DDR5 memory pricing has been declining faster than expected, with average pricing for modules based on the latest standard dropping by as much as 20% in a month's time. As reported by ComputerBase, pricing for 1 GB of DDR5 has fallen from around €15 by the end of 2021 down to around €5/GB at time of writing. At current pricing, an entry-level, 32 GB DDR5 kit DDR5-4800 memory (JEDEC standard) has fallen from a high of €430 down to a much more palatable €154.

The price decline comes as good news for anyone aiming to upgrade their PC in wake of AMD's Socket AM5 launch for its Zen 4 architecture, which the company has already confirmed will only support the latest RAM standard. AMD itself must be riding the sea of relief, as high DDR5 pricing could significantly shape the company's next-gen platform's value compared to arch-rival Intel, which already offers DDR4 and DDR5 support with its Alder Lake chips. Expectations place the same memory support for the next-gen Raptor Lake platform. Prices for DDR4 memory seem to have hit a bottom, however, as pricing hasn't significantly moved in around six months. Like with all new technologies, expect the price difference to eventually change in favor of DDR5 memory, as manufacturers adjust their outputs towards adoption.

Just under a month ago, ASUS posted a teaser for its first internal SSD, the ROG Strix SQ7 and now the company has finally released the full specs. It is indeed based around the 12 nm Phison E18 controller, as predicted by our Editor-In-Chief, something he spotted from the sneak peek picture. Although ASUS didn't specifically mention what kind of flash the drive is using, they kindly left the flash model number visible in one of its pictures of the drive. Although the full model name isn't visible, enough of it is visible to identify it as Micron's 176-layer TLC flash. The ROG Strix SQ7 also sports a DDR4 cache, as expected, although ASUS doesn't mention clock speeds.

ASUS claims the drive will deliver sequential read speeds of up to 7000 MB/s and write speeds of up to 6000 MB/s, which places the ROG Strix SQ7 in direct competition with several other Phison E18 based high-end drives from the likes of Kingston, MSI, Sabrent and others. Unfortunately, ASUS doesn't mention IOPS or random performance, although an unspecified "large" SLC cache is mentioned. Other features include TGC Opal and AES 256-bit encryption. ASUS also provides its own SSD dashboard, which of course is ROG branded, but looks like a skinned version of Phison's standard SSD dashboard, rather than something custom made. ASUS also provides a copy of NTI Backup Now EZ software and the drives appear to have a five year warranty. ASUS mentions PS5 compatibility outside of the PC space. No word on pricing or retail availability was provided and so far ASUS has only listed a 1 TB model.

Many companies, including Intel and AMD, have stopped product shipments to Russia amidst the war in Ukraine in the past few months. This has left the Russian state without any new processors from the two prominent x86 designers, thus slowing down the country's technological progress. To overcome this issue, it seems like the solution is embedded in the Chinese Zhaoxin x86 CPUs. According to the latest report from Habr, a motherboard designer called Dannie is embedding Chinese Zhaoxin x86 CPUs into motherboards to provide the motherland with an x86-capable processor. More precisely, the company had designed a BX-Z60A micro-ATX motherboard that embeds Zhaoxin's KaiXian KX-6640MA SoC with eight cores based on LuJiaZui microarchitecture. The SoC is clocked at a frequency range of 2.1-2.7 GHz, carries 4 MB of L2 cache, 16 lanes of PCIe 3.0, and has integrated graphics, all in a 25 Watt TDP.

As far as the motherboard is concerned, it supports two DDR4 memory slots, two PCIe x16 connectors, M.2-2280 and M.2-2230 slots, and three SATA III connectors for storage. For I/O you have USB ports, DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA/D-Sub, GbE, 3.5-mm audio, and additional PS/2 ports. This is a pretty decent selection; however, we don't know the pricing structure. A motherboard with KaiXian KX-6640MA SoC like this is certainly not cheap, so we are left to wonder if this will help Russian users deal with the newly imposed restriction on importing US tech.

