News Archive
Tuesday, February 28th 2023
Today's Reviews
Article
Audio
FiiO, via its budget-focused sister brand Jade Audio, updates the popular Q1 portable DAC/amplifier with the new Q11 that uses a large integrated battery to drive more demanding headphones than competitors do in this price range. It offers 3.5 / 4.4 mm connectors in addition to using RGB indicator LEDs for both function and form alike.
NVIDIA has leveraged their expertise in neural networks and deep learning to release an interesting new feature with their R530 driver branch, an AI video stream upscaler designed to take advantage of RTX Tensor Cores when playing video content within Chromium based browsers. Our previous
news article on RTX Video Super Resolution (VSR) covered the release of Chrome 110 stable, which included support for this technology. The latest version of Microsoft Edge, based on Chromium, also officially supports RTX VSR. Owners of NVIDIA RTX graphics cards may have been puzzled by exactly how to enable this feature however, either in Chrome 110 or in the NVIDIA Control Panel, since the relevant 'NvidiaVpSuperResolution' setting is enabled by default within Chrome, but the required accompanying driver has only just been released, three weeks later.
The Biden-Harris Administration through the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology today launched the first CHIPS for America funding opportunity for manufacturing incentives to restore U.S. leadership in semiconductor manufacturing, support good-paying jobs across the semiconductor supply chain, and advance U.S. economic and national security.
As part of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, the Department of Commerce is overseeing $50 billion to revitalize the U.S. semiconductor industry, including $39 billion in semiconductor incentives. The first funding opportunity seeks applications for projects to construct, expand, or modernize commercial facilities for the production of leading-edge, current-generation, and mature-node semiconductors. This includes both front-end wafer fabrication and back-end packaging. The Department will also be releasing a funding opportunity for semiconductor materials and equipment facilities in the late spring, and one for research and development facilities in the fall.
Fellowes, a family-owned company providing trusted workplace solutions for 106 years, is proud to announce the launch of Rising monitor arms. Blurring the line between form and function, and refusing to compromise on either, Fellowes created a monitor arm system that places a higher emphasis on design and aesthetics, redefining the monitor arm as a piece of functional beauty that enhances any workspace.
Rising is the most comprehensive range of monitor arms on the market and are meticulously designed to combine unparalleled, sophisticated construction with no-hassle installation and superior functionality to bring higher performance and improved aesthetics to workplaces. Rising monitor arms are available in a multitude of elevated design and finish options, with standard, in-trend and premium finishes all carefully curated to enhance any space.
Nokia has today launched the Beacon 10, its first gateway supporting Wi-Fi 6E to provide seamless, high-capacity mesh networking. The Beacon 10 is a true tri-band device which can provide Wi-Fi throughput of 10 Gbps. It includes a 10G WAN interface to pair with 10 Gb/second fiber modems for multi-gigabit services to the home. The new gateway is shown for the first time at Mobile World Congress, Barcelona.
Widespread roll-out of 10G fiber powered by XGS-PON requires upgrades to home and business Wi-Fi to deliver super high speeds to enabled devices. The 'E' in Wi-Fi 6E means faster speeds and lower latencies, ideal for the latest office applications, home entertainment and home working experiences.
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, announced today that GIGABYTE X670, B650 motherboard lineup with advanced configuration provides a perfect match for the latest AMD Raphael X3D processors with 3D V-Cache technology. This match delivers remarkable improvements on gaming performance for building ultimate gaming systems.
AMD first launched 3D V-Cache technology on Ryzen 7 5800X3D processors in 2022 and made it one of the best gaming CPUs. Now AMD brings 3D V-Cache technology to Zen 4 and introduces AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and upcoming Ryzen 7 7800X3D processors with superior gaming performance. This new generation 3D V-Cache CPUs with more cores also raise L3 cache up to 128 MB, and boost gaming performance thanks to the extra 64 MB cache of 3D V-Cache.
MSI announced today a new lineup of AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology that will be compatible with all MSI's X670 and B650 motherboards. The new AMD Ryzen processors include the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X3D which will have a TDP of 120 W while increasing its L3 Cache by 50% compared to the regular Ryzen 7000 processors. Even with a slightly lower TDP of 120 W, these AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology processors have up to 16 cores and 32 threads while still being able to hit their theoretical max boost clock of up to 5.70 GHz.
With the latest AGESA COMBO PI-1.0.0.5c BIOS from MSI will be ready and have the most performance-optimized patch for the new AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology. However, previous BIOS versions are still compatible with any MSI's X670 and B650 motherboards as well. With the latest launch of AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D and Ryzen 9 7900X3D processors, MSI is proud to announce the MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI to our AMD Series lineup of the motherboard and will support all AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors at launch. Inspired by military concept, the design MAG X670E TOMAHAWK WIFI is shown as a symbol of robust and durability that allow the users to have the optimal experience.
ASRock has released new BIOS to support the latest AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology, with new BIOS on ASRock X670E/B650E/B650 motherboards, you may enjoy the enhanced gaming performance powered by AMD Ryzen 7000X3D series processors. The latest BIOS is already available to download on ASRock website, be sure to update to the latest BIOS to enjoy the ultimate gaming experience with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology.
BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, is excited to announce a list of compatible motherboards for AMD's newly announced AMD Ryzen 7000X3D processors. AMD Ryzen 7000X3D processors, which include the Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and Ryzen 7 7800X3D, promise unparalleled gaming and compute performance thanks to their groundbreaking 3D V-Cache technology. Expected to provide top-of-the-line performance for demanding users, BIOSTAR announces that their AMD-AM5 motherboards are ready to support these new processors.
Flagship tier X670E VALKYRIE, RACING series B650EGTQ, and B650M-SILVER motherboards are the first batch of compatible BIOSTAR motherboards, ready to take on the shiny new AMD Ryzen 7000X3D processors. They are engineered with cutting-edge technology to ensure smooth and efficient performance for high-end gaming and professional applications.
After launching its beta version in September 2022, Intel today released version 1.0 of the Intel Quantum Software Development Kit (SDK). The SDK is a full quantum computer in simulation that can also interface with Intel's quantum hardware, including Intel's Horse Ridge II control chip and Intel's quantum spin qubit chip when it becomes available this year. The kit allows developers to program quantum algorithms in simulation, and it features an intuitive programming interface written in C++ using an industry-standard low-level virtual machine (LLVM) compiler toolchain. As a result, Intel's SDK offers seamless interfacing with C/C++ and Python applications, making it more versatile and customizable.
"The Intel Quantum SDK helps programmers get ready for future large-scale commercial quantum computers. It will not only help developers learn how to create quantum algorithms and applications in simulation, but it will also advance the industry by creating a community of developers that will accelerate the development of applications, so they are ready when Intel's quantum hardware becomes available," said Anne Matsuura, director of Quantum Applications & Architecture, Intel Labs.
Campfire Audio has been extremely busy lately, first with the release of the ground-breaking Trifecta, then the release of their first ever true wireless earphones in Orbit, and now their most ambitious project yet: Introducing the all-new Andromeda 'Emerald Sea' and Solaris 'Stellar Horizon' earphones. Unlike past updates, Campfire Audio has completely redesigned both the Andromeda and Solaris from the ground up. A bold move considering how legendary these classic models are.
Using newly developed technologies and creating an enhanced ownership experience, Campfire Audio is forever looking forward; exploring new horizons for a better sounding future. Both Andromeda 'Emerald Sea' ($1,450/£1,449) and Solaris 'Stellar Horizon' ($2670/£2,669) will be available to buy from campfireaudio.com, Amazon and selected retailers worldwide including Harrods (UK) and Selfridges (UK).
NVIDIA today released the latest version of its GeForce Game Ready drivers. Version 531.18 WHQL adds optimization and DLSS 3 support for "Atomic Heart," and "The Finals" beta. The drivers also introduce RTX Video Super Resolution, a video upscaler technology that uses some functional aspects of DLSS to improve the quality of upscaled video. Among the issues fixed with this release include a game freeze noticed with "Forza Horizon 4" some 15-30 minutes into gameplay; occassional stability issues with "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," issues with ProRes RAW files in Adobe After Effects media encoder; and application instability with Adobe Premiere Pro.
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce Game Ready 531.18 WHQLLeading digital lifestyle accessories brand, Trust Electronics Ltd, is pleased today to announce the launch of its brand new Muta and Muta Wireless gaming controllers. An exciting addition to the company's portfolio, the controllers offer attractive features that every gamer is sure to enjoy and they have also been designed with sustainability in mind for greener gaming. The Trust Muta is available to buy now from Amazon for £39.99.
With 2023 set to be an exciting year for the gaming industry, the Muta controllers mark the first of Trust's many gaming launches this year. Replacing Trust's current Yula and Muta controllers, this next generation of gamepads offers not only a sleek, refreshed design, but a more sustainable one too. Made from 75% recycled plastics, the Muta's align well with Trust's increased focus on sustainability, allowing gamers to embrace a more eco-friendly setup.
Jon Peddie Research reports that the growth of the global PC-based graphics processor unit (GPU) market reached 64.2 million units in Q4'22 and PC CPU shipments decreased by -35% year over year. Overall, GPUs will have a compound annual growth rate of 0.19% during 2022-2026 and reach an installed base of 3,013 million units at the end of the forecast period. Over the next five years, the penetration of discrete GPUs (dGPUs) in PCs will grow to reach a level of 32%.
Year to year, total GPU shipments, which include all platforms and all types of GPUs, decreased by -38%, desktop graphics decreased by -24%, and notebooks decreased by -43%—the largest decrease since its peak in 2011. AMD's overall market share percentage from last quarter increased 0.4%, Intel's market share decreased by -1.1%, and Nvidia's market share increased 0.68%, as indicated in the following chart.
AMD's top two new desktop processors, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16-core/32-thread; and the Ryzen 9 7900X3D 12-core/24-thread, go on sale later today (starting 3 PM Central European time, 9 AM EST). The two "Zen 4" processors feature the company's 3D Vertical Cache technology, which significantly improves gaming performance. The 7950X3D in particular attains parity with the Intel Core i9-13900K in both gaming and multi-threaded productivity performance.
3D Vertical Cache is a 64 MB SRAM die that augments the 32 MB on-die L3 cache of one of the two CCDs in these processors. The combined 96 MB cache has a profound impact on compute latencies for gaming. In our testing, the 7950X3D matches the gaming performance of the i9-13900K "Raptor Lake," which means AMD now has a truly competitive processor with Intel's latest. It also matches or exceeds the I/O feature-set, including DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 5 (including for the CPU-attached NVMe slot); and an iGPU, although it loses out on DDR4 memory support. The Ryzen 9 7950X3D commands an MSRP of USD $700, and the 7900X3D $600.
Catch the TechPowerUp Review of the
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D.
Monday, February 27th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Processors
The Ryzen 9 7950X3D is the spearhead of the AMD Zen 4 X3D lineup. In our performance review we test AMD's new 16-core flagship with dozens of applications and 14 games at up to 4K, to see whether AMD can take the performance crown from Intel, how power consumption is affected, and what can be expected from overclocking.
Article
Processors
Ryzen 7 7800X3D will be the most affordable Zen 4 X3D processor, but it doesn't release until April. We reconfigured the Ryzen 9 7950X3D to match the specs of the 7800X3D and ran it through our test suite, which includes 14 games at 720p, 1080p, 1440p and 4K. Results are impressive.
Today at MWC 2023, Lenovo unveiled its latest PC and Chromebook solutions to help embrace dispersed hybrid working styles and provide advanced features that empower users across a broad selection of requirements and needs. Encompassing a progressive and contemporary design philosophy, the latest PC solutions, including a comprehensive refresh across the ThinkPad portfolio, focus on improvements in system performance, increased use of more sustainable materials, and continued enhancements to user experience. ThinkPad Z13 and Z16 second generation Windows 11 laptops enhance key areas of hardware and software functionality to help users maintain a creative edge. ThinkPad Z13 also presents a new Flax Fiber top cover, using bio-based materials, for a unique individual look and feel. Lenovo also introduced a redesigned fourth generation ThinkPad X13 and X13 Yoga with narrower bezels, new colors, materials and features to facilitate hybrid work and mobility. The ThinkPad portfolio for 2023 is completed with fourth generation ThinkPad T14s, T14 and second generation T16 workhorse laptops along with the fourth generation ThinkPad L13, L13 Yoga, L14 and L15, designed for businesses with a wide range of mobile computing needs.
Value-conscious businesses seeking focused productivity features can select a fifth generation ThinkPad E14 with new 16:10 displays or a new 16-inch form factor in the ThinkPad E16. Frequent travellers will like the additional protection provided by the new ThinkPad Professional Sleeve, available in 13-inch and 14-inch sizes to support a broad selection of laptops. The highly versatile ThinkCentre Tiny-in-One Gen 5 Monitor offers improved audio-visual capabilities and redesigned features capable of supporting multiple work scenarios. Finally, consumers can enjoy the flexibility offered by the latest IdeaPad Duet 3i, a Windows 11 detachable laptop that seamlessly transitions between clamshell and tablet modes; or relish the ChromeOS eco-system with the latest IdeaPad Slim 3 Chromebook featuring a range of audio, visual, and connectivity upgrades.
MSI, the world's leading manufacturer of true gaming hardware, is proudly expanding the hardware possibilities for all gamers. Since the MEG 342C QD-OLED's first leak in 2022, MSI continuously fine-tuned every aspect of it for a better gaming experience. Now, we're proudly announcing our MEG 342C QD-OLED is finally ready.
The 34-inch QD-OLED panel is an incredible combination of Quantum Dot technology and OLED panel that exhibits the best picture quality with a perfect pixel lighting control that presents a true black scene. The HDR peak brightness is leveled up to 1000 nits, passing the VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certificate and providing the ultimate immersive gaming experience with a super-fast 0.1 ms response time and 175 Hz refresh rate.
