FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 6.60, Engineer 6.60, Business 6.60, and Network Audit 6.60 software. The latest AIDA64 update introduces optimized benchmarks for Intel "Alder Lake" and "Raptor Lake" processors, improvements for DDR5 memory modules and XMP 3.0 memory profiles, and supports the latest AMD and Intel CPU platforms as well as the new graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by both AMD and NVIDIA.

The AIDA64 product family for Windows PCs consists of three business editions and a home edition. The company's flagship IT asset management offering with hardware diagnostic features is AIDA64 Business, while a dedicated network inventory solution called AIDA64 Network Audit is also available, for a lower license fee. Designed for corporate engineers and IT technicians, AIDA64 Engineer includes expert tools not available in AIDA64 Extreme, the home edition of the software. Today all four AIDA64 editions are updated to v6.60.

All six Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processor models launched to date are unlocked (K or KF) SKUs, which lack a boxed cooling solution. This is expected to change early next year when Intel fleshes out the lineup with at least 10 new SKUs for the retail segment; and with "Alder Lake" marking the first major change to the mainstream desktop processor cooling mount in over a decade; Intel has the opportunity to radically change its cooling design. We got our first hint at what these could look like back in September, and we now have a clear picture of one of them.

There are three stock coolers Intel is preparing. The RH1 (high) will likely go with the top Core i9-12900 and i9-12900F parts. The RM1 (mid) could be bundled with various Core i7 and Core i5 SKUs; while the RS1 (small) could go with entry-level Core i3 SKUs. Here we have the RM1. Back in the September article, we were staring at low-resolution pictures and trying to guess what the heatsink design could look like. At the time we thought that the pointy structures into which the fan is nestled, are metallic extensions of the heatsink's fins, designed to make use of lateral bleed airflow from the fan. The new picture puts this theory to rest. Turns out, those are little more than an aesthetic touch.

Intel is preparing to significantly expand its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" desktop processor series next January, alongside more motherboard chipset choices for the client-desktop segment. These include the H670, the B660, and the H610. The H670 offers most of the I/O features of the top Z690 chipset, but you lose out on CPU overclocking. The B660 is the mid-tier option, and while you still get a formidable I/O feature-set, the chipset bus is narrower. The H610 is the entry-level chipset with very basic I/O, and no CPU-attached NVMe slots. The interesting thing is that all these chipsets support PCI-Express 5.0 x16 (PEG) from the CPU, but leave it to the motherboard vendors whether they want to implement it. There do exist Z690 motherboard that lack Gen 5 PEG (and only feature Gen 4).

The chipset-attached downstream PCIe also varies greatly across the lineup. The top Z690 part puts out 12 Gen 4 lanes besides 16 Gen 3 lanes; while the H670 puts out 12 each of Gen 4 and Gen 3. The B660 puts out 6 Gen 4 lanes and 8 Gen 3 lanes. The H610 completely lacks downstream Gen 4, and only puts out 8 Gen 3 lanes. The H670 and B660 put out up to two 20 Gbps USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 ports; while the H610 lacks 20 Gbps ports. All chipset models put out at least two 10 Gbps Gen 2x1 ports; and at least four 5 Gbps Gen 1x1 ports. An interesting aspect of the lineup is that Intel is allowing memory overclocking across H670 and B660 chipsets, provided the CPU supports it.

January 4, 2022 could be a date of major product announcements by both AMD and Intel as part of their International CES 2022 plans. Both companies will host virtual press-meets on that day, and are expected to unveil several product lines. AMD could shed more like on its Ryzen "Vermeer-S" Socket AM4 desktop processors, possible updates to its Ryzen 5000 mobile product stack; as well as put out some juicy nuggets of info on its future "Zen 4" processors; while Intel will significantly expand its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" family across both its desktop and mobile segments, along with more info on its Arc "Alchemist" gaming GPU. The AMD event is slated for 8 AM Pacific, while the Intel one goes up two hours later, at 10 AM Pacific. We will be live-blogging both.