Lexar, is excited to announce the launch of the new Lexar ARES DDR5 OC Desktop Memory and ARES DDR4 RGB Desktop Memory. ARES DDR5 OC Memory is designed for PC enthusiasts, gamers, overclockers and creatives while optimized on the latest Intel Core processor. ARES DDR4 RGB Memory enhances your PC with vibrant RGB lighting and blazing-fast DDR4 overclocked performance for an elevated gaming experience.

The Lexar ARES DDR5 OC Desktop Memory leverages next-gen DDR5 technology designed for the latest Intel Core processors platform and supports Intel XMP 3.02. With speeds of 5200, it provides more than 1.6x the bandwidth than that of DDR4. So whether you're operating speed-demanding video games, video editing software, or processing intensive workloads, the Lexar ARES DDR5 OC Memory enables you to experience superior DDR5 performance.

Sabrent Rocket 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB DDR5-UDIMM's 4800 MHz Memory Modules for PC's. It seems like DDR4 has ruled the roost forever. Finally, new motherboards and architectures have allowed memory to grow wings with the advent of DDR5. Improved clock speeds promise up to twice the bandwidth of DDR4, all with lower voltage for better efficiency. To further help with that last bit, DDR5 has on-board power management to reduce motherboard cost and complexity. Sabrent's new DDR5 kits simply plug and play, install your memory kits of choice, enter the BIOS and hit AUTO, and reboot. For those that want to OC these kits, there is plenty of headroom to advance speeds if you want.

Reliability has also been improved by the introduction of on-die error-correction technology. Memory availability is improved by splitting the internal 64-bit (72-bit with ECC) channel into two independent, 32-bit channels (40-bit with ECC) and the addition of the same bank refresh. Combined with other features, including those that allow for up to four times the module capacity with consumer DRAM, DDR5 ensures your multi-core CPU won't be memory starved.

AMD today announced the Ryzen 5000C line of mobile processors for Chromebooks. This is the company's second generation of Chromebook-specific processors after the Ryzen 3000C series based on the original "Zen" microarchitecture. The 5000C series chips are based on "Zen 3," with CPU core counts of up to 8-core, and hence present a big leap in performance over the 3000C series, along with a complete suite of the latest connectivity, display technology, and security and management features specific to Chrome OS.

The Ryzen 5000C series is based on the 7 nm "Cezanne" monolithic silicon. The chip physically features an 8-core/16-thread CPU based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, with 16 MB of shared L3 cache; an iGPU based on the Vega graphics architecture, with 8 compute units (512 stream processors), a dual-channel DDR4 or LPDDR4/x memory interface, and unlike the conventional Ryzen 5000-series mobile processors, these chips come with a special microcode to match the security and management features of Chrome OS. AMD also supplies Chromebook vendors with timely driver updates for the various components on these chips.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today introduces their brand new B660M-SILVER motherboard. Top shelf performance packed in a compact uATX form-factor, BIOSTAR's new B660M-SILVER motherboard is ready to take the market by storm. Designed based on Intel's B660 chipset, the B660M- SILVER carries unparalleled compatibility with all the latest Intel 12th gen processors.

Highly suitable for content creators, casual gamers, or as a solid base for a daily driver pc, the new B660M-SILVER motherboard is a jack of all trades, built to cater to a broad use spectrum. Carrying BIOSTAR's signature SILVER range styling and added RGB customizability, the B660M-SILVER motherboard makes any build look special.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today unveil their brand-new iMiner 660MX8D2 prebuilt mining rig. Designed with superior mining capability in a plug & play mining solution, BIOSTAR's new iMiner 660MX8D2 system brings maximum performance on a stable platform.

Built on top of BIOSTAR's TB360-BTC D+ motherboard, the new iMiner 660MX8D2 comes equipped with 8 AMD RX6600 series GPUs capable of executing an ETH hash rate of 248 MH/s (±5%)(Windows OS). With an operational capability of mining all major cryptocurrencies, such as ETH, ETC, RVN, ERG, etc.., the iMiner 660MX8D2 carries blockchain-grade hardware with BIOSTAR's superior product quality and capability.