Magewell has unveiled a new model in its Eco Capture family of ultra-compact, power-efficient, M.2 video capture cards. The new single-channel Eco Capture AIO M.2 provides both HDMI and SDI interfaces with embedded audio support for flexible input connectivity. Magewell will highlight the Eco Capture AIO M.2 and other new innovations in booth C5031 at the 2023 NAB Show in Las Vegas from April 16 to 19.
Magewell's Eco Capture cards offer systems integrators and OEM developers a high-performance video capture solution with low power consumption in a space-efficient form factor. The cost-effective, low-latency devices feature a high-speed PCIe 2.0 bus interface with an M.2 connector and measure just 22x80mm (0.87x3.15 in), making them ideal for incorporation into small, portable or embedded systems where full-sized PCIe slots are not available.
Supermicro, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a Total IT Solution Provider for Cloud, AI/ML, Storage, and 5G/Edge, will be showcasing its latest generation of systems that accelerate workloads for the entire Telco industry, specifically at the edge of the network. These systems are part of the newly introduced Supermicro Intel-based product line; the better, faster, and greener systems based on the brand new 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors (formerly codenamed Sapphire Rapids) that deliver up to 60% better workload-optimized performance. From a performance standpoint these new systems that demonstrate up to 30X faster AI inference speedups on large models for AI and edge workloads with the NVIDIA H100 GPUs. In addition, Supermicro systems support the new Intel Data Center GPU Max Series (formerly codenamed Ponte Vecchio) across a wide range of servers. The Intel Data Center GPU Max Series contains up to 128 Xe-HPC cores and will accelerate a range of AI, HPC, and visualization workloads. Supermicro X13 AI systems will support next-generation built-in accelerators and GPUs up to 700 W from Intel, NVIDIA, and others.
Supermicro's wide range of product families is deployed in a broad range of industries to speed up workloads and allow faster and more accurate decisions. With the addition of purpose-built servers tuned for networking workloads, such as Open RAN deployments and private 5G, the 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processor vRAN Boost technology reduces power consumption while improving performance. Supermicro continues to offer a wide range of environmentally friendly servers for workloads from the edge to the data center.
The future of 3D viewing is here: United States reservations are now open for Leia Inc.'s Lume Pad 2, the world's first 3D•AI tablet equipped with embedded technology to create fully immersive 3D calling, streaming, and gaming experiences along with content sharing and creation apps - all without the need for any eyewear. Starting today, the Lume Pad 2 is available for reservation via LeiaInc.com at a suggested retail price of $1,099. Customers who reserve before March 31 will receive a $100 discount when they confirm their order in April, when tablets begin shipping.
"With Leia's unique 3D•AI experiences, now available worldwide, people no longer have to settle for unnatural interactions like video chat on a flat screen," said Cecilia Qvist, CEO, Leia Inc. "Lume Pad 2 is for anyone who has ever sought a more genuine human connection from their online experiences." "We know that 3D isn't new - but how we do it is," said David Fattal, Leia Inc. co-founder and CTO. "With the world focused on how AI will continue to shape our future, we feel that this is one of its most thrilling applications - giving the naked eye a fully immersive 3D viewing experience that we believe makes Lume Pad 2 a 3D device for everyone."
MaxLinear, Inc., a leader in home gateway solutions that unlock multi-gig home connectivity, today announced that its highly-integrated AnyWAN home gateway SoC has been certified for XGS-PON and G-PON as part of the Broadband Forum BBF.247 Optical Network Unit (ONU) Certification Program. scalable quad-core CPU, packet routing accelerator for up to 30 million packets per second, and all required high-speed interfaces for home gateways and home routers. The platform supports important WAN access technologies required by telco service providers and cable MSOs, making it one of the most scalable home gateway solutions on the market. With its XFI and PCIe gen4 interfaces and the embedded 2.5GE PHYs, AnyWAN is an ideal SoC for the next generation of fixed-wireless-access gateways with 5G WAN and Wi-Fi 7.
AnyWAN SoC variants with embedded 10G PON MAC support most 10G PON standards, including XGS-PON, G-PON, and NG-PON2. The chips are well suited for next-gen Wi-Fi 7 multi-gig fiber home gateways units (HGU). "Our innovation and investment in bringing AnyWAN to market provides all service providers and cable MSOs with a cost-efficient, quicker time-to-market choice when transitioning to 10G PON networks," said Will Torgerson, Vice President and General Manager, Broadband Group for MaxLinear. "While G-PON is the fiber technology with the largest installed based today, many customers are looking to XGS-PON as a technology option."
For more than a decade, Intel and its partners have been on a mission to virtualize the world's networks, from the core to the RAN (radio access network) and out to the edge, moving them from fixed-function hardware onto programmable, software-defined platforms, making networks more agile while driving down their complexity and cost.
Now operators are looking to cross the next chasm in delivering cloud-native functionality for automating, managing and responding to an increasingly diverse mix of data and services, providing organizations with the intelligence needed at the edge of their operations. Today, Intel announced a range of products and solutions driving this transition and broad industry support from leading operators, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and independent software vendors (ISVs).
EK, the premium PC liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is launching the EK-Quantum Momentum² Strix X670E-I Gaming D-RGB - Plexi, the latest AMD AM5 socket-based monoblock. It is engineered specifically for the ASUS ROG STRIX X670E-I GAMING motherboard and features the latest EK Velocity² cooling engine for top-level CPU cooling. This Quantum line monoblock has addressable D-RGB LED compatible with ASUS Aura Sync RGB control, offering complete lighting customization for every diode at any time. It is also EK-Matrix7 compatible and doesn't require removing the factory-mounted heatsink before installation.
Today, KIOXIA America, Inc. announces its proud participation in the Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) Spaceborne Computer-2 (SBC-2) program. As part of the program, KIOXIA SSDs provide robust flash storage in HPE Edgeline and HPE ProLiant servers in a test environment to conduct scientific experiments aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
"By bringing KIOXIA's expertise and its SSDs, one of the industry's leading NAND flash capabilities, with HPE Spaceborne Computer-2, together we are pushing the boundaries of scientific discovery and innovation at the most extreme edge."
GELID Solutions unveils the new GELID Liquid 240 Ultimate AIO CPU Cooler as a product of the GELID Solutions GAMER product line. The epitome of superior liquid cooling technologies the GELID Liquid 240. Ultimate cooling performance is provided by its premium-class high-density radiator, connected with two 120 mm quiet fans (Smart ARGB PWM control) and high-class water pump with the most demanding modern needs being handled by the integrated cooling.
The low noise water pump includes a temperature display. Further the 2 ARGB PWM Fans provide 750-1800 RPM and low noise level at 29.6dBA, AIO240 is the masterpiece of top-notch liquid cooling technologies. The all-in-one cooling handles the latest requirements, even the most powerful LGA 1700 CPU from Intel( ) and AM5 from AMD, a truely multi compatible All-in-One CPU water cooler. The support of TDP over 240 W makes the GELID Liquid 240 an overkill CPU AIO cooling solution for pro gamers and overclockers.
Sunday, February 26th 2023
Late last year, it was reported that Intel is skipping its upcoming "Meteor Lake" microarchitecture for the desktop platform, giving it a mobile-platform debut in late-2023, with "Arrow Lake" following on in 2024, which would address both platforms. In the interim, Intel was expected to release a "Raptor Lake Refresh" architecture for desktop in 2023. It turns out now, that both the "Raptor Lake Refresh" and "Meteor Lake" architectures are coming to desktop—we just don't know when.
Apparently, Intel will brazen it out against AMD with a maximum CPU core-count of just 6 performance cores and 16 efficiency cores possible for "Meteor Lake." It's just that both the P-cores and a E-cores get an IPC uplift with "Meteor Lake." The processor features up to six "Redwood Cove" P-cores with an IPC uplift over the current "Raptor Cove" cores; and introduce the new "Crestmont" E-cores. A lot will depend on the IPC uplift of the latter. Leaf_hobby, a reliable source with Intel leaks on social media, has some interesting details on the I/O capabilities of "Meteor Lake" on the desktop platform.
We're about to enter the third month of the year and after last week's loaded release schedule, it appears that we're back to more of an average week of new game releases. This week's AAA title is an RPG game from Japan and we also decided to include a DLC in this week's roundup, simply because it's for a very popular game which often has over 100k PC players online, not taking console players into account.
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty / This week's AAA title / Friday 3 March
Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is a dramatic, action-packed story of a nameless militia soldier fighting for survival in a dark fantasy version of the Later Han Dynasty where demons plague the Three Kingdoms. Players fight off deadly creatures and enemy soldiers using swordplay based on the Chinese martial arts, attempting to overcome the odds by awakening the true power from within.
Friday, February 24th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Motherboards
Featuring a 24+1+2 VRM setup using 105 A power stages, DDR5 support, PCIe Gen 5, five M.2 sockets and loads of high-speed USB ports, does this motherboard have what you're looking for? Follow along as we take a deep dive into all the features to see if MSI really does have an ACE in the hand!
Review
Cases
The Antec P20C uses the same bones as the DP503, clocking in at a similar price but aiming to offer a cleaner look without the use of RGB and a focus on quieter fans. While it may not offer the same bang for your buck as the ARGB capable DP503, it gives you a good option if understated is what you are looking for.
The rumour mill has kicked into high gear this week about TSMC planning a second fab in Japan. The original source is the Nikkan Kogyo newspaper (via Reuters), based in Tokyo, although it's unclear where the actual fab would be located, if it's indeed even happening. According to the paper, the new fab would be focusing on 5 and 10 nanometer chips, but production isn't expected to start until sometime in the second half of this decade. This suggests that these would be mainstream nodes by then, which points to yet another fab for either the vehicle industry or something similar.
The fab is said to cost more than a trillion yen, or over US$7.4 billion to build. TSMC's CEO C.C. Wei was asked about the potential fab during TSMC's latest earnings call, but simply said that the company had nothing further to add. TSMC is of course busy building a fab in Japan on Kyushu island, but as it'll have a node capacity for 12 to 16 nm parts, it makes sense that TSMC would already be planning for an extension of said fab that can produce on more advanced nodes as its customers will be moving to more advanced nodes over time.
AMD's Ryzen 7000-series CPUs with 3D V-Cache are set to launch next week and alongside the launch, there will obviously be reviews of the upcoming CPUs. As with many other companies, AMD prepared a reviewers guide for the media, to give them some guidance, as well as expected benchmark numbers based on the test hardware AMD used in-house. Parts of that reviewers guide has now appeared online, courtesy of a site called HD Tecnologia. For those that can't wait until next week's reviews, this gives a glimpse of what to expect, at least based on the games tested by AMD.
AMD put the Ryzen 9 7950X3D up against Intel's Core i9 13900K, both systems were equipped with 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory and liquid cooling. Tests were done with both AMD's own Radeon RX 7900 XTX and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. We won't go into details of the various benchmarks here, as you can find those below, but according to AMD's figures, AMD came out on top with a 5.6 percent win over the Intel CPU, at 1080p using the Radeon RX 7900 XTX and by 6 percent using the GeForce RTX 4090. This was across 22 different games, with Horizon Zero Dawn and F1 2021 being the games favouring the AMD CPU the most and Far Cry 6 and the CPU test in Ashes of the Singularity being the games favouring the AMD CPU the least. TechPowerUp will of course have a review ready for your perusing by the time the new CPUs launches next week, so you'll have to wait until then to see if AMD's own figures hold true or not.
G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to announce the return of the 7th Annual OC World Cup 2023, after a 3-year hiatus. The G.SKILL OC World Cup extreme overclocking competition will begin with the Online Qualifier stage, held from March 1, 2023 until April 5, 2023 on hwbot.org. Then the top 9 overclockers of the online qualifier will become finalists, who are qualified to join the live competition at the G.SKILL booth during Computex 2023 week from May 30, 2023 to June 2, 2023 and compete for a portion of the $40,000 USD total cash prize pool, with the OC Champion title taking home $10,000 USD!
With the participation of top extreme overclockers from around the world and carefully crafted rules designed to test the ability of each overclocker, the G.SKILL OC World Cup is considered to be one of the most challenging overclocking competition by professional overclockers. The G.SKILL OC World Cup consists of three rounds: Online Qualifier, Live Qualifier, and Grand Final. The top 9 overclockers of the Online Qualifier will be eligible to enter the Live Qualifier stage during the week of Computex 2023 at the G.SKILL booth, and the top 3 overclockers from the Live Qualifier stage will compete for the title of OC Champion in the Grand Final.
MSI, the world's leading PC gaming hardware brand, is excited to announce a new partnership with one of the world-famous video game companies, SEGA Europe Limited, to press ahead with their upcoming real-time strategy game—Company of Heroes 3.
Dominate the battlefield with MSI 4K gaming monitors!
With MSI's 4K gaming monitor lineup, enjoy Company of Heroes 3 the way it's meant to be with gorgeous details and vivid colors that span across your entire peripheral view. For our new partnership with this classic strategy game, MSI has selected two ultra-fast monitors that embody our brand excellence and will offer the best gaming experience to Company of Heroes fans:
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, announced today that GIGABYTE X670, B650 motherboard lineup with advanced configuration provides a perfect match for the latest AMD Raphael X3D processors with 3D V-Cache technology. This match delivers remarkable improvements on gaming performance for building ultimate gaming systems.
AMD first launched 3D V-Cache technology on Ryzen 7 5800X3D processors in 2022 and made it one of the best gaming CPUs. Now AMD brings 3D V-Cache technology to Zen4 and introduces AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D, Ryzen 9 7900X3D, and upcoming Ryzen 7 7800X3D processors with superior gaming performance. This new generation 3D V-Cache CPUs with more cores also raise L3 cache up to 128 MB, and boost gaming performance up to 50% thanks to the extra 64 MB cache of 3D V-Cache.