Intel's next entry-level processor for the Socket LGA1700 platform is the Core i3-12100. Carved out of the "Alder Lake-S" H0 silicon, this processor features 4 "Golden Cove" performance cores with HyperThreading enabling 8 logical processors, and no E-cores. The processor ticks at 3.30 GHz, with 4.30 GHz Turbo Boost 2.0 frequency. Each of the four cores has 1.25 MB of L2 cache, and they share 12 MB of L3 cache. The i3-12100 gets a Gen12 Xe LP-based iGPU, while a variant of the processor, the i3-12100F, lacks integrated graphics. Intel is rating the processor base power value at 60 W, with 77 W maximum turbo power.

XFastest scored an i3-12100 engineering sample, and wasted no time in comparing it with the Ryzen 3 3300X. The i3-12100 was tested on an ASRock Z690 Steel Legend motherboard that has DDR4 memory slots. 16 GB of dual-channel DDR4-3600 memory and RTX 3060 Ti were used on both the Intel and AMD test-beds. A Ryzen 3 3100 was also used on the AMD side. Right off the bat, we see the i3-12100 take a significant lead over the AMD chips at PCMark, posting a roughly 15% performance lead. Cinebench R23 is another test where the little "Alder Lake" scores big, posting a roughly 26% performance lead in the multi-threaded test, and 27% in the single-threaded test. This is mainly because the 3300X is based on "Zen 2" while the i3-12100 uses the cutting-edge "Golden Cove" cores. AMD hasn't bothered with "Zen 3" based Ryzen 3 desktop processors in the retail market.

Here are some of the first pictures of the 12th Gen Intel Core "Alder Lake" desktop processor models that are expected to join the lineup in January 2022. Intel debuted the series with unlocked "K" and "KF" SKUs, with "locked" SKUs saved for next year. Pictured here are the Core i9-12900, the Core i5-12600, the i5-12500, and the i5-12400. The S-SPEC codes for these processors are SRL4E, SRL4F, SRL4G, and SRL4P, respectively. Our older article details their possible specifications. The lineup isn't limited to these models. Others include the Core i7-12700, and the "F" variants of many of these SKUs, which lack integrated graphics, allowing those with discrete graphics cards to save a little.

Besides these processors, Intel is expected to expand its motherboard chipset options. Currently, Z690 is the only chipset option for the LGA1700 socket. Upcoming chipset models are likely to include the H670, W680, B660, and perhaps even the H610. Intel could use platform I/O for segmentation of these chipsets, besides lack of CPU overclocking support. A big change with the 12th Gen desktop processor lineup concerns Core i5. While the i5-12600K and i5-12600KF feature 6 P-cores and 4 E-cores, the other Core i5 SKUs, including the i5-12600, lack E-cores. The source installed these processors to confirm that the i5-12600 is indeed based on the "H0" silicon and lacks E-cores.

Today, MSI announced the latest lineup of gaming desktops equipped with Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake processor. Based on a new hybrid architecture, the 12th generation Intel Core processor combines a mix of Performance cores (P-cores) and Efficiency cores (E-cores) to maximize performance, increases multi-thread performance by up to 55%, the gaming performance has more than 13% increase compared to the previous generation.

The full lineup of K Series gaming desktops adopted DDR5 memory with read speed up to 60% higher than the previous generation equipped with DDR4. Support for PCIe 5 which is primed to provide speedy and improved transmission. Additionally, MSI has also upgraded MSI Center and MSI App Player. The new MSI Center helps to control and customize your system. With innovation in MSI App Player, it is easier to play mobile games on the PC. The lineup also features 2.5G Ethernet LAN and Wi-Fi 6E to offer faster data transfer speeds. MSI launched 3 models of gamer-oriented desktops, including Aegis Series, Trident Series and Codex X5 series to cater towards all types of gamers.

XPG, today announces free LGA 1700 mounting kit for existing All In One liquid coolers LEVANTE 240 and LEVANTE 360's customers free of charge, offering customers to use their current XPG coolers with the new 12th generation Intel Alder Lake CPUs. Both XPG LEVANTE 240 and LEVANTE 360 are compatible with the new Intel socket LGA 1700, and the new mounting kit will be available free of charge. Customers need to apply to validate on the Customer Support page with the proof of purchase of XPG coolers, 12th generation CPU and/or Motherboard, and XPG Customer Service will contact customers for further instructions. Delivery duration depends on customer's location, and only the materials required for the installation will be shipped.