AMD is preparing to launch its highly-anticipated AM5 socket for the next generation of motherboards. And today, thanks to the sources over at Tom's Hardware, we have information regarding memory support for B650 and X670 motherboards. According to the report, both B650 and X670 chipsets will limit the user's memory option to the latest DDR5 memory standard, making it impossible for users with already existing DDR4 memory to perform a seamless upgrade to a new platform. So far, we don't have a lot of details about Zen4's integrated memory controller, and we can't be certain if it supports DDR5 only or carries legacy DDR4 support. However, it seems like B650 and X670 motherboards will have no plans to enable the DDR4 standard memory usage.

Additionally, the report confirms that the B650 chipset is connected to the AM5 socket via PCIe 4.0 x4 connection and has eight lanes of PCIe 4.0 (four of which are for M.2 SSD), four SATA, and lots of USB ports. Documents suggest that the chipset-socket connection is available using PCIe 5.0 for some AM5 processors, so we have to wait and see how it works. As far as high-end X670 is concerned, this chipset is a combination of two chipset dies, presumably a combination of two B650 modules. This doesn't work as the older north/southbridge type of a solution but rather doubled connectivity of a single B650 chipset. We have to wait for the official launch to confirm this information.

ORIGIN PC, a leader in custom high-performance systems, today announced the availability of its latest thin and light laptops. With ORIGIN PC's newly upgraded flagship systems, the EVO17-S and NT-17, as well as the addition of two brand new laptops to its lineup of world-class systems - the EVO14-S and NT-14 - gamers can play with power and portability. The EVO17-S is a performance powerhouse, equipped with an Intel Core i9-12900H 14-core processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and support for up to 64 GB of DDR5 DRAM, while a 240 Hz QHD screen displays all your games in stunning detail. With this combination of hardware pushing laptop gaming to entirely new heights, ORIGIN PC reaffirms its dedication to exceptional mobile performance.

The EVO17-S, EVO15-S, NT-17, and NT-15 systems feature massive hardware upgrades to meet the growing demands of users. For those looking for an expanded display, Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI ports can connect up to two additional monitors. Weighing in at only 2.4 pounds, the new EVO14-S and NT-14 serve to provide users the incredible power of an ORIGIN PC system with the maximum portability benefits of a laptop. These 14" display systems can be further upgraded by adding an external GPU, connecting up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 or NVIDIA RTX A6000 for top-tier desktop graphics performance.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, unveils the brand-new Z690A-SILVER motherboard. Designed to unleash the maximum potential of Intel Alder Lake Z690 chipset, the Z690A-SILVER motherboard brings shiny new features to your desktop, packed with raw unhindered potential.

PCIe 5.0 takes center stage on the Z690A-SILVER motherboard, with data transfer rates reaching 128 Gb/s. Extract maximum performance from the latest graphics cards with PCIe 5.0 backed by Intel's all-powerful 12th gen processors. Take your gaming to the next level with BIOSTAR's all new Z690A-SILVER motherboard. The Z690A-SILVER motherboard supports up to 4 DIMMs of high-speed DDR4 RAMs capable of overclocking numbers exceeding 5000+MHz (O.C). Furthermore, features like PCIe M.2 4.0, USB 3.2 GEN2 TYPE-A, and C bring excellent utility for users.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, introduces the F2-423 2-Bay NAS and F4-423 4-Bay NAS. The F2-423 and F4-423 high-performance NAS products are designed for small- and medium-sized businesses. Both deliver exceptional performance with its faster quad-core processor and larger memory support compared to the previous generation F2-422 and F4-422 NAS.