AAEON, a leading manufacturer of industrial-grade server solutions, has announced the release of the ZEUS-WHI0 4U Rackmount Whitely Platform Server System. The ZEUS-WHI0 is AAEON's first system-level solution to utilize a 3rd Generation Intel Xeon Scalable Processor (formerly Ice Lake-SP). With up to 40 cores and 80 threads, this platform provides server-grade power while also benefitting from peripheral technologies such as Intel Crypto Acceleration, Intel VT-x, and Intel AES-NI.
Equipped with seven PCIe slots with up to Gen 4 speed capability, the ZEUS-WHI0 is exceptionally expandable, making it capable of supporting up to four GPU cards for AI acceleration and enhanced graphics realization. Further to this, the ZEUS-WHI0 also supports eight 2.5" or 3.5" HDD via two 4-bay inputs for storage, alongside an additional M.2 2280 M-Key for PCIe [x4].
NVIDIA has recently reported its Q4 earnings, and the earnings call following the report contains exciting details about the company and its plans to open up to new possibilities. NVIDIA's CEO Jensen Huang has stated that the company is on track to become an AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) provider, which technically makes it a cloud service provider (CSP). "Today, I want to share with you the next level of our business model to help put AI within reach of every enterprise customer. We are partnering with major service -- cloud service providers to offer NVIDIA AI cloud services, offered directly by NVIDIA and through our network of go-to-market partners, and hosted within the world's largest clouds." Said Mr. Huang, adding that "NVIDIA AI as a service offers enterprises easy access to the world's most advanced AI platform, while remaining close to the storage, networking, security and cloud services offered by the world's most advanced clouds. Customers can engage NVIDIA AI cloud services at the AI supercomputer, acceleration library software, or pretrained AI model layers."
In addition to enrolling other CSPs into the race, NVIDIA is also going to offer DGX machines on demand in the cloud. Using select CSPs, you can get access to an entire DGX and harness the computing power for AI research purposes. Mr. Huang noted "NVIDIA DGX is an AI supercomputer, and the blueprint of AI factories being built around the world. AI supercomputers are hard and time-consuming to build. Today, we are announcing the NVIDIA DGX Cloud, the fastest and easiest way to have your own DGX AI supercomputer, just open your browser. NVIDIA DGX Cloud is already available through Oracle Cloud Infrastructure and Microsoft Azure, Google GCP, and others on the way."
With the releases of the latest generation of Intel and AMD platforms, the era of PCIe 5.0 SSD has officially arrived. Team Group today has launched the T-FORCE CARDEA Z540 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD. Developed with outstanding technological expertise, it is the SSD gamers of all kinds have been waiting for. Now it's ready to lead the consumer SSD market into the new era of Gen 5. The Z540 PCIe 5.0 SSD uses the latest PCIe Gen 5 x 4 interface and supports the latest NVMe 2.0 protocol, allowing it to reach read and write speeds of up to 12,000 MB/s and 10,000 MB/s respectively, nearly double the theoretical speed limit of PCIe 4.0. Possessing cutting-edge specifications, Z540 SSD brings gamers an unprecedented, next-generation gaming experience.
The T-FORCE CARDEA Z540 M.2 PCIe 5.0 SSD is equipped with an exclusive ultra-thin graphene heatspreader that combines multiple patented technologies. It's made of 100% recyclable graphene material and utilizes the advantages of hexagonal honeycomb lattice structures to rapidly and evenly disperse heat horizontally, providing Z540 SSD with top-notch cooling. The Z540's ultra-thin graphene heatspreader is less than 1 mm thick and is compatible with various PCIe 5.0 motherboard heatsinks. Based on T-FORCE LAB's internal testing, the operating temperature of Z540 SSD combining motherboard heatsink and graphene heatspreader is 3-5°C lower than the temperature with only motherboard heatsinks. Moreover, CARDEA Z540 uses the latest intelligent thermal regulation technology with built-in temperature sensing to automatically adjust performance and prevent overheating. T-FORCE LAB has created numerous temperature solutions for the Z540 SSD to not only enhance and protect data integrity of the SSD but also maintain good operating temperatures at high speeds, extending the lifespan of the SSD.
Silicon Power releases the new High Endurance microSDXC UHS-I card, a reliable memory card that was designed to keep working around the clock in professional and home surveillance cameras, dash cameras, body cameras, and more. This card is compliant with the speed specifications of UHS-I and V30 to ensure it doesn't miss a beat - expected or unexpected. And, when you need to review the footage, play it back in crisp and stunningly clear 4K Ultra HD.
With read speeds up to 100 MB/s, you can transfer or back-up footage quickly and begin a new set of recording in a snap. Write speeds up to 80 MB/s give this card the ability to handle write-intensive applications such as non-stop recording with ease.
Thursday, February 23rd 2023
Today's Reviews
Article
Headphones
Lypertek's flagship PurePlay Z7 true wireless earphones gets a price cut to make it an extremely compelling personal audio solution in 2023. It uses a 1 DD, 2 BA hybrid driver configuration combined with extensive app and physical controls to make for a good balance of sound and tech alike.
ASUS began rolling out Beta UEFI firmware updates for its Socket AM5 motherboards encapsulating AGESA 1.0.0.5 patch-C microcode. This exposes several new options to end-users through the UEFI Setup Program, which gives them greater control over the way the processor prioritizes workload among the two CCDs (CPU complex dies) on 12-core and 16-core Ryzen 7000 series processors, including the upcoming 7000X3D processors.
While AMD is working to release Chipset Software updates that include "
3D V-cache Optimization driver" components that introduce OS-level awareness of the asymmetric implementation of 3D V-cache on the 7900X3D and 7950X3D where only one of the two CCDs has the additional cache; these firmware-level options give users control on prioritizing one CCD over the other for workload. The firmware-level optimization is OS-agnostic, so pretty much any OS should benefit from 3D V-cache the way it was intended (where less parallelized workloads such as games are prioritized on the CCD with the 3D V-cache.
Users of Windows 11 on "unsupported hardware" report that since the most recent Patch Tuesday (monthly) Cumulative Update, an ugly watermark message began appearing on the Windows Desktop screen for the Windows 11 22H2 Update operating system. The bottom-right corner has a permanently-overlaid message that reads "System requirements not met. Go to Settings to learn more." This is visually similar to the watermark you get when you haven't activated Windows with a valid license.
Windows Setup is designed to prevent the installation of Windows 11 on machines that don't meet its minimum system requirements, most notably, the need for a hardware Trusted Platform Module (TPM). There are ways to circumvent this hardware requirements check during setup. The latest Patch Tuesday update apparently takes a quick check on whether Windows 11 is installed on a machine that actually meets its requirements as laid by Microsoft; and if not, places the watermark message on Windows Desktop. It's important to note here, that unlike the "Activate Windows" watermark, this "System requirements not met" watermark does not impact the functionality of Windows 11, and you probably won't wake up one day to find that your machine won't boot. It seems more like a means to get people to fix their hardware requirements using an eyesore.
AMD announced that it is bundling "Company of Heroes 3" with retail PIB packages of Ryzen 5000 series "Zen 3" desktop processors. The WWII-setting real-time strategy (RTS) is being bundled with new purchases of Ryzen 9 5950X, 5900X; Ryzen 7 5800X3D, 5800X, 5700X; Ryzen 5 5600X, 5600, and 5500. The 5700G and 5600G APUs are not eligible for this promotion. The bundle is limited to participated retailers, and in select markets. The company also has a separate running promotion for Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" desktop PIBs, where the company is giving away "Star Wars Jedi: Survivor."
Qian, a leading global technology brand dedicated to generating innovative solutions, today announced the market launch of their latest solution for modern viewing and office use, the QIAN 30" ultrawide FHD curved office monitor. The monitor is built with an ultra-slim bezel and features a screen curvature of 1500R for the perfect viewing angle. Monitor resolution is presented in an ultrawide aspect ratio of 21:9, which increases the display area by approximately 30% over conventional monitors for more effortless multitasking and a more comprehensive viewing range.
The QIAN 30" ultrawide FHD curved monitor comes with a speedy 1 ms response time and 100 Hz refresh rate to reduce eye fatigue while providing the best visual experience. The adaptive-sync technology allows the monitor to adjust its refresh rate to match the frame rate of content rendered by the GPU for smoother video playback and flicker-free renderings. In addition, it is fully compatible with AMD and Nvidia graphic cards to provide advanced video entertainment. The QIAN 30" ultrawide FHD curved office monitor is optimized for document processing, multitasking, and 2D/3D visual creation in the office environment.
AMD and Arm have been gaining up on Intel in the server CPU market in the past few years, and the margins of the share that AMD had won over were especially large in 2022 as datacenter operators and server brands began finding that solutions from the number-2 maker growing superior to those of the long-time leader, according to Frank Kung, DIGITIMES Research analyst focusing primarily on the server industry, who anticipates that AMD's share will well stand above 20% in 2023, while Arm will get 8%.
Prices are one of the three major drivers that resulted in datacenter operators and server brands switching to AMD. Comparing server CPUs from AMD and Intel with similar numbers of cores, clockspeed, and hardware specifications, the price tags of most of the former's products are at least 30% cheaper than the latter's, and the differences could go as high as over 40%, Kung said.
ASRock is announcing the support of 48 GB and 24 GB DDR5 memory module across Intel 700 and 600 Series motherboards, boosting the maximum memory capacity from 128 GB to 192 GB on 4 DIMMs, providing performance and compatibility to enthusiasts.
For maximum performance, BIOS update is recommended to achieve a boost of system performance as well as memory capacity, increasing productivity for memory demanding multitasking applications.
Thanks to the attribution of Puget Systems, we have a preview of Intel's latest Xeon W-3400 and Xeon W-2400 workstation processors based on Sapphire Rapids core technology. Delivering up to 56 cores and 112 threads, these CPUs are paired with up to eight TeraBytes of eight-channel DDR5-4800 memory. For expansion, they offer up to 112 PCIe 5.0 lanes come with up to 350 Watt TDP; some models are unlocked for overclocking. This interesting HEDT family for workstation usage comes at a premium with an MSRP of $5,889 for the top-end SKU, and motherboard prices are also on the pricey side. However, all of this should come as no surprise given the expected performance professionals expect from these chips. Puget Systems has published test results that include: Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Unreal Engine, Cinebench R23.2, Blender, and V-Ray. Note that Puget Systems said that: "While this post has been an interesting preview of the new Xeon processors, there is still a TON of testing we want to do. The optimizations Intel is working on is of course at the top, but there are several other topics we are highly interested in." So we expect better numbers in the future.
Below, you can see the comparison with AMD's competing Threadripper Pro HEDT SKUs, along with power usage using different Windows OS power profiles:
AMD is preparing to release the latest version of its Chipset software. Version 5.01.29.2026 WHQL should be of particular interest for users planning to buy an upcoming Ryzen 7000X3D series processor. The chipset driver includes the "3D V-Cache Performance Optimizer driver" component, version 1.0.0.7. This gives Windows a degree of awareness of the asymmetric nature of 3DV cache on the 16-core 7950X3D and 12-core 7900X3D, where
only one of the two CCDs (chiplets) has the 3DV cache memory, while the other is a regular "Zen 4" CCD with 32 MB on-die L3 cache. This awareness should in theory improve performance in less-parallelized workloads (such as games). The AMD website doesn't yet list this driver, but it should appear as we head closer to the market-availability date of the 7950X3D and 7900X3D (February 28). From the looks of it, the optimization works for both Windows 11 and Windows 10, so those on the older operating system for reasons, can keep rocking it.
The new match of two design highlights! Alphacool presents the Core Distro Plates now in combination with the VPP Apex pump. This setup should not be missing in any performance-oriented custom water cooling system in which CPU and graphics card(s) are to be cooled simultaneously. The Distro Plate greatly simplifies the planning, construction and maintenance of complex water loops. It not only has an integrated reservoir, but also features an integrated VPP Apex pump. Due to the arrangement of the G1/4" connections, confusing and complicated hose paths are a thing of the past.
A stylish and elegant element of the Core Distro Plate are the chrome-plated, brass G1/4" connections. The connections, which are recessed into the acrylic and fitted with an O-ring, are absolutely leak-proof and support the clear and functional look of the Alphacool Core Design series. By not screwing the connections directly into the acrylic, cracking and any resulting leakage is prevented. Alphacool's Core Distro Plate is made of high-quality acrylic, which allows a clear view of the coolant and provides brilliant illumination from the built-in, digitally addressable aRGB lighting.
Sharkoon Technologies is an international supplier of high-quality, high-performance PC components and peripherals. With the RGB Hex, Sharkoon is launching an ATX PC case that is optimized for airflow and has a front panel with a 3D hexagon design, from which the case gets its name. The case, with its conspicuous looks, offers an air-permeable front panel along with six pre-installed RGB LED fans that are all fully addressable. The case is complete with a side panel made of tempered glass and a modern USB Type-C port near the front panel on the top of the case.
The front panel of the RGB Hex not only has a striking design, but it also largely consists of an air-permeable mesh that should ensure a strong intake of cool air. Behind the front panel, three fans draw the air through the mesh grille into the case, while a fan on the rear panel and two on the top are intended to remove the warmed air out of the case. All these pre-installed 120-millimeter fans are equipped with addressable RGB LEDs. Meanwhile, the interior of the case is protected from dust by three dust filters. Anyone who prefers water cooling can install a radiator in the front or the top of the case. Behind the front panel, the radiator can be up to 360 millimeters and have a total height of 6.4 centimeters including the fans. Under the top panel, a radiator with up to 240 millimeters is possible with a total height, including the fans, of 5.5 centimeters.