According to some testing performed by the team behind RPCS3, a free and open-source emulation software for Sony's PlayStation 3, Intel's Alder Lake processors are enjoying a hefty performance boost when E-Cores is disabled. First of all, the Alder Lake processors feature a hybrid configuration with high-performance P-cores and low-power E-cores. The P-cores are based on Golden Cove architecture and can execute AVX-512 instructions with ease. However, the AVX-512 boost is only applicable when E-cores are disabled as software looks at the whole package. Officially, Alder Lake processors don't support AVX-512, as the processor's little E-cores cannot execute AVX-512 instruction.

Thanks to the team behind the RPCS3 emulator, we have some information and tests that suggest that turning E-cores off gives a performance boost to the emulation speed and game FPS. With E-Cores disabled, and only P-cores left, the processor can execute AVX-512 and gets a higher ring ratio. This means that latency in the ring bus is presumably lower. The team benchmarked Intel Core i9-12900K, and Core i9-11900K processors clocked at 5.2 GHz for tests. The Alder Lake chip had disabled E-cores. In God of War: Ascension, the Rocket Lake processor produced 68 FPS, while Alder Lake produced 78 FPS, representing around 15% improvement.

Intel debuted its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop processor family late last month with only the unlocked "K" and "KF" SKUs targeting gamers and PC enthusiasts, alongside only the top Z690 chipset motherboards. The company is preparing to expand the lineup early next year with the addition of at least seven more SKUs (excluding additional "F" variants that lack integrated graphics). These processors could also introduce more value-conscious motherboard chipsets, such as the B660 and H670. momomo_us on Twitter, a reliable source with hardware leaks, predicts specs and a possible mid-January launch date for these chips.

The lineup possibly includes the Core i9-12900 and i9-12900F at the top, followed by the i7-12700 and i7-12700F, and the meaty Core i5 lineup that includes the i5-12600 and i5-12600F; the i5-12500, and the i5-12400/F. At least two Core i3 series SKUs could also be launched. The possible clock-speeds, and L3 cache sizes for the SKUs are tabulated below. What stands out from these SKUs is the specs of the Core i5-12600. We earlier thought it would be based on the larger "C0" silicon, with 6 P-cores and 4 E-cores, but it turns out, that the SKU is based on the smaller "H0" silicon with just 6 P-cores and no E-cores. Read more about the two silicon variants of "Alder Lake-S" in our older article. The i5-12600 will have significantly different performance and energy efficiency numbers than the i5-12600K.

With Intel's Alder Lake processors released, the company introduced a rather interesting concept of mixing high-performance and high-efficiency cores into one design. This hybrid approach combines performance P-cores based on Golden Cove architecture with high-efficiency E-cores based on Gracemont design. While Intel dedicated a lot of effort to optimizing software for Alder Lake, there are sometimes issues that persist when playing older games. At the heart of ADL processors, a thread scheduler decides which task is running on P or E-cores and ensures the best core gets selected for the job.

However, many users know that E-cores can be recognized as another system by DRM software and cause troubles on the latest 12th Generation machines. GIGABYTE has designed a software tool for its Z690 motherboards to fix this issue, which allows on-demand enablement of E-cores. Users can easily "park" or "unpark" E-cores and enable some older game titles to run efficiently with the help of P-cores. This DRM Fix Tool is a lightweight utility that unfortunately runs exclusively on GIGABYTE motherboards. It is less than a megabyte in size and requires no particular installation. However, it is an excellent addition to GIGABYTE's customers, and all that it needs is the latest BIOS update to run. Here you can download the tool, and below, you can see the list of the latest BIOS versions of GIGABYTE Z690 motherboards that support this tool.

Intel is expected to announce their Alder Lake mobile processors in Q1 2022 with rumors and leaks for several of these chips already surfacing. The i7-12700H has recently been spotted running Cinebench on what could possibly be an MSI GE76 Raider 12UH with the results showing impressive performance gains. The processor features six Golden Cove (P) cores and eight Gracemont (E) cores for a total of 14 cores and 20 threads.

