-time, route-planning decisions and adapt to dynamic environments. In industrial automation, AI processing helps intelligent edge devices perform complex analysis and decision-making without relying on cloud connectivity. This allows for real-time monitoring, predictive maintenance, and autonomous control of industrial processes, enhancing operational efficiency and reducing downtime.

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) was notified on March 27, 2024, of an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer by Tutanota LLC ("Tutanota"). Pursuant to the offer, which is dated March 18, 2024, Tutanota is offering to purchase up to 150,000 shares of AMD common stock at $200.00 per share, which represents approximately 0.009283% of AMD's outstanding shares. The offer price of $200.00 per share is conditioned on, among other things, the closing price per share of AMD common stock exceeding $200.00 per share on the last trading day before the offer expires. This means that unless this condition is waived by Tutanota, AMD stockholders who tender shares in the offer will receive a below-market price. Tutanota can extend the offer for successive periods of 45 to 180 days until the market price of AMD common stock exceeds the offer price, in which case payment would be delayed beyond the scheduled expiration date of Friday, April 19, 2024.

AMD does not in any way recommend or endorse the Tutanota offer because the offer requires that the closing price for AMD common stock exceed the offer price, and the offer price is subject to numerous additional conditions, including Tutanota obtaining financing for the offer. There is no guarantee the conditions of the offer will be satisfied. AMD is in no way associated with Tutanota, the "mini-tender" offer or the offer documentation. "Mini-tender" offers seek less than 5% of a company's outstanding shares thereby avoiding many procedural and disclosure requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") because they are below the SEC's threshold to provide such disclosure and procedural protections for investors.

AMD's Instinct family has welcomed a new addition—the MI388X AI accelerator—as discovered in a lengthy regulatory 10K filing (submitted to the SEC). The document reveals that the unannounced SKU—along with the MI250, MI300X and MI300A integrated circuits—cannot be sold to Chinese customers due to updated US trade regulations (new requirements were issued around October 2023). Versal VC2802 and VE2802 FPGA products are also mentioned in the same section. Earlier this month, AMD's Chinese market-specific Instinct MI309 package was deemed to be too powerful for purpose by the US Department of Commerce.

AMD has not published anything about the Instinct MI388X's official specification, and technical details have not emerged via leaks. The "X" tag likely implies that it has been designed for AI and HPC applications, akin to the recently launched MI300X accelerator. The designation of a higher model number could (naturally) point to a potentially more potent spec sheet, although Tom's Hardware posits that MI388X is a semi-custom spinoff of an existing model.

AMD's entry-level Radeon RX 7600 GPU launched last May—critical reception was lukewarm, and Team Red enthusiasts found more compelling "budget" options within the preceding RDNA 2 generation. AMD's board partners rolled out customized Radeon RX 7600 8 GB cards—as planned—but the reference design was a scarcity around launch time. As pointed out by TPU's resident graphics card reviewer extraordinaire, W1zzard, a "Made by AMD" (MBA) model was lined up for direct sale via official AMD online stores, "as well as through its board partners, with minimal re-branding." Plans were (apparently) scuppered by a discovery of 8-pin power cable insertion issues—review outlets informed AMD about these problems prior to launch.

According to a fresh VideoCardz report, AMD has started to offer its Radeon RX 7600 reference design through official European channels: "despite the initial promise of offering the RX 7600 directly to gamers through their webstore, AMD has struggled to generate significant interest in the card nearly a year after its launch. Furthermore, there hasn't been a substantial change in pricing, with the card still retailing at $269 (in the US). Turns out, the Radeon RX 7600 MBA is now available in Germany." Several European shop portals display prices of €295 (~$318) and €300 (~$324)—at the time of writing. Potential customers will have to weigh up the benefit of AMD's extra time spent on ironing out the reference design's past issues, versus market-tested + custom-cooled partner models.