G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is thrilled to announce an all-new G.SKILL Zeta R5 memory series of high-performance, overclocked DDR5 R-DIMM memory kits. Designed for use with the latest unlocked Intel Xeon W-2400X and W-3400X series processors on respective Intel W790 chipset-based motherboards that has quad-channel and octo-channel memory support. Available in specifications up to DDR5-6400 CL32 and in large kit capacity of up to 256 GB (32 GB x8), the Zeta R5 series DDR5 R-DIMM memory kits are ideal for workstation systems built for content creation, 3D graphics, or scientific computing.
With the Intel W790 platform, memory overclock support to DDR5 R-DIMM memory is officially introduced, allowing workstation systems to achieve higher memory speeds than R-DIMM based on standard JEDEC specifications. Taking advantage of this new feature set, the G.SKILL Zeta R5 series DDR5 R-DIMM memory kits are equipped with Intel XMP 3.0 profiles for easy overclocking, allowing users to gain additional memory bandwidth and performance by simply enabling XMP in BIOS.
The world's leading memory brand and Intel endorsed partner, ADATA Technology Co., Ltd. today announced the launch of the first overclocked DDR5 5600 R-DIMM memory module compatible with the latest generation of Intel Xeon W-3400 and Intel Xeon W-2400 processors. Intel recently released NEW Intel Xeon W processors that will replace the previous generation Intel Core X-Series processors for the HEDT/Workstation segment. In addition to rock solid stability and performance provided by Xeon W processors, Intel has added support for overclocking to optimize for high-performance workloads. Therefore, ADATA leads the industry and is taking the initiative in expanding workstation applications by launching overclockable DDR5 5600 R-DIMM memory.
In the face of increasingly large and complex computing operations and data processing requirements, the high-quality high-end hardware configurations and expandability exemplified by workstations can no longer fully meet market requirements. Though the production of overclocked R-DIMM memory is a rigorous process, it delivers more uniform quality and offers better performance than standard workstation memory.
The audio world has been anticipating this moment, and now the wait is over. Japanese audio specialists final have announced the launch of their new flagship ZE8000 true wireless earphones. final are not known to rush, and the ZE8000 is a culmination of their innovation, R&D, creativity and engineering capabilities that have been refined and explored over the years. The final ZE8000 will be available to buy on 23rd February 2023 in the UK, EU & US for (£299/€329/$349) from selected retailers online and in store including Amazon, Selfridges (UK), Harrods (UK) and Audio46 (US).
Previously known as final Audio, final are considered one of the most respected brands when it comes to high-end audio, with an extensive history within the audio world starting in Japan and going back as far as 1974, where they first developed their own turntable cartridge; with later releases of original products such as amplifiers and speakers. Since 2009, final has turned their attention to the world of portable audio, and their most recent flagship releases have influenced the creation and development of the ZE8000. In 2017, final released their D8000 flagship headphone which incorporated their very own planar magnetic technology (AFDS); developed in-house by final engineers. Later in 2019, the A8000 flagship wired earphone was released, utilizing final's truly pure Beryllium diaphragm driver; again designed and developed in-house. These discoveries have allowed final to foresee the untapped potential of wireless portable audio, and apply their years of development and engineering prowess into creating the flagship ZE8000 true wireless earphones; proudly included within their 8000 series lineup.
While AMD Radeon PC discrete GPUs have a lot of catching up to do against NVIDIA GeForce products in terms of market-share, the two companies' quarterly revenue figures paint a very different picture. For Q4 2022, AMD pushed $1.644 billion in GPU products encompassing all its markets, namely the semicustom chips powering Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 consoles; and AMD Radeon products. In the same period, NVIDIA raked in $1.831 billion in revenues from semicustom chips powering Nintendo Switch console, GeForce NOW cloud-gaming service, and NVIDIA GeForce products. In purely revenue terms, AMD is bringing in 89% the revenue of NVIDIA from client graphics IP, which begins to explain how AMD is a major player in this market.
ENERMAX, an industry-leading force dedicated to designing extreme performance computer power supplies and cooling solutions, releases its upgraded fully-modular 80 PLUS Gold certified power supply - the REVOLUTION D.F. 2 series! REVOLUTION D.F. 2 is designed with 105°C rated Japanese electrolytic capacitors, 140 mm compact chassis in-depth, semi-fanless mechanics, DC-to-DC conversion, the advanced LLC, Synchronous Rectifier (SR) design, and patented Dust-Free Rotation (DFR) technology.
Following the success of the REVOLUTION D.F. series, the REVOLUTION D.F. 2 inherits ENERMAX's iconic Dust Free Rotation (D.F.R.) technology and semi-fanless mechanics. The Dust Free Rotation (D.F.R.) technology is an innovative self-cleaning solution which enables the power fan to blow away the dust accumulate around the fan blade and frame within 10 sec. upon powering on to increase airflow inside the power supply unit.
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) today reported revenue for the fourth quarter ended January 29, 2023, of $6.05 billion, down 21% from a year ago and up 2% from the previous quarter. GAAP earnings per diluted share for the quarter were $0.57, down 52% from a year ago and up 111% from the previous quarter. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $0.88, down 33% from a year ago and up 52% from the previous quarter.
For fiscal 2023, revenue was $26.97 billion, flat from a year ago. GAAP earnings per diluted share were $1.74, down 55% from a year ago. Non-GAAP earnings per diluted share were $3.34, down 25% from a year ago. "AI is at an inflection point, setting up for broad adoption reaching into every industry," said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. "From startups to major enterprises, we are seeing accelerated interest in the versatility and capabilities of generative AI. "We are set to help customers take advantage of breakthroughs in generative AI and large language models. Our new AI supercomputer, with H100 and its Transformer Engine and Quantum-2 networking fabric, is in full production.
BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today introduces two of their latest commercial motherboards, the TZ590-PRO DUO and the TZ590-PRO. Designed on Intel's Z590 single chip architecture, both TZ590-PRO series motherboards are optimized to extract the highest performance out of 10th / 11th Generation Intel Core processors.
With DDR4 RAM base and Intel 11th generation CPU, the TZ590-PRO and TZ590-PRO DUO have superior stability to handle the most demanding tasks, ideal for businesses, 3D content creators, AI integration systems and more. As ATX-based boards, the TZ590-PRO and PRO DUO offer a variety of features and functionality including 8 PCIe 3.0 slots, one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot, and an excellent power delivery system that provides users with seemingly limitless expansion capability. Additionally, the TZ590-PRO DUO supports up to 4 M.2 slots and 10 SATA III connectors (6 Gb/s) for reliable storage capability as well as business NAS setup.
Wednesday, February 22nd 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Mice
With the ambidextrous MM310, Cooler Master has something in store for budget-minded gamers. Featuring PixArt's PAW3327 sensor, a particularly flexible cable, and a low weight of just 53 g, the MM310 retails for just $29.99.
Review
Game Testing
Atomic Heart is an exciting new first-person shooter universe with a great backstory. In our performance review, we're taking a closer look at image quality, differences between the graphical setting presets, VRAM usage, and performance on a selection of modern graphics cards.
AMD today released the latest version of its Adrenalin graphics software. Version 23.2.2 WHQL works with all GPU generations dating back to the RX 400 series. This release adds optimization for "Atomic Heart," the much awaited survival horror FPS, as well as "Company of Heroes 3." Some display corruption observed with window-switching for the Netflix app, has been fixed. Maximum video encode bitrate being limited to 100 Mbps for some applications, has been fixed. AMD Bug Report Tool pop-up or system hang on some hybrid graphics notebooks, has been fixed. An application crash noticed with "Hitman 3" with RT enabled, has been fixed. Valve Index VR headset showing a blank screen with 144 Hz on GPUs such as the RX 7900 series, has been fixed. A performance drop observed on RX 6000 series + Ryzen machines, has been fixed.
DOWNLOAD: AMD Software Adrenalin 23.2.2 WHQL
A brand-new Razer Blade 15—continuing its storied legacy of pushing the boundaries of thin and light 15" gaming laptops—is now available. This ultra-portable gaming machine is powered by the latest 13th generation Intel Core i7 13800H processor and NVIDIA's newest GeForce RTX 40-series GPUs, up to the RTX 4070. Enhanced vapor chamber cooling and thinner 0.05 mm exhaust fins provide the exceptional thermal control needed to pack this level of performance in a laptop that is 25% smaller than the Blade 16.
The Blade 15 places portability at the forefront. As the thinnest Blade in the 2023 line, it weighs less than four and a half pounds and delivers up to over six hours of battery life from its 80 Wh battery. The 16:9 QHD 240 Hz display provides smooth, sharp visuals with a 2.5 ms response time and 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. The Blade 15 is easily upgradeable, accommodating up to 4 TB of storage using an extra M.2 slot and up to 64 GB DDR5-5200 MHz memory, allowing users to keep pace with even the most demanding games and tasks.
For those that find a 270 Hz refresh rate a bit on the laggy side when gaming at 2560 x 1440, ASUS has updated its ROG Strix series of monitors with the XG27AQMR model. The R on the end of the model name denotes the higher refresh rate, as well as support for DisplayHDR 600 over the previous model in the series. Although the two monitors are said to be using a Fast IPS panel, the new model has a 1 ms Grey to Grey response time, whereas the older model is rated at 0.5 ms.
All the gaming features you'd expect to find are of course included, such are FreeSync Premium Pro and G-Sync compatibility, ELMB which can be combined with FreeSync and various other ASUS specific features such as GameFast Input technology and GameVisual. The inputs haven't changed from the previous model in the series either, which means there's one DP 1.4 port and two HDMI 2.0 ports, as well as a USB-B input and two USB-A ports, all supporting USB 3.2 Gen 1 speeds, or 5 Gbps. The stand supports tilt, swivel, pivot and height adjustment. No word on pricing, but the previous model retails for around US$650, so we'd expect a small price premium on top of that for the higher refresh rate and improved HDR support.
Marvell Technology, Inc., a leader in data infrastructure semiconductor solutions, announced today that it has selected Amazon Web Services, Inc. (AWS) as its cloud provider for electronic design automation (EDA). A cloud-first approach helps Marvell to rapidly and securely scale its service on the world's leading cloud, rise to the challenges brought by increasingly complex chip design processes, and deliver continuous innovation for the expanding needs across the automotive, carrier, data center, and enterprise infrastructure markets it serves. The work extends the longstanding relationship between the two companies—Marvell is also a key semiconductor supplier for AWS, helping the company support the design and rapid delivery of cloud services that best meet customers' demanding requirements.
EDA refers to the specialized and compute-intensive processes used in chip making and is a critical piece of Marvell's R&D. Over the years, the number of transistors on an integrated chip has increased exponentially. Each advance in chip design calls for a calculated application of software modules overseeing logic design, debugging, component placement, wire routing, optimization of time and power consumption, and verification. Due to the computationally intensive nature of EDA workloads, it is no longer cost-effective or timely to run EDA on premises. By powering its EDA with AWS, Marvell leverages an unmatched portfolio of services including secure, elastic, high-performance compute capacity in the cloud to solve challenges around speed, latency, security of IP, and data transfer.
Kontron, a leading global provider of IoT/Embedded Computer Technology (ECT), announces that all ATX, µATX and Mini-ITX motherboards supporting the 12th generation Intel Core i processor series will soon receive a comprehensive BIOS update to 13th generation. Equipped with Intel's Performance Hybrid Architecture, they offer a significant increase in performance with lower energy consumption. All boards belong to a product family with synergetic BIOS, uniform drivers and comprehensive tool set for customer-specific settings (default settings, thermal management, boot logo, etc.) and are "designed and made in Germany". They are suitable for IoT applications in the fields of industry, medicine, kiosk, digital signage, POS/POI, video surveillance and casino gaming. They will be available from Q2/2023.
The compact Mini-ITX motherboards K3833-Q and K3832-Q are equipped with the powerful Intel Q670E chipset, which offers extensive features such as vPro Manageability, Stable Image (SIPP) or RAID. They have Dual Intel LAN interfaces incl. teaming as well as TSN and real-time support (TCC), a PCIe x16 Gen 5 expansion slot, USB 3.2 Gen 2 interfaces, an M.2 Key-M and Key-E slot as well as two DIMM sockets for DDR5 memory.
Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced today the global launch of its next generation virtual reality headset, PlayStation VR2. Featuring high fidelity visuals, new sensory features and enhanced tracking, PlayStation VR2 takes virtual reality gaming to a whole new level, enabling players to feel a heightened range of sensations unlike any other. The PlayStation VR2 headset and included PlayStation VR2 Sense controller is available at the recommended retail price of $549.99 / €599.99 / £529.99 / ¥74,980
"Providing extraordinary experiences to gamers is what we strive for at PlayStation, and today we are thrilled to start this new chapter in virtual reality gaming with PlayStation VR2," said Jim Ryan, President and CEO, Sony Interactive Entertainment. "PlayStation VR2's innovative technology has helped unlock the creativity of the industry's finest developers, who have designed outstanding games that deliver a greater sense of presence for players. I can't wait for fans around the world to experience PlayStation VR2 for themselves."
It looks like Gigabyte might be the first company to offer a PCIe 5.0 SSD for sale to major markets outside of Japan, since no other brand appears to have launched such a product at the time of this news post. The
Aorus Gen5 10000 was launched around two weeks ago, but is currently listed as being on backorder at both Newegg and Amazon in the US. Currently only the 2 TB version is listed and it's coming in at about the same cost as two equivalent PCIe 4.0 drives.