The i7-12700H includes a configurable base TDP of 35 W - 45 W and this specific sample was running at a reported base frequency of 2.9 GHz during testing. The processor scored 689 points in Cinebench R20 single-core which places it 12% faster than the Core i9-11950H and 21% faster than AMD's flagship Ryzen 9 5900HX. The processor widens this gap in Cinebench R20 multi-core with a score of 7158 points placing it 47% above the 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen 9 5900HX. We can also see that multi-core performance is 49% faster than the recently released Apple M1 Max in Cinebench R23. AMD is preparing their Ryzen 6000 processors for an early 2022 launch which will be competing with these Alder Lake chips but we have yet to see many performance leaks for them to compare with.

Intel's upcoming lineup of mobile processors with the novel hybrid core technology are codenamed Alder Lake-P. Contrary to the desktop Alder Lake-S, the P variant was envisioned with a lower power budget in mind to fit various form factors. Today, we get to see some of the first benchmarks of the Alder Lake-P processors and get to compare them to AMD's competing products. In the Geekbench 5 listing discovered by BechLeaks, Intel's Core i7-12800H processor with six performance and eight efficiency cores appear. The CPU ran at a base frequency of 2.8 GHz, while Geekbench didn't show boosting clocks in the submission.

The CPU managed to score 1654 points in single-core results and 9618 points in multi-core runs. If we compare this to AMD Ryzen 7 5800H, a direct competitor, the CPU is faster by 25% and 35% in single-core and multi-core results, respectively. If the previous Tiger Lake-H generation is a reference, the Alder Lake-P chip manages 12% and 20% higher single-core and multi-core scores. This specific processor is part of the GIGABYTE AORUS 15 YE4 laptop used for the Geekbench 5 benchmark test run.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, announces the brand-new RACING Z690GTA motherboard. Enter the battlefield in confidence with BIOSTAR's renowned RACING series Z690GTA motherboard. Designed based on the Intel Z690 chipset with the latest LGA1700 socket, the new RACING Z690GTA motherboard is the best choice to run the latest Intel 12th gen Alder Lake processors.

Carrying forward the legacy of its predecessors the new RACING Z690GTA motherboard looks and feels otherworldly. Style, power, and grace packed in an exciting new armor design; the motherboard is tastefully designed to make any PC build stand out from the rest. Featuring a 17-phase power design and Active cooling armor gear with fins heat sink, BIOSTAR has actively focused on stable power management and heat dissipation this year, greatly enhancing the performance and durability of its components.

A rather big chunk of Intel Core i5-12400 "Alder Lake" engineering samples (ES) hit eBay. The i5-12400 is an upcoming mid-range processor Intel is planning to release in Q1-2022. The 6-core/12-thread processor only features 6 "Golden Cove" performance cores, and lacks Efficiency cores (which is probably a good thing for gamers). Each of the six cores has 1.25 MB of L2 cache, while they share an 18 MB L3 cache.

VideoCardz warns that the ES chips out in the wild could be riddled with compatibility issues with Z690 motherboards that are in the market. Apparently, there are two revisions of i5-12400 unreleased doing rounds, C0 and B0, with the former being a QS or qualification sample, and the latter an ES or engineering sample. The two differ in maximum boost frequency—4.40 GHz vs. 4.00 GHz. They also differ with S-SPEC codes of QXDY and QYHX. Even with production versions of firmware and Intel ME, retail Z690 motherboards don't seem to guarantee compatibility with these samples. You are probably better off waiting for retail versions of these chips.

The ASUS PRIME B660-PLUS D4 has allegedly been inadvertently sent instead of an ASUS Z690 motherboard to a reviewer for Alder Lake testing. The reviewer provided images of the product packaging to VideoCardz which clearly show a label indicating PCIe 4.0 support. This has come as a surprise as the Intel 12th Generation Alder Lake processors include attached PCIe 5.0 lanes separate from the chipset. The B660 chipset will target the mid-range market so the lack of PCIe 5.0 support on this specific motherboard may be a cost-cutting or artificial separation measure.