The TerraMaster F2-423 and F4-423 NAS devices are equipped with an Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 quad-core processor with a maximum burst frequency of 2.90 GHz. Both are equipped with 4 GB DDR4 SODIMM memory, expandable up to 32 GB memory (2x 16 GB). The F2-423 and F4-423 supports 20 TB HDDs, supporting up to 40 TB (2x 20 TB) and 80 TB (4x 20 TB) of maximum internal raw storage capacity respectively. Both NAS units also comes with two M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 slots that support NVMe SSDs for SSD caching or for M.2 Wi-Fi modules.

AMD's first desktop processor with DDR5 memory support, the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael," based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture, will come with a design focus on DDR5 memory overclocking capabilities, with the company claiming that the processors will be capable of handling DDR5 memory clock speeds "you maybe thought couldn't be possible," according to Joseph Tao who is a Memory Enabling Manager at AMD.

Tao stated: "Our first DDR5 platform for gaming is our Raphael platform and one of the awesome things about Raphael is that we are really gonna try to make a big splash with overclocking and I'll just kinda leave it there but speeds that you maybe thought couldn't be possible, may be possible with this overclocking spec." We are hearing reports of AMD innovating a new overclocking standard for DDR5 memory, which it calls RAMP (Ryzen Accelerated Memory Profile), which it is positioning as a competing standard to Intel's XMP 3.0 spec.

XanxoGaming has finally released its complete set of benchmarks for the AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D and it's been tested against an Intel Core i9-12900KF. This time both platforms are tested using an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti and four times 8 GB of 3200 MHz CL14 DDR4 memory. The only difference appears to be the OS drive, motherboard and cooling, although both systems rely on a 360 mm AIO cooler. Both systems were running Windows 10 21H2. The site has a full breakdown of the components used for those interested in the exact details.

The two platforms were tested in 11 different games at 720p and 1080p. To spoil the excitement, it's a dead race between the two CPUs in most games at 1080p, with Intel being ahead by about 1-3 FPS in the games where AMD loses out. However, in the games AMD takes the lead, it's by a good 10 FPS or more, with games like the Witcher 3 and Final Fantasy XV seeing an advantage of 40-50 FPS. AMD often has an advantage when it comes to the one percent low numbers, even when Intel is ahead when it comes to the average FPS, but this doesn't apply to all of the games. It's worth keeping in mind that the Intel CPU should gain extra performance when paired with DDR5 memory in some of these games, but we'll have to wait for more reviews to see by how much. The benchmarks displayed are mostly the games TPU normally tests with, but aren't the entirety of games tested by XanxoGaming.

Sabrent Rocket 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM 3200 MHz Memory Module for laptop, Ultrabook, and mini-PC. Expand your horizons with Sabrent Rocket DDR4 memory. Your favorite SSD company wants to make sure the rest of your system feels responsive, too. We provide affordable, high-capacity DRAM options to make sure you never feel left behind. Our passion for memory matches your desire to exceed the limits of your imagination. Our design is tight and cool, making sure never to get in the way of your dreams.

Running out of memory? Providing up to 32 GB of memory per stick, Sabrent's Rocket DDR4 has all your needs covered. You're just a single upgrade away from a lag-free experience. Don't let your lack of memory slow you down - realize the potential to multi-task like never before. Our DRAM will improve your productivity and your gaming experience, all at the same time.

If you are planning to buy a new PC for gaming, MSI MAG META 5 5E is a budget-friendly choice. The MAG META 5 5E is MSI's first full AMD solution gaming desktop. It comes with a Ryzen 7 5800X CPU based on the Zen 3 architecture and AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT that ensures gaming performance thanks to AMD Smart Access Memory Technology. Up to 64 GB of DDR4 RAM can be installed so you will be able to handle gaming and productivity tasks. It comes with up to one M.2 SSD, two 2.5" and two 3.5" slots allowing for utilizing mass storage and faster data access.

As for the thermal solution, the MAG META 5 5E can be configured with an air cooler or liquid cooler. It draws air in from the side and allows plenty of air through the rear and top of the case. There's also additional space for installing fans to bring air through the system. The MAG META 5 5E has RGB strips running along with the front panel and has an interchangeable tempered glass side panel. Users can showcase their style and configuration with an unlimited spectrum of color and dynamic RGB lighting through MSI Mystic Light.