We're not sure if the backorder price of US$339.99 on Newegg is the actual retail price, but considering a 2 TB version of WD's Black SN850X costs US$159.99, it doesn't seems like the very slight performance increase the Aorus Gen5 10000 will bring to the table is going to be worth the asking price. Then again, Gigabyte's SSDs are overpriced on Newegg compared to competing products and the Aorus Gen4 7000s Premium, which features the same heatsink as the Aorus Gen5 10000, retails for US$281.99 on Newegg. Amazon didn't list any pricing as yet.
With the new PRO and the FOCUS (E23), XMG introduces two laptop series on a similar hardware basis: Both feature Intel's Core i9-13900HX and NVIDIA graphics cards up to the GeForce RTX 4070. While the PRO 15 and PRO 17 are slightly thinner as gaming workstations and boast more extensive connectivity, the FOCUS scores at a more affordable price and is not only available in 15.6 and 17.3-inch versions, but also in a 16-inch format. For the laptops originally designed as an entry-level series, the hardware upgrades mean a significant upgrade: the FOCUS series moves closer to the PRO laptops.
The key components found in the new XMG PRO 15 and PRO 17 as well as the XMG FOCUS 15, FOCUS 16 and FOCUS 17 are almost identical. All laptops employ Intel's Core i9-13900HX with 24 cores (8 P-cores, 16 E-cores) and 32 threads. The freely configurable graphics card options each include NVIDIA's new, DLSS-3-capable GeForce RTX 4050 (FOCUS only) as well as 4060 and 4070 (FOCUS and PRO) with a maximum graphics power rating of up to 140 watts (115 watts TGP plus 25 watts Dynamic Boost 2.0). However, since the clock behaviour and the actual power consumption of the GPUs in the new generation are subject to much more restrictive, application-specific specifications from NVIDIA, the maximum values are only achieved in synthetic stress tests such as Furmark - according to the official requirements of the graphics chip manufacturer.
Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors has reset its dividend policy, reducing the quarterly dividend to $0.125 per share (or $0.50 annually) on the company's common stock. The dividend will be payable on June 1, 2023, to stockholders of record on May 7, 2023. Intel also reaffirmed its first-quarter 2023 business outlook provided at its most recent earnings call, including revenue of between $10.5 billion and $11.5 billion; gross margin of 34.1% on a GAAP basis and 39% on a non-GAAP basis; tax rate of (84%) on a GAAP basis and 13% on a non-GAAP basis; and earnings per share of $(0.80) on a GAAP basis and $(0.15) on a non-GAAP basis.
The decision to decrease the quarterly dividend reflects the board's deliberate approach to capital allocation and is designed to best position the company to create long-term value. The improved financial flexibility will support the critical investments needed to execute Intel's transformation during this period of macroeconomic uncertainty. Since first initiated in 1992, Intel's dividend has delivered more than $80 billion in cash returns to the company's stockholders, and the board is committed to maintaining a competitive dividend.
According to SkatterBench, a website known for incredible overclocking attempts, we get to see AMD's Ryzen 7000 series integrated GPU get up to 42% performance improvement from overclocking. Specifically, the SKU used in the attempt was the Ryzen 9 7900 non-X model with 12 cores and 24 threads, clocked at 3.7 GHz base frequency and 5.4 GHz boost speed. The SKU contains a basic AMD GPU integrated into the package; however, not meant for any serious gaming tasks. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see what a two-core RDNA2 GPU clocked at 2.2 GHz managed to achieve once overclocked. The memory clock of the GPU is set to 2.4 GHz at stock.
Running at the base voltage of 0.997 volts under Furmark workload, the iGPU consumes around 38.5 Watts. However, the overclocking attempt pushed the voltage to 1.395 Volts, resulting in a 3.1 GHz iGPU frequency. The GPU Memory clock is now set to 3200 MHz, and the GPU+SOC power is 60.689 Watts, almost double compared to the stock settings. The overclocker used a GFX curve optimizer with various system tweaks to achieve these numbers. While the OC attempt was successful, the most significant performance improvement was a 42% increase, with some game titles averaging less. Below, the blue bar indicates stock, while the green bar indicates OC'd performance. You can check out the YouTube video as well to see more details.
EK, the leading liquid cooling gear manufacturer, launches a workstation and a 1U rack-compatible high-performance liquid cooling solution for AMD Zen 4-based EPYC server processors. Code-named "Genoa," these AMD CPUs come with up to 96 cores and 192 threads and have a TDP of up to 360W. These specifications render these processors perfect for liquid cooling, especially in a dual-socket motherboard environment.
EK-Pro CPU WB SP5 Ni + Acetal
This is a dedicated enterprise-grade water block developed specifically for AMD processors. It features three standard G1/4" threaded ports located on the top of the water block and is intended for workstations and taller server racks.
Colorful Technology Company Limited, a professional manufacturer of graphics cards, motherboards, all-in-one gaming and multimedia solutions, and high-performance storage, proudly announces the launch of the EVOL X16 PRO gaming laptop. The new COLORFUL EVOL X16 PRO mainstream model is equipped an 13th Gen Intel Core i7-13700H processor and up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 laptop graphics. The gaming laptop sports a 16-inch QHD 240 Hz IPS display with support for NVIDIA G-SYNC technology for smooth and stutter-free gaming visuals.
The EVOL X16 PRO also comes equipped with 16 GB of DDR5-4800 MHz memory, expandable up to 64 GB. For storage, the mainstream model comes with 512 GB of fast NVMe SSD storage with an empty M.2 slot for storage expansion. The laptop also features a USB-C Thunderbolt 4 port for high-speed data transmission and multi-device connectivity. For networking, the EVOL X16 PRO comes with a 2.5 GbE LAN port for gamers that prefer reliable and fast wired connection. For wireless networking, the gaming laptop also comes equipped with the latest Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth solution.
Tuesday, February 21st 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Headphones
iBasso aims to use bio-cellulose dynamic drivers to their full potential with its new SR3 open-back headphones. These provide some of the most dynamic and punchy sound I've heard, which can be customized further based on the ear pads chosen. The SR3 also gets a good industrial design prioritizing comfort and build quality, making it well worthy of consideration.
Review
Cases
The NZXT H9 Flow is the largest of the H-Series and manages to impress with a balanced attention to detail and unique tooling, allowing for modern, bulky high-end components and elaborate liquid cooling without any tangible compromises in functionality or looks.
AMD in its ISSCC 2023 presentation detailed how it has advanced data-center energy-efficiency and managed to keep up with Moore's Law, even as semiconductor foundry node advances have tapered. Perhaps its most striking prediction for server processors and HPC accelerators is multi-layer stacked DRAM. The company has, for some time now, made logic products, such as GPUs, with stacked HBM. These have been multi-chip modules (MCMs), in which the logic die and HBM stacks sit on top of a silicon interposer. While this conserves PCB real-estate compared to discrete memory chips/modules; it is inefficient on the substrate, and the interposer is essentially a silicon die that has microscopic wiring between the chips stacked on top of it.
AMD envisions that the high-density server processor of the near-future will have many layers of DRAM stacked on top of logic chips. Such a method of stacking conserves both PCB and substrate real-estate, allowing chip-designers to cram even more cores and memory per socket. The company also sees a greater role of in-memory compute, where trivial simple compute and data-movement functions can be executed directly on the memory, saving round-trips to the processor. Lastly, the company talked about the possibility of an on-package optical PHY, which would simplify network infrastructure.
ENERMAX, an industry-leading force dedicated to design extreme performance computer power supplies and cooling solutions, announces that its overclocking-graded AIO CPU cooler, LIQTECH TR4 II series, is now ready for Intel LGA4677 Xeon platform! The CPU mounting kits inside of the new version of LIQTECH TR4 II are designed for Intel Sapphire Rapid-based W-3400 and W-2400 series Xeon processors with socket LGA4677, and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors with socket sWRX8 / sTRX4/ TR4, as well as AMD socket SP3 for AMD EPYC processors.
Awarded as the BEST AIO CPU Cooler in European Hardware Awards, the LIQTECH TR4 II series is the world's first AIO CPU cooler tailored to provide 100% full coverage of the integrated heatspreader (IHS) of both AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO and upcoming Intel Xeon Sapphire Rapids processors with unparalleled cooling results. The unbeatable cooling capacity (500 W TDP) makes it the best cooling solution for both Intel Xeon W-3400 and W-2400 series processor (LGA4677) and AMD Ryzen Threadripper PRO processors designed for workstations and high-end desktops (HEDTs).
Amid the digital age, innovation is king. Since the groundbreaking invention of the computer, society has taken leaps and bounds to evolve and innovate - developing optimized prototypes resulting in the sleek and compact systems popularized today. However, one aspect of the modern computer has yet to catch up with modern improvements, until now. One company is on a mission to bring forth an evolved version of the keyboard to bring forth a new era of innovation for engineers, gamers, and tech enthusiasts alike.
Introducing the GrabShell Keyboard by dotBravo Co - the transformable, fully programmable, mechanical, compact, handheld keyboard that is changing the face of the modern computing experience. Envisioned by engineers, for engineers, gamers, IT professionals, coders, and everyone in between, the GrabShell keyboard combines the best of both worlds to create the perfect transforming keyboard for any situation.
On Tuesday, Microsoft and NVIDIA announced the companies have agreed to a 10-year partnership to bring Xbox PC games to the NVIDIA GeForce NOW cloud gaming service, which has more than 25 million members in over 100 countries. The agreement will enable gamers to stream Xbox PC titles from GeForce NOW to PCs, macOS, Chromebooks, smartphones and other devices. It will also enable Activision Blizzard PC titles, such as Call of Duty, to be streamed on GeForce NOW after Microsoft's acquisition of Activision closes.
"Xbox remains committed to giving people more choice and finding ways to expand how people play," said Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer. "This partnership will help grow NVIDIA's catalog of titles to include games like Call of Duty, while giving developers more ways to offer streaming games. We are excited to offer gamers more ways to play the games they love."
NVIDIA today announced that company founder and CEO Jensen Huang will deliver the opening keynote at GTC 2023, covering the latest advancements in generative AI, the metaverse, large language models, robotics, cloud computing and more. More than 250,000 people are expected to register for the four-day event, which will include 650+ sessions from researchers, developers and industry leaders in virtually every computing domain. GTC will also feature a fireside chat with Huang and OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, plus talks by DeepMind's Demis Hassabis, Stability AI's Emad Mostaque and many others.
"This is the most extraordinary moment we have witnessed in the history of AI," Huang said. "New AI technologies and rapidly spreading adoption are transforming science and industry, and opening new frontiers for thousands of new companies. This will be our most important GTC yet."
Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced two additions to the popular DeathAdder line - the Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro Faker Edition and the Razer DeathAdder V3.
Designed in collaboration with world renowned esports player and League of Legends icon Lee "Faker" Sang-Hyeok, the DeathAdder V3 Pro Faker Edition showcases a unique personalized design for the Unkillable Demon King, while equipped with high-performance hardware. The cult-favorite esports mouse has always been Faker's weapon of choice, with the DeathAdder V3 Pro Faker Edition as a testament. Separately, the DeathAdder V3 presents a wired option updated with Razer's latest mice technology, for the best advantage in competitive play.
Sony Electronics Inc. today announced two new headphones, the WH-CH720N and the WH-CH520, giving music lovers the option of on-ear or over-ear wireless headphones packed with Sony's critically acclaimed audio technology. The over-ear WH-CH720N wireless headphones incorporate Dual Noise Sensor technology and Sony's Integrated Processor V1 chip to provide an enhanced noise canceling experience. In addition, a lightweight design and up to 35 hours of battery life lets consumers enjoy music for longer without background interruptions.
The on-ear WH-CH520 wireless headphones provide up to 50 hours of battery life with all day comfort and enhanced call performance to meet the demands of everyday life. The headphones come in three colors - black, blue and white to match any style. Both models also feature Digital Sound Enhancement Engine (DSEE) to produce high-quality sound exactly as the artist intended as well as Multipoint connection for easy connectivity between devices.
Thermaltake today formally launched the Thermaltake Intros Pacific TF3 Liquid Cooling System Dashboard, which it had showed off at the 2023 International CES. This contraption is designed to fit into a standard 120 mm fan vent, ideally one of the three front 120 mm vents of a case with glass front-panel, or the rear 120 mm exhaust facing forwards; and connected to your liquid-cooling loop. It has three analog gauges—one of which shows coolant pressure; the other the coolant temperature, and the third one the ambient temperature inside the case. The dials of these analog gauges feature an RGB diffuser, and so they can color-code the temperature reading in real-time, or be programmed like any other RGB object in your case. It has the same dimensions as a case fan, measuring 120 mm x 120 mm x 25 mm.
Intel has reportedly deferred its orders for 3 nm wafers with TSMC, sources in PC makers tell Taiwan-based industry observer DigiTimes. Built on the TSMC N3 node, the wafers were supposed to power the Graphics tiles (containing the iGPU), of the upcoming "Arrow Lake" processors, which were originally on course for a 2024 release. The DigiTimes report detailing this development says that Intel's 3 nm wafer orders have been deferred to Q4-2024, which would realistically mean a 2025 launch for whatever product was designed to use 3 nm tiles. Advance orders for next-gen wafers by high-volume clients such as Intel, are usually placed several quarters in advance, so the foundry could suitably scale up its capacity.
CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today announced massive new capacities for its DDR5 memory kits, thanks to new 24 GB and 48 GB UDIMM modules. For the first time from CORSAIR, PC builders can choose from 192 GB (4x 48 GB), 96 GB (2x 48 GB), or 48 GB (2x 24 GB) memory kits. Available in either VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 or VENGEANCE DDR5 kits, these new high capacities are ideal for the most demanding, high-capacity applications such as 8K video editing, as well as DRAM-heavy AI and deep learning workloads. Motherboards with just two memory slots, including Micro ATX and Mini-ITX builds, where space is tight but large capacities are needed also benefit.
CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB DDR5 and VENGEANCE DDR5, already top choices for performance enthusiasts, are optimized for the latest gaming PCs and workstations and at these new capacities give custom PC enthusiasts the option to build with memory configurations that weren't possible until now. Both 96 GB and 48 GB kits are available immediately in both RGB and non-RGB flavors, running at 5,600MT/s and 5,200MT/s and support Intel XMP 3.0 memory overclocking to ensure owners can easily run their memory at the intended speeds.
Logitech G, a brand of Logitech and leading innovator of gaming technologies and gear, and Playseat, the leading manufacturer and innovator of high-quality racing and gaming products, announce the global availability of their new racing cockpit for Logitech G Wheels and Pedals - the most realistic racing experience today.
The Playseat Trophy-Logitech G Edition offers professional and prospective racing enthusiasts a complete racing solution with maximum immersion. This new chair features an open cockpit design and ActiFit ️ material delivering lightweight, comfortable ergonomics, customization, and durability that drivers need to perform at their best. With a revolutionary design enabled by Logitech G's iconic innovation and Playseat's high-quality racing products, the Playseat Trophy-Logitech G Edition provides a superior driving experience and a purer connection to the race.
On January 7th, the Minisforum UM773 was launched in China with the AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS processor and received widespread praise from consumers. Now, the new version of UM773, UM773 Lite, has arrived globally with a more affordable price. Considering that users usually connect external keyboards and mouses, the two USB 3.2 ports have been replaced with USB 2.0 ports. All other design will be the same as UM773. The price, however, will be more favorable.
The new UM773 Lite features the new AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS, AMD Radeon 680M Integrated Graphics, DDR5 dual-channel memory, PCIe 4.0 SSD, and the most advanced USB4 Type-C port. The Ryzen 7 7735HS is one of AMD's new Ryzen 7000 series mobile processors, featuring 8 cores and 16 threads, with a based clock of 3.2 GHz and a maximum turbo clock of 4.75 GHz and a default TDP targeted at 54 W. The RDNA2 Radeon 680M integrated GPU has 12 CUs up to 2.4 GHz.
Mindfactory.de is hardly the largest tech retailer out there, but it's renowned for putting out its sales figures in public that provide sharp market insights. The latest of these concerns graphics card average selling price (ASP). The store notes that graphics card ASPs have doubled in a span of just 3 years, which marks an unnatural deviation from inflation, and cannot adequately be explained by rising chip costs due to Moore's Law either buckling or losing relevance. While Intel is a firm believer in Moore's Law, and to a smaller extent so is AMD (which disaggregated its CPUs and GPUs to continue shipping cutting-edge products at lower costs); NVIDIA considers Moore's Law dead, and thinks it needs to keep bigger and bigger GPUs to offer generational performance uplifts.
The store notes that as on February 2020, the AMD Radeon graphics card ASP stood at 295.25€, with the store having made 442,870€ in sales. For NVIDIA GeForce graphics cards, the ASP figure stood at 426.59€, and total sales at 855,305€. As of Feb 2020, AMD lacked high-end products (this was before the RDNA2 comeback), and so the NVIDIA ASP is higher. Fast forward to February 2023, and we see a doubling in the ASPs. For AMD Radeon graphics cards, this stands at 600.03€, with €1.02 million in sales; and for NVIDIA GeForce, the ASP is at 825.20€, with €1.84 million in sales.
Monday, February 20th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Graphics Cards
ASRock Radeon RX 7900 XTX Taichi is the company's flagship Navi 31 design. The card comes with a large factory overclock, an upgraded 3x 8-pin power capability and a triple-slot, triple-fan thermal solution. Our review confirms that the card is whisper-quiet at full load with the quiet BIOS, making it the quietest RX 7900 XTX we've ever tested.
Review
Audio
iFi may be popular for its mainstream DAC/amps with onboard customization options and a warm sound signature but did you know it also caters to the more professional audio market? Today we examine its Pro iDSD Signature network streamer/DAC/amplifier with its solid state or tube output modes for excellent, high-quality sound as part of an extremely impressive feature set.
Dynatron focuses on server/workstation cooling solutions, and developed the A49, a Socket AM5 cooler with a dual aluminium fin-stack heatsink that's designed to work with 4U rackmount cases, although it will fit inside ATX tower cases just fine, with its 130 mm height. Two dense aluminium-alloy fin-stacks are skewered by six 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes that make direct contact with the processor over a high-performance thermal pad. The heatsink is ventilated by a custom 103 mm x 103 mm x 30 mm fan that turns at speeds of up to 1800 RPM, pushing up to 35.03 CFM of airflow at 28.8 dBA noise output, and 1.16 mm H₂O static pressure. Dynatron says the cooler can handle thermal loads of up to 170 W. The cooler measures 95 mm x 95 mm x 130 mm, weighing 710 g.
Sabrent introduces our new USB Type-C Flat Docking Station (DS-UFNC) for normal use and cloning. The USB Type-C Flat Docking Station (DS-UFNC) is designed to make your life easier with a dual-drive, tool-free installation. It supports an M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD and a 2.5"/3.5" SATA SSD/HDD in single- or dual-drive mode for data transfer and offline cloning with clear LED indicators. The M.2 drive is kept cool during operation to prevent throttling with an integrated M.2 heatsink and includes a thermal pad. No matter your storage, this docking station has you covered.
The included power adapter improves reliability during operation with 3.5" HDDs and high-power SSDs. Transfers are possible over a 10 Gbps (USB 3.2 Gen 2) backward-compatible interface. Type-C/Type-A to Type-C USB cables are included to work with a wide range of devices, and the docking station is designed for Windows and macOS machines. SSDs are fully supported with TRIM and UASP for the best performance and reliability. Easy, convenient, and backed by Sabrent.
ASRock introduced the Blazing Quad M.2 riser card. Roughly the size of a tall, single-slot graphics card, this contraption converts a PCI-Express 5.0 x16 slot to four M.2 Gen 5 slots, each with PCI-Express 5.0 x4 wiring, with room for up to 110 mm drive length. The four slots are located underneath a cooling solution that consists of an aluminium heatsink that's ventilated by a pair of fans. The card draws power from a 6-pin PCIe power connector for a total of 150 W power-delivery capability. While there's no bridge chip on this card, making it essentially a riser that disaggregates an x16 slot to four x4 M.2 slots, a microcontroller handles the cooling. Each of the four M.2 slots has a link/activity LED at the rear I/O. The card measures 243 mm x 126 mm, and is exactly one slot thick. It should prove useful on Xeon W + W790 platforms that have up to 112 PCIe lanes from the processor, although the card supports just about any machine with a PCIe x16 slot with lane disaggregation. You get the PCIe standard that the x16 slot supports.
SK Hynix ran into issues earlier this month at one of its DRAM production fabs, due to impurities in zirconium high-k materials used in the production. The materials were supplied by SK Trichem and due to the impurities, the equipment at SK Hynix fab ended up leading to increased pressure in some of the manufacturing equipment and forced the production to be shut down. All the equipment at the fab had to be cleaned and some even replaced due to the impurities in the material.
The zirconium high-k material is deposited at the atomic level, atop the capacitors of the DRAM, as a precursor. Any impurities in such a material would lead to failed DRAM chips, but apparently there was no damage to the DRAM wafer production in this case, according to SK Hynix. The company will be ordering replacement material from two other suppliers for the time being and SK Trichem should be supplying a fresh batch by the end of the month.
Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced an all-new collaboration with the iconic, Japanese denim brand, EVISU. Founded in Osaka, Japan, in 1991, EVISU is known for its famous seagull logo and is one of the ultimate denim must haves, embraced by both collectors and hipsters alike. The collection is one of Razer's many forays into streetwear as a lifestyle brand with the aim of bringing more collaborative collections catering to gamers worldwide. The brands will be launching a limited Razer | EVISU capsule collection, featuring EVISU's iconic apparels and Razer's award-winning peripherals.
"Razer has launched collaborations with fashion and lifestyle partners that are best in class to great success. This time, we're extremely excited to work with the team at EVISU that is known for their commitment to quality and craftsmanship for our next capsule collection," said Addie Tan, Associate Director of Business Development at Razer. "With our knowledge on gaming lifestyle and EVISU's expertise on denim and streetwear fashion, Razer and EVISU have reimagined what it means to be a gamer."
Diversifying the gaming world with its presence and technical features, Philips' newest brand, Evnia, released its latest monitor on 20 February 2023. This monitor, named Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, focuses on giving its customers an immersive experience thanks to its curved display and crystal-clear imagery.
Introducing Philips Evnia
Philips Evnia was launched in October 2022 with the intention of reinventing the rules in the gaming industry. The brand's motto, Reinvent the Rules, is a representative message about spreading inclusiveness in the gaming industry and Philips Evnia bases its manifesto on creating an environment for everyone through its products. With their newest product, Philips Evnia 34M2C8600, they aim to do just that.
Dynamic smart projector brand, Emotn, is thrilled to announce the launch of its first and latest Netflix officially licensed projector, the Emotn N1. Packed with native 1080P full HD clarity, 500 ANSI Lumens and a maximum projection size of 120 inches, the Emotn N1 instantly enters the extensive Netflix library after booting and presents its rich content in a crisp, clear and vibrant way. Combined with Dolby Audio and dual 5 W speakers, the Emotn N1's excellent picture and sound quality makes viewers feel as if they've stepped inside the movie. The Emotn N1 is now available at the price of $399.99 on Amazon US. To celebrate the launch, Emotn is offering a $50 discount coupon.
Officially licensed by Netflix, the Emotn N1 offers new ideas and viewing locations for easier and clearer enjoyable viewing of Netflix films, TV shows, award-winning originals and more. The Emotn N1 transports users to Netflix immediately upon power-on, exposing them to a world of their favorite content. Unlike watching Netflix on smartphones and tablets, the Emotn N1 gives users the freedom to choose from a large screen size of 60" to 120". Different to watching on a normal TV, the dedicated light, rich color and crystal sound of the Emotn N1 provide viewers with more immersion and a cozy vibe. The Emotn N1 comes with a remote control that features hotkeys for the three main video services - Netflix, Prime Video and YouTube - allowing consumers to access their go-to apps with a single press. From films to educational documentaries geared for kids, from anime to TV shows, there's something for everyone.
This new 42" (105.5 cm) Evnia gaming monitor will make reality feel like a game. Innovation has arrived in the gaming world and along with it, the Philips brand Evnia, whose purpose is to create a playful, innovative, and welcoming environment in the gaming industry. While bringing innovative products to the gaming sector upon the release of Philips Evnia 42M2N8900, Philips Evnia will also initiate positive change in the gaming community through their message.
And positive change is not all that Evnia is bringing to the table. The new monitor is part of the Evnia 8000 series; the top-level category from Evnia, and with that series come unmatched features for a complete gaming experience. These features include but are not limited to: True 10-bit display for smoother colour gradients, OLED display for an impressive, rich contrast, 138 Hz refresh rate to display fast-paced action smoothly, 0.1 ms GtG response time for quick responsiveness, DTS for enhanced sound, and UltraClear 4K UHD (3840x2160) resolution for precise imaging. In addition, the new monitor boasts a thin bezel on 4-sides, 42" display size, a built-in KVM switch for managing two PCs easily, a USB-C port, and a height-adjustable ergonomic stand for an all-around user experience.
Since 2022, DRAM suppliers have been adjusting their product mixes so as to assign more wafer input to server DRAM products while scaling back the wafer input for mobile DRAM products. This trend is driven by two reasons. First, the demand outlook is bright for the server DRAM segment. Second, the mobile DRAM segment was in significant oversupply during 2022. Moving into 2023, the projections on the growth of smartphone shipments and the increase in the average DRAM content of smartphones remain quite conservative. Therefore, DRAM suppliers intend to keep expanding the share of server DRAM in their product mixes. According to TrendForce's analysis on the distribution of the DRAM industry's total bit output for 2023, server DRAM is estimated to comprise around 37.6%, whereas mobile DRAM is estimated to comprise around 36.8%. Hence, server DRAM will formally surpass mobile DRAM in terms of the portion of the overall supply within this year.
Intel has recently updated its open-source C++ header file library for high-performance SIMD-based sorting to support the AVX-512 SIMD instruction set. Extending the capability of regular AVX2 support, the sorting functions now implement 512-bit extensions to offer greater performance. According to Phoronix, the NumPy Python library for mathematics that underpins a lot of software has updated its software base to use the AVX-512 boosted sorting functionality that yields a fantastic uplift in performance. The library uses AVX-512 to vectorize the quicksort for 16-bit and 64-bit data types using the extended instruction set. Benchmarked on an Intel Tiger Lake system, the NumPy sorting saw a 10-17x increase in performance.
Intel's engineer Raghuveer Devulapalli changed the NumPy code, which was merged into the NumPy codebase on Wednesday. Regarding individual data types, the new implementation increases 16-bit int sorting by 17x and 32-bit data type sorting by 12-13x, while float 64-bit sorting for random arrays has experienced a 10x speed up. Using the x86-simd-sort code, this speed-up shows the power of AVX-512 and its capability to enhance the performance of various libraries. We hope to see more implementations of AVX-512, as AMD has joined the party by placing AVX-512 processing elements on Zen 4.
AMD's upcoming Ryzen 9 7950X3D processor will bring 16 cores and 32 threads along with 16 MB of L2 cache and 128 MB of L3 cache for 144 MB of 3D V-cache present on the package. Today, we get to see it in action for the first time in benchmarks like Blender for 3D content creation and Geekbench 5 for synthetic benchmarks, where we get to compare the scores to the already existing models. In Blender, the new AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D scores 558.59 points, while the regular Ryzen 9 7950X scores 590.28 points. This represents a 5.4% regression from the original model; however, we are yet to see how other content creation benchmarks suit the new CPU.