The first consumer PCIe 5.0 graphics cards and SSDs aren't expected to arrive until H1 2022 and will likely come at a significant premium so the exclusion of support could make sense for a more budget-oriented platform. Intel is also preparing to launch a higher-end H670 chipset which is expected to include PCIe 5.0 support. We cannot be sure if this label is accurate and if the lack of PCIe 5.0 support will apply to all B660 motherboards so take these rumors with a healthy dose of skepticism until the chipset and motherboards are officially unveiled.

EK, is now offering an EK-AIO LGA1700 upgrade kit for the new Intel LGA1700 socket, accommodating Intel Alder Lake processors. In light of reusability initiatives, EK is offering future and pre-existing customers an option to reuse the EK-AIO line of closed-loop coolers for new/upcoming CPUs. The EK-AIO LGA1700 upgrade kit is designed to offer optimal coverage of the CPU's IHS for all EK-AIO models. It includes a metal backplate, a rubber gasket, screws, washers, and thermal paste.

The EK-AIO LGA1700 upgrade kit is available in EK Webshop for free (Shipping fees are covered by the customer) and is limited to one piece per order. There is no need for proof of purchase or an invoice for an EK-AIO. If any customer requires this upgrade kit for multiple PCs, please reach out directly to our customer support team. The upgrade kit will also be available on multiple marketplaces and with select Europe and APAC-based resellers in the following weeks.

A couple of days ago, GIGABYTE boasted with an overclocking record made using one of the company's motherboards. Allegedly, the company has achieved a world record of Alder Lake overclocking, causing the CPU to go up to 8 GHz frequency. However, such a claim was rather sketchy, according to the CPU-Z developer "Doc TB." In the later investigation, he concluded that the submission took advantage of a false reporting algorithm that gave HiCookie and GIGABYTE a chance to submit a world record as validated by the CPU-Z validator program. Further investigation concluded that the program reported incorrect numbers, and GIGABYTE's world record of 8 GHz on Alder Lake had been made invalid as of now.

The CPU-Z validation team is working hard to update the validation algorithm and make it more challenging for false submissions to appear valid. One interesting thing to point out is that HiCookie and GIGABYTE have already attempted to post false records with the launch of AMD's Ryzen 5000 series of processors, where they claimed that the CPU managed to reach 6,362.16 MHz, where in reality it was running at 5,683.94 MHz. This overclocker submitted those faulty results to HWBot as fake at the time and has now done it again.

With Intel's Alder Lake processor generation launch, the platform merges support of two different DDR memory standards: DDR4 and DDR5. While there are motherboards that offer the latest DDR5 standard, there are boards that provide users to use the cheaper DDR4 memory option in their builds as we transition to the newer standard and newer memory becomes more available. The DDR5 products are currently on the expensive side, and DDR4 represents a good choice for creating a PC build in the following years, at least in the transition to DDR5 standard's better availability and lower prices.

According to Moore's Law is Dead Twitter account, the DDR4 support may reside for a little longer on Intel's platforms. As per their sources, Intel's 13th generation Core processors, codenamed Raptor Lake, will carry over DDR4 platform support and possibly retain compatibility with the 12th generation Alder Lake platform. That means that the Z690 and future H670/B660/H610 boards could be compatible with Raptor Lake-S and also carry support for the DDR4 memory protocol for it. This could indicate that Alder Lake-S buyers that build PCs with DDR4 memory could have a viable processor upgrade path without upgrading the memory. Of course, information like this should be taken with a grain of salt.

Performance reviews of the Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" processors are out, and spell big trouble for AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors at their current prices. Until the company can refresh these processors, it must content with price-cuts. Early signs of these are already out. American retailer Micro Center just put out a sub-$300 price for the Ryzen 7 5800X, at $299. Prices of the Ryzen 9 5900X and Ryzen 5 5600X remain unchanged, at $500 and $280, respectively, but it's only conceivable that these too will change. At current prices, the Core i7-12700K offers 15% higher performance per Dollar than the Ryzen 7 5800X.

For those who do not familiar with PC DIY users, MSI also offers pre-built systems. The only thing that customers should worry about is what games you should play and MSI will take over the rest parts. MSI desktop line-up fully implements the concept of G.A.M.E. unlimited into the products, including performance, aesthetics, connectivity, and experience. A prebuild PC user only just enjoys the plug-and-play experience, the rest of the software and hardware integrated MSI will help you to complete the processing, while you get the product.