According to TrendForce forecasts, average overall DRAM pricing in 2Q22 will drop by approximately 0~5%, due to marginally higher buyer and seller inventories coupled with the demand for products such as PCs, laptops, and smart phones being influenced in the short-term by the Russian-Ukrainian war and high inflation weakening consumer purchasing power. At present, the only remaining source of demand is on the server side, so overall DRAM stocks will remain oversupplied in 2Q22.

In terms of PC DRAM, PC OEMs are adopting a conservative stocking strategy for orders in 2Q22 due to the Russian-Ukrainian war, which may continue affecting orders during peak season in 2H22, and revising 2022 shipment targets downwards. Additionally, the overall supply of bits is still growing, so the PC DRAM price slump in 2Q22 will further expand to 3~8% and may continue to deteriorate.

TerraMaster, a professional brand that specializes in providing innovative storage products for home, businesses and enterprises, introduces the T12-423 12-bay professional compact NAS. Designed for small-sized and medium-sized businesses, the T12-423 comes equipped with a more powerful and efficient Intel Celeron quad-core processor for high-speed transmission and virtualization applications.

The TerraMaster T12-423 has 12 bays that support 3.5" HDDs and 2.5" SSD/HDDs, up to 240 TB of internal raw storage capacity. It has two M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs for SSD caching. This TNAS comes with 8 GB DDR4 SODIMM memory, upgradeable up to 32 GB (2x 16 GB) with its two SODIMM slots. It is also equipped with two 2.5GbE NICs with Link Aggregation support.

[Editor's note: We have posted our HYTE Y60 review here.]

HYTE, the new PC components, peripherals, and lifestyle brand of iBUYPOWER, today launched the new Y60 mid-tower PC case. Taking a new angle on design, the Y60 boasts a style unlike any other case available on the market.

The uniquely constructed Y60 ATX case features a three-part, bezel-less, tempered glass front and side panel that provides an unobstructed internal view from a left, right, or center orientation. When the glass panels are removed, chamfered molding on the ceiling and floor of the case draw the eye inward, creating a modern aesthetic and allowing the system to be displayed in an open-air format. Users will have the option to choose from three colorways, white and black, black and black, and red and black, to best fit the aesthetic of their setup.

In celebration of Pi Day, OnLogic, a global industrial computing manufacturer and solution provider known for their reliable, orange industrial PCs, has announced that their new Factor 201 Raspberry Pi-powered device is available for pre-order. In addition, they've released more details about the next model in the Factor 200 Series, the Factor 202. Both devices are powered by the Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4, which was developed specifically for industrial products.

"We're delighted that OnLogic has chosen to develop the Factor 201 around Raspberry Pi. Using Raspberry Pi Compute Module 4 with their custom-designed carrier boards and industrial enclosure has allowed OnLogic to offer their customers flexible and reliable solutions, and we see Raspberry Pi hardware being increasingly widely adopted in industry with products like this one," said Gordon Hollingworth, Chief Product Officer at Raspberry Pi Ltd.

The Polish brand of commercial and industrial memory products is expanding the offer of industrial DDR4 memory modules with another model.
DDR4 SODIMM with the part number GR4S32G320D8I is a memory with a capacity of 32 GB and a speed of 3200 MHz, which allows it to be successfully used in embedded systems with a high demand for computing power. Such requirements are reported, among others, by cloud solutions, virtualization, and AI. The compact form factor of SODIMM modules allows to use an exceptionally large RAM capacity (up to 2x 32 GB) in systems based on the smallest motherboards from the ITX family (nano, pico, and micro - ITX). The DDR4 GR4S32G320D8I is intended to operate in a wide temperature range. This means the memories are designed to work in applications exposed to variable environmental conditions between -40°C and +85°C. The manufacturer also offers a version of the module for the range from 0 to +85°C.

Nextorage Corporation will launch a PCIe Gen 4.0 x4 ("PCIe 4.0") M.2 2280 NVMe SSD "NEM-PA series" for the USA market from March. The products are initially sold on Amazon. Nextorage was established on October 1, 2019, as a company specializing in the memory storage solutions business led by engineers and staff who built on 20 years of history in memory storage at Sony.

The NEM-PA series is an M.2 2280 SSD equipped with a PCIe 4.0 / NVMe 1.4 controller and a 3D TLC NAND, and comes with a heatsink for heat dissipation. The drive achieves sequential read up to 7,300 MB/s, sequential write up to 6,900 MB/s, and random read/write up to 1,000 K IOPS (in a PC environment). The NEM-PA series delivers both high-speed loading and smooth gaming experience.

ASRock Industrial launches a new range of industrial motherboards powered by 12th Gen Intel Core Processors (Alder Lake-S) with up to 16 cores and 24 threads, supporting the new Intel 600 Series W680, Q670, and H610 chipsets. Featuring high computing power with performance hybrid architecture and enhanced AI capabilities, rich IOs and expansions for up to quad displays 4K@60 Hz, USB 3.2 Gen2x2 (20 Gbit/s), triple Intel 2.5 GbE LANs with real-time TSN, multi M.2 Key M, ECC memory, plus TPM 2.0, and wide voltage support. The new series covers comprehensive form factors, including industrial Mini-ITX, Micro-ATX, and ATX motherboards for diverse applications, such as factory automation, kiosks, digital signage, smart cities, medical, and Edge AIoT applications.

AMD today launched its first Ryzen Threadripper processors based on the "Zen 3" microarchitecture, with the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 5000WX series. Designed to be drop-in compatible with workstations and motherboards based on the AMD WRX80 chipset, these processors come in core-counts of up to 64-core/128-thread, with an enormous I/O offering that includes 8-channel DDR4 memory with ECC support, and a 128-lane PCI-Express 4.0 root complex. The biggest change over the previous generation Threadripper PRO 3000WX series has to be the use of "Zen 3" CCDs, each with 8 CPU cores, sharing a common 32 MB of L3 cache. AMD isn't using the "Zen 3" chiplets with 3DV Cache.

The full AMD PRO management feature-set from Ryzen PRO is available on these processors, including PRO Security, PRO Management, and a special support channel that includes planned parts and software availability. What's more, AMD has been working with ISVs of most professional content-creation software since the past generation of Ryzen Threadripper PRO, to optimize their software for the processors (high core-counts, NUMA topology, etc.). The benefits of these are shared with all generations of Threadrippers. Although all parts in the Threadripper PRO 5000WX series are rated for a TDP of 280 W, AMD claims to have worked on power-management, offering up to 67 percent lower power per core, compared to the competition (2P Xeon Scalable Platinum 8280).

Chinese motherboard maker ONDA released the first Intel Socket LGA1700 motherboard that features both DDR4 and DDR5 memory support—something we learned quite early on that Intel either isn't allowing or is "discouraging" motherboard vendors to do. The ONDA H610M+ is based on the entry-level Intel H610 chipset, and is an otherwise basic-looking motherboard. The memory sub-system is interesting.

While the board supports both DDR5 and DDR4, there's only one of each slots, so you're limited to single-channel, and like every motherboard from the past that supported multiple memory types; you can't use the DDR5 and DDR4 slots at the same time. The board runs DDR4 at a maximum frequency of DDR4-3200, and the DDR5 slot at DDR5-4800 (max). That's not all, the board is quite possibly the only H610 chipset-based motherboard with a Gen 5 PCI-Express x16 slot (every other H610 board we've come across has Gen 4, to keep costs low). PCIe Gen 5 is allowed for the H610 platform. Another interesting bit is the M.2 E-key slot, so you can drop in a WLAN module. It's likely that this board will only be available in the Chinese market.