For Geekbench 5 synthetics, the upcoming Ryzen 9 7950X3D scores 2,157 points in the single-core score and 21,841 points in the multi-core score. The regular Ryzen 9 7950X can reach around 2246 points for single-core and 25,275 points for multi-core score, which is relatively faster than the new cache-enhanced Ryzen 9 7950X3D design. Of course, some of these benchmark results show that the 4.2 GHz base frequency of Ryzen 9 7950X3D plays a significant role in the overall performance comparison, given that the regular Ryzen 9 7950X is set to a 4.5 GHz base clock. Both designs share the same 5.7 GHz boost speed, so we have yet to see more benchmarks showing other differences induced by larger cache sizes.
AAEON, a provider of elite embedded solutions, has expanded its line of fanless embedded box PCs powered by 12th Generation Intel Core /Celeron processors (formerly Alder Lake-P U15) with the release of the BOXER-6451-ADP. Boasting the smallest chassis of AAEON's trifecta of new box PCs utilizing the latest Intel technology, the BOXER-6451-ADP offers 10 cores and 12 threads of processing power in a compact 7.48" x 4.37" x 2.5" (190 mm x 111 mm x 63.5 mm) model. AAEON believe this will help to bring compact, flexible solutions such as smart kiosks and charging stations to market with ease.
Adding to the BOXER-6451-ADP's suitability to smaller deployment spaces is its innovative new heat dissipation framework, which has seen AAEON replace the tubular heat pipe typically used to conduct heat from a PC's CPU to its heatsink with a flattened pipe to both increase its conduction area and accelerate heat transfer. This enables the system to maintain thermal regulation during periods of high workloads.
EK, the premium PC liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is launching the EK-Quantum Momentum² Strix Z790-I Gaming D-RGB - Plexi, the latest Intel LGA 1700 socket-based monoblock. The new Quantum line monoblock is engineered specifically for the ASUS ROG STRIX Z790-I GAMING motherboard. The addressable D-RGB LED in this monoblock is compatible with ASUS Aura Sync RGB control, offering complete lighting customization for every single diode at any given time. This Momentum² monoblock is also EK-Matrix7 compatible and doesn't require removing the factory-mounted heatsink before installation.
This is a complete, all-in-one (CPU + motherboard) liquid cooling solution for 12th and 13th gen Intel Core processors, compatible with LGA 1700-socket ROG Strix ZZ90-I Gaming ITX motherboard. This water block directly cools the Intel 1700 socket-type CPU and the heatsink of the power regulation (MOSFET) module. It doesn't replace the stock heatsink but instead complements it. It connects with the preinstalled heatsink through thermal pads between them and cools the heatsink instead of directly cooling the VRM.
With a massive mesh front and metal panel design and flexible configuration options, Antec Inc. presents the latest two additions to the Antec P Series: the P20C with glass side panel and the P20CE with solid side panel. Both versions are now available on US Amazon and Newegg. (P20C: MSRP$119.99 USD, P20CE: MSRP$114.99 USD).
The P20C / P20CE allows limitless possibilities for building a show case. The new case is ready to provide users with a more flexible layout as it features seven reusable PCI-E slots for vertical GPU installation. By supporting dual CPU motherboards with a width of up to 330 mm, the P20C / P20CE is the evolution of compatibility. It adopts a unique metal design, providing a massive airflow. With the full-size dust filter, the case reaches the balance between cooling and easy maintenance. The pin-type metal front panel is effortlessly removable, and the clip-on dust filters make the cleaning process a walk in the park.
Higround, a lifestyle and gaming peripheral brand, in collaboration with Crunchyroll, the global anime brand serving fans with the ultimate anime experience, today announced a new line of graphic computer peripherals for the hit dark fantasy anime JUJUTSU KAISEN. The entire capsule will be available on Higround's website on February 24 at 12 pm PT. The main part of the collection features four keyboards: two Basecamp 65 models and two Summit 65—Higround's flagship keyboard. The rest of the collection features two mousepads, keycap sets corresponding to the keyboards, and an assortment of accoutrement.
With this new collection, Higround showcases an unmatched array of components within both Summit 65 and Basecamp 65 keyboards. All four keyboards feature dye-sub PBT keycaps featuring the iconic art of JUJUTSU KAISEN, and a hot-swappable PCB, which allows for ultimate customizability. The Basecamp 65 boards are built with Higround's tried and tested dual-silicone dampening foam, which—when paired with Higround and TTC's co-designed White Flame switches—make for a premium typing feel.
Creative Technology launched Sound Blaster X5, its latest USB DAC and amplifier sound card that ticks all the boxes on a discerning audiophile's gear wish list. Decked with class-leading components, breakthrough audio technologies, a comprehensive connectivity profile and sporting a premium look and feel in a sleek build, the X5 simply pulls out all the stops as a compelling audio solution like no other.
Sound Blaster X5 personifies the best of Creative's audio engineering and design expertise, equipped with audiophile-grade components to achieve exceptional audio quality. It is the first Sound Blaster to feature a dual-DAC design - 2 Cirrus Logic CS43198 DACs deliver high-resolution lossless playback in 32-bit / 384 kHz over PCM with ultra-high dynamic range of up to 130 dB SNR. These DACs can also decode audio formats in DoP128 and DSD256 for high-fidelity audio streaming. Audio distortion is practically non-existent with an oversampled multi-bit modulator for an incredibly low Total Harmonic Distortion rating of 0.00018%.
AMD's next-generation RDNA4 graphics architecture will retain a design-focus on gaming performance, without being drawn into an AI feature-set competition with rival NVIDIA. David Wang, SVP Radeon Technologies Group; and Rick Bergman, EVP of Computing and Graphics Business at AMD; gave an interview to Japanese tech publication 4Gamers, in which they dropped the first hints on the direction which the company's next-generation graphics architecture will take.
While acknowledging NVIDIA's movement in the GPU-accelerated AI space, AMD said that it didn't believe that image processing and performance-upscaling is the best use of the AI-compute resources of the GPU, and that the client segment still hasn't found extensive use of GPU-accelerated AI (or for that matter, even CPU-based AI acceleration). AMD's own image processing tech, FSR, doesn't leverage AI acceleration. Wang said that with the company introducing AI acceleration hardware with its RDNA3 architecture, he hopes that AI is leveraged in improving gameplay—such as procedural world generation, NPCs, bot AI, etc; to add the next level of complexity; rather than spending the hardware resources on image-processing.
Sunday, February 19th 2023
We extend our heartfelt thanks to global fans and communities for your love and support for MSI and MSI products. As a leading gaming brand, MSI has been devoted to providing players with the best gaming experience and service. However, the recent occurrence of unauthorized emails to content creators and valued followers has caught our attention. Please be advised that MSI Staffs will have this domain name @msi.com when sending out official emails. We have received fraud email reports from various content creators on YouTube. Here is an example of authentic MSI Staff's email address: juandelacruz@msi.com.
NVIDIA is possibly readying three memory-based variants of the upcoming GeForce RTX 4070 "Ada" performance-segment graphics card, suggests a GIGABYTE leak. The company put up a game bundle information page on its website, which inadvertently leaked the three RTX 4070 variants in its "eligibility" section; so this is slightly more credible than a case of GIGABYTE anticipating NVIDIA SKUs with the Eurasian Economic Commission (EEC) in its regulatory filings. The leak mentions three distinct SKUs—RTX 4070 10 GB, RTX 4070 12 GB, and RTX 4070 16 GB. The predecessors of the RTX 4070 tended to be NVIDIA's bestselling graphics cards each generation, next to the xx60 series.
The billion-dollar question hence would be exactly how NVIDIA segments the three SKUs—whether it stops at just memory size and memory bus width; or whether it will also tinker with core-configuration, and possibly even base one of the three SKUs on a physically smaller silicon, such as the AD106. The "RTX 4070" rumored to be a single SKU until now, was expected to be carved out of the AD104, with 5,888 out of 7,680 CUDA cores being enabled. NVIDIA faced stiff criticism from the media and gamers for such segmentation for its RTX 4080 16 GB and RTX 4080 12 GB, with the company being forced to cancel the market-release of the latter, and relaunch it under the name RTX 4070 Ti.
BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, is excited to announce the brand new B760T-SILVER motherboard. Based on Intel's LGA1700 Socket which supports Intel 12 and 13th generation processors, the B760T-SILVER is composed of BIOSTAR's RACING motherboard DNA, with features strategically chosen to provide a superior user experience.
Constructed on the Mini-ITX platform, the B760T-SILVER motherboard is ideal for gamers, content creators, and business professionals. With its optimized performance, ideal for running AAA games, content editing applications, and AI technology such as Chat GPT or any AI applications which can make use of its high performance PCIe 5.0 interface. DDR5 memory that can be operated at 6400+(OC) over two DIMM sockets up to 64 GB and AMD EXPO Technology and Intel XMP modules make the B760T-SILVER highly adaptable to suit any situation. Further demonstrated by its PCI-E Gen 5 x16 slot with iron protection, it is capable of running top-tier graphics cards at high OC settings.
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today launches the GeForce RTX 4090 AERO OC 24G graphics card powered by NVIDIA ADA Lovelace architecture. The AERO OC graphics card is designed for creators and consumers who prefer a silver-white design aesthetic. To fully unleash the unparalleled performance of GeForce RTX 4090, GIGABYTE equipped the graphics card with amped-up designs and improved features, giving content creators and consumers more of everything. In addition, unlike gaming graphics cards that emphasize on a dark black appearance, the simple silver-white design of AERO OC is favored by many consumers.
The GeForce RTX 4090 AERO OC 24G graphics card uses the WINDFORCE cooling system. It features three unique blade fans, alternate spinning, a large vapor chamber with direct touch to the GPU, composite copper heat pipes, 3D active fans, and screen cooling to maximize the heat dissipation. The WINDFORCE fans utilize graphene nano lubricant, which extends fan's life by 2.1 times, delivering nearly the lifespan of the double ball bearing technology while providing quiet operation. Furthermore, the Dual BIOS design provides a silent mode allowing creators to work in a quieter environment. This silent mode offers a lower noise levels without compromising performance.
We have a jam packed week of new game releases to look forward to, with almost all of the game releases this week being AAA or AA releases, although one is a remake from 2014. It's a mix of action RPGs, strategy and simulation games, so there should be something for almost everyone as well.
Atomic Heart / This week's AAA title / Monday 20 February
Atomic Heart is an adventure role-playing action game with a closed world, which takes place in an alternative Soviet Union of 1955. Science, equality and fraternity are the main symbols of Freedom in this reality. But what kind of effort does it take to build an ideal society? And what is the price of such a society? Will Major of Intelligence "P-3" have to find out what forces are behind the Utopian dream? And what secrets are hidden in the depths of Facility 3826? The truth will have to be paid in blood. [Editor's note: NVIDIA has been promoting this game since 2019 and it's guaranteed to have RTX and DLSS support]
Saturday, February 18th 2023
Last month, Philips introduced a pair of
40-inch ultrawide monitors targeting office work, both with a resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixels. Now the company has introduced a pair of larger 45-inch displays for the same target market, but with a wider 5120 x 1440 pixel resolution and a 32:9 aspect ratio. The 45B1U6900C and 45B1U6900CH are largely identical as with the 40-inch models, with the differentiator being that the latter has a built-in 5 Megapixel webcam with support for Windows Hello. The other difference being that the 45B1U6900C sports one USB-C and one USB-B port for the KVM functionality, whereas the 45B1U6900CH is equipped with a pair of USB-C ports.
The display panel is of VA type with a refresh rate of up to 75 Hz and a typical response time of 4 ms. It has a brightness of 450 cd/m² and a typical contrast ratio of 3000:1. It's also DisplayHDR 400 certified. Outside of the USB inputs, these displays have two HDMI 2.0 inputs, a DisplayPort 1.4, with the USB-C ports on both models offering DP Alt mode, 10 Gbps data speeds and USB PD support up to 100 W. Both models have four downstream USB-A ports, one which supports fast charging and an additional USB-C downstream port that delivers up to 15 W of power. There's also Gigabit Ethernet and an audio jack, as well as a pair of built in 5 W speakers, making these displays decent docking stations at work. The stand is height adjustable and the display can be tilted and swivelled, but not rotated, for obvious reasons. No pricing is available at the moment, but both models should be available shortly.
The new NH-U14S DX-4677, NH-U12S DX-4677, NH-U9 DX-4677 and NH-D9 DX-4677 4U are dedicated, customised solutions for Intel's professional LGA4677 platform (Sapphire Rapids), which makes them an ideal fit for both 4th generation Xeon Scalable CPUs (Platinum, Gold, Silver or Bronze) and W-3400 or W-2400 series Xeon processors for workstations such as the w9-3495X, w7-3465X or w7-2495X. Whereas the large 14 cm NH-U14S DX-4677 and 12 cm NH-U12S DX-4677 are an excellent choice for tower-style cases and thus lend themselves to use in high-performance quiet workstations, the smaller NH-D9 DX-4677 4U and NH-U9 DX-4677 fit 4U cases, which makes them perfect for more compact workstations as well as 4U class rack-mount servers that need to run as quietly as possible.
While the NH-U9's direction of airflow is perpendicular to the long axis of the LGA4677 socket, the NH-D9's direction of airflow is parallel to the long axis of the LGA4677 socket. Depending on the orientation of the socket(s) on the motherboard, choosing either the NH-U9 or de NH-D9 enables system builders to align the airflow of the cooler(s) with the exhaust fans of the chassis and thereby ensure optimal system performance. Thanks to their compact footprint, both models are ideal for building dual socket setups with motherboards where larger coolers may interfere with each other.
Friday, February 17th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Mice
With the wireless Hati-S Plus ACE, G-Wolves presents an ambidextrous mouse weighing no more than 46 g without any holes. Furthermore, the ACE comes with PixArt's latest PAW3395 sensor, Zippy main button switches rated for 60 million clicks, and pure PTFE feet.
Review
CPU Coolers
Corsair's iCUE H150i Elite LCD XT is a 360 mm All-In-One liquid cooler that looks to dominate the AIO space. Delivering exceptional performance, clean looks and a stout five-year warranty along with an IPS display, it packs a massive number of features to go with its stellar performance. Just beware of the hefty price tag.
It appears things are tougher at Micron than expected, as according to Boise State Public Radio, the company is looking at cutting an additional five percent of its workforce. Back in December, Micron announced it was planning to lay off around 10 percent of its global workforce, which at the time sat at around 49,000 employees, but it appears that cut wasn't enough, as company spokesman Tate Tran has confirmed the total headcount reduction is expected to around 15 percent, although that is for the entire year of 2023. This suggests that there might be several stages of layoffs, unless things improve and demand for Micron's products pick up.
The company is also lowering its capex, not just for 2023, but also for 2024, although the company is expecting more on building new fabs. Micron has already reduced its wafer starts, for both DRAM and NAND flash by around 20 percent. This is all taking place while the company is slowing down its tech node transitions and as such, its 1-gamma note will be moved to 2025. This means that Micron will be stuck at 232-layer 3D TLC NAND for longer than initially planned, which could lead to Micron losing market to its competitors, specifically SK Hynix and Samsung in this case, while allowing other competitors to catch up. Micron will reports is financial Q2 '23 results at the end of March, with previous quarters results indicating that Micron is expecting a drop in revenue of up to US$300 million compared to the previous quarter.
2K today announced that industry veteran and Firaxis Games Chief Operating Officer, Heather Hazen, has been promoted to Studio Head, ushering in a new era of development at the legendary interactive entertainment studio behind Sid Meier's Civilization, XCOM, and the recently-released and critically-acclaimed Marvel's Midnight Suns.
As Studio Head, Hazen will manage Firaxis Games' development teams and lead its mission to build the best strategy games on the planet. With 22 years of experience in gaming and entertainment, Hazen joined Firaxis Games in 2020 as the studio's Chief Operating Officer. Prior to Firaxis Games, she was an Executive Producer on Fortnite at Epic Games, as well as Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled while at PopCap Games. Hazen's promotion comes as longtime Firaxis Studio Head, Steve Martin, will be leaving the studio after more than 25 years with the organization.
JLab is turning up the volume on the overlooked work-from-home category by expanding its signature innovation to its new Work Collection of keyboards, mice, webcams and microphones in the UK. They are currently available on Amazon UK with high street retailers also expected to stock very soon.
Studies have cited that the shift to remote work during the pandemic has brought a heightened level of productivity among office workers, and a recent Gallup State of the Workforce study found with 70% of workers would prefer a hybrid office arrangement in the future. To satisfy the diverse and evolving needs of the work-from-home contingent to a neglected category, JLab's new computer peripherals include mice and keyboards that seamlessly switch between three devices further evolving to today's evolving work-life blending. The new Work Collection is available in three product categories, GO, JBuds, and Epic. Further launches in these categories are expected throughout the year in the UK.
MSI, a world leading gaming solution provider, proudly presents its new lineup of networking products—the RadiX AXE6600 WiFi 6E tri-band gaming router, the RadiX AX6600 WiFi 6 tri-band gaming router, and the AX1800 WiFi USB adapter. MSI aims to provide gamers with a home network that is ultra-fast, has low latency, and with no jitter.
Upgrade your gaming experience
The RadiX AXE6600 and RadiX AX6600 are powerful tri-band gaming routers that each can deliver combined speeds of up to 6600 Mbps. An integrated 1.8 GHz quad-core CPU from Qualcomm and advanced networking hardware has been designed to prevent jitter, reduce lag, lower ping, and sustain incredible speed for online gaming.
iBUYPOWER, a leading manufacturer of high-performance custom gaming PCs, today announced the new RDY Ouro Kronii system featuring the special edition Y60 Ouro Kronii PC case.
"It's been an incredible journey collaborating with Kronii and hololive Engish," said King Perez de Tagle, Marketing Executive Producer of HYTE and iBUYPOWER. "It's about time The Warden of Time gets a high-performance gaming PC and the RDY Ouro Kronii limited edition systems are ready to ship. stay tuned for even more!" The RDY Ouro Kronii will boast the latest Intel Core i9 13900K or KF CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti GPU, Z790 motherboard, and the custom Y60 Ouro Kronii PC case. The RDY Ouro Kronii will provide users with maximum performance in virtually any application with reliable components and iBUYPOWER's expert assembly.
The Netherlands-based ASML has reportedly launched a comprehensive investigation into the company's branch in China following reports that one of its former employees allegedly stole confidential information. According to Bloomberg, the employee in question was part of a product life cycle management (PLM) program for ASML's advanced lithography solutions. Specifically, the employee worked for the Teamcenter software division responsible for lithography tool management. This software was used to create digital twins of scanners and other tools and allowed information to be shared among the company's employees. In ASML's case, the software contained all the confidential information about the scanners and how they work, which makes it a target for IP theft. We do not know if this is a China-sponsored action to boost its domestic lithography tool development; however, ASML has issued a statement below.
ASMLWe have experienced unauthorized misappropriation of data relating to proprietary technology by a (now) former employee in China. We promptly initiated a comprehensive internal review. Based upon our initial findings we do not believe that the misappropriation is material to our business. However, as a result of the security incident, certain export control regulations may have been violated. ASML has therefore reported the incident to relevant authorities. We are implementing additional remedial measures in light of this incident.
Thursday, February 16th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Networking
MSI gets serious about its networking product line with the launch of the RadiX routers. Today we examine the new RadiX AXE6600 that provides WiFi 6E support with a faster, wider 6 GHz band for those who want the most wireless throughput possible today.
Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the new Razer BlackWidow V4 Pro, a full blown battlestation keyboard packed with features for gamers and PC enthusiasts to perfect their gaming set-up. With the new Razer Command Dial, dedicated macro keys, comprehensive Razer Chroma RGB lighting, Razer Mechanical Switches and dedicated media controls, this is the ultimate keyboard for every PC gamer.
This latest iteration in Razer's award winning BlackWidow line of keyboards has a host of features to suit every gamer. The Command Dial gives advanced controls and shortcuts for desktop apps and in games. In addition, dedicated macro keys allow for complex actions to be executed with one button press during heated gameplay moments. The keyboard also boasts per-key Razer Chroma RGB lighting and a multi-zone RGB underglow lighting. This allows for near limitless customization options and in-game immersion.
Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion"), a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers for solid-state storage devices, today announced the SM2268XT, its latest high-performance PCIe Gen 4 SSD controller solution optimized for higher speed NAND transfer rates. The SM2268XT's superior performance and robust reliability allows customers to accelerate development of next-generation SSDs using current and future TLC and QLC 3D NAND flash with comprehensive data integrity and correction without compromising throughput and latency.
The SM2268XT features a dual-core ARM R8 CPU with four lanes of 16 Gb/s PCIe data flow and supports four NAND channels with up to 3,200 MT/s per channel, enabling designers to take advantage of higher throughput next-generation high-speed TLC and QLC 3D NAND flash. Its multi-core design automatically balances the compute load to deliver industry-leading sequential read and write speeds of 7,400 MB/s & 6,500 MB/s, and random read & write speed of 1,200K IOPS. In addition, its advanced architecture enables lower power consumption and rigorous data protection, providing high performance and reliability in a cost-effective DRAM-less PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD solution.
MediaTek today announced the Dimensity 7200, its inaugural chipset in the new Dimensity 7000 series. The Dimensity 7200 boasts cutting-edge AI imaging features, powerful gaming optimizations, and impressive 5G speeds, all with deeply engrained power savings for extended battery life.
The Dimensity 7200 delivers the same TSMC 4 nm second-generation process found in the Dimensity 9200, and is ideal for ultra-slim designs in a variety of form factors. The octa-core CPU integrates two Arm Cortex-A715 cores, featuring operating speeds of up to 2.8 GHz, with six Cortex-A510 cores, so users can effortlessly multitask and take advantage of peak performance in every app. To further optimize power and performance, MediaTek's built-in AI Processing Unit (APU) maximizes the efficiency of AI tasks and AI-fusion processing.
GlobalFoundries Inc. (GF) (Nasdaq: GFS) today announced preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2022.
Key Fourth Quarter Financial Highlights
Revenue of $2,101 million, up 14% year-over-year.
Gross margin of 29.6% and adjusted gross margin of 30.1%.
Net income of $668 million.
Adjusted EBITDA of $821 million.
Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities of $3,346 million.
Eiswolf 2 AiO - now also for custom designs of RTX 4080/4090 and RX 7900XT/XTX GPUs! Alphacool presents additional innovative solutions for cooling Nvidia's Geforce RTX 4080 and 4090 and AMD's RX 7900XT/XTX graphics cards.
The enormous waste heat of the new graphics card generation is excellently dissipated with these coolers. The very good water flow and the large cooling surface are due to the particularly filigree fin structure. The jet plate with revised inflow engine also distributes the water perfectly on the cooling fins. The complete chrome plating of the cooler not only provides resistant protection against acids, scratches and damage, but also achieves a beautiful homogeneity and remarkable shine. The Aurora design of the cooler is kept visually calm and simple. This is evident not only in the cooler's design, but also in the wonderfully even lighting achieved via digitally addressable RGB LEDs.
Antec Inc., a Californian supplier of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself market, presents the AX90, a model oft he new budget-friendly AX series of Gaming cases. The mid-tower is equipped with three 120 mm ARGB fans in the front as well as one in the rear and is now available at a very affordable price of € 99.99 (recommended retail price including VAT).
The new AX series from Antec offers a large selection of gaming cases with LED lighting and eye-catching front panel designs - all at an affordable price. The new AX90 case has a side panel made of tempered glass and puts the built-in components in the limelight. Diamond-shaped frames in a mesh front panel create not only a visual highlight but also allow for excellent airflow.
Wednesday, February 15th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Memory
Team Group is ready for the next generation of high performance DDR5. Using the popular T-Force Delta RGB once again, Team Group offers a DDR5-7200 kit for hardcore gamers and PC enthusiasts alike. Follow along as we benchmark, compare and overclock to see what all the fuss is about!
Review
CPU Coolers
ID-Cooling knocks it out of the park with the $70 Dashflow 240 Black All-in-One watercooling unit. What it lacks in rainbow LEDs and fluff features, it more than makes up for in pure performance per dollar where it absolutely man-handles the competition.
Qualcomm Technologies' 6th generation modem-to-antenna solution is the first ready to support 5G Advanced, the next phase of 5G. It introduces a new architecture, a new software suite and includes numerous world's first features to push the boundaries of connectivity including coverage, latency, power efficiency and mobility. Snapdragon X75 technologies and innovations empower OEMs to create next generation experiences across segments including smartphones, mobile broadband, automotive, compute, industrial IoT, fixed wireless access and 5G private networks.
Snapdragon X75 is the first Modem-RF System with a dedicated hardware tensor accelerator, Qualcomm 5G AI Processor Gen 2, enabling over 2.5 times better AI performance compared to Gen 1 and introduces Qualcomm 5G AI Suite Gen 2 with new AI-powered optimizations to achieve better speeds, coverage, mobility, link robustness and location accuracy. The Qualcomm 5G AI Suite features advanced AI-based capabilities including world's first sensor-assisted mmWave beam management and AI-enhanced GNSS Location Gen 2, which uniquely optimize Snapdragon X75 for superior 5G performance.
HP Inc. announced its new Z by HP high-performance workstation desktop lineup, engineered to change what is possible within complex, data rich workflows. HP is advancing hybrid workforce management with the HP Anyware Remote System Controller, a device that gives IT departments the management capabilities to support high performance devices from anywhere.
The complex workflows in industries spanning media and entertainment, data science, and engineering mean increased time pressure and the need for more compute power to deliver faster results. They also highlight a need to iterate with remote teams and push creative boundaries to deliver more accurate results. The new Z by HP Z4, Z6, Z8, and Z8 Fury desktops, powered by Intel, deliver the scalable balance of CPU and GPU compute needed to fuel new levels of speed, accuracy, and creativity.
Winbond has joined the UCIe (Universal Chiplet Interconnect Express) Consortium, the industry Consortium dedicated to advancing UCIe technology. This open industry standard defines interconnect between chiplets within a package, enabling an open chiplet ecosystem and facilitating the development of advanced 2.5D/3D devices.
A leader in high-performance memory ICs, Winbond is an established supplier of known good die (KGD) needed to assure end-of-line yield in 2.5D/3D assembly. 2.5D/3D multichip devices are needed to realize the exponential improvements in performance, power efficiency, and miniaturization, demanded by the explosion of technologies such as 5G, Automotive, and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Yes, you read that correctly, ASUS didn't launch just one, but two W790 based LGA-4677 motherboards today, namely the Pro WS W790-Sage SE and the Pro WS W790-Ace. The main difference here is that the Sage supports up to seven PCIe 5.0 x16 slots—one is a x8 slot electrically—and is designed for the Xeon W-3400 series, whereas the Ace supports five PCIe 5.0 x16 slots and is in turn designed for the Xeon W-2400 series. One downside of these boards is that they might not fit in a standard ATX case, as the Sage follows the SSI-EEB form factor and the Ace the SSI-CEB form factor, both of which are a fair bit wider than an ATX motherboard and with different mounting holes.
The Pro WS W790-ACE also sports eight DDR5 DIMM slots that operate in quad-channel and supports up to 2 TB of RAM if ECC R-DIMMs are used