The new MSI gaming desktops are equipped with Intel's latest 12th Gen Alder Lake processors. The advanced Intel 7 process technology with hybrid architecture combining P-Core (Performance) and E-Core (Efficiency) increases multi-thread performance by up to 47%. The gaming performance also has more than 13% increase compared to the previous generation. The full lineup of K Series gaming desktops adopted DDR5 memory with read speed up to 60% higher than the previous generation equipped with DDR4. This can provide players with faster data reading. In addition, the MSI 12th Gen gaming desktops are all equipped with Windows 11. The Direct Storage technology can help players quickly read the games while the Auto HDR function can even improve SDR game scenes to HDR quality. This time MSI launched the all new 12th Gen Series Intel unlocked processors models including MEG Aegis Ti5, MEG Trident X and MAG Codex X5. All of these models embody the G.A.M.E. Unlimited sprit to bring gamers to the new era of gaming.

PNY today announces specifications and availability for its upcoming Desktop Performance and XLR8 Gaming DDR5 memory products. The three models include the overclocked XLR8 Gaming MAKO and MAKO RGB models, running at 5600 MHz and a CAS latency of 36, as well as the PNY Performance model that follows JEDEC standards.

The XLR8 Gaming MAKO and MAKO RGB modules have been designed to meet the needs of gamers and enthusiasts. The designs for both modules feature aluminium heat spreaders with elements inspired by the powerful, fast and aggressive Mako shark from which they get their name. An XLR8 logo and GAMING text is proudly emblazoned on the side of the module and silver angled relief lines are machined into the heatspreader to reflect other components' lighting and provide unmatched flair and style.

The launch of Intel's Alder Lake processsors has opened an exciting chapter for team blue and motherboard makers who are finally transitioning to new technologies like DDR5 and PCIe Gen5 standards. Today, GIGABYTE AORUS has prepared a complete lineup of motherboards designed to satisfy all kinds of workloads powered by Alder Lake processors as these AORUS Z690 motherboards are about to hit the market. These new boards include an upgraded feature set like 16+ phases power delivery on all boards, upgraded heatsinks to keep VRM temperatures under control, and built-in DDR5 overclocking features.

The event will be live-streamed on YouTube, so tune in to the First Look Event as the AORUS team gives an in-depth overview and cover the performance increase you can experience with Intel 12th gen CPU and DDR5 memory on the AORUS Z690 platform. They will be going over the new platform's entire lineup and feature set, so make sure you get to the event on time. It will start at 18:00 UTC zone, and you can tune in to watch here: AORUS Z690 First Look Event.

We're ready for the launch of Intel's 12th Gen Core processor, Alder Lake! We can announce that almost the entire current Alphacool range of CPU coolers and CPU AIOs are compatible with the LGA socket 1700. A mounting kit included in the scope of delivery enables immediate use on Intel's LGA 1700 socket. The compatible CPU blocks include: Eisblock XPX, Eisblock XPX Pro Aurora, Eisblock XPX Aurora, Eisbaer (Solo), Eisbaer LT (Solo), Eisblock XPX 1U, Eisblock XPX Pro 1U, Eisblock Aurora XP³, and NexXxoS XP³. The compatible AIO coolers include: Eisbaer, Eisbaer Aurora, Eisbaer Extreme, Eisbaer LT, and Eisbaer Pro Aurora. The complete list can be found below.

Cooler Master announces today it will be providing mounting upgrades for Intel's Alder Lake LGA1700 release. Cooler Master will provide mounting kits for Intel's new 12th Generation Alder Lake LGA1700 CPUs, allowing customers to use existing coolers with the new platform. Additionally, Cooler Master's current coolers will soon include LGA1700 mounting hardware directly out of box.

The LGA1700 mounting kits will be provided for the majority of current coolers on market with the launch of LGA1700 CPUs and motherboards. The LGA1700 brackets will be available from Cooler Master's online store for North America and Europe regions and customers. Brackets will be available for North America customers on the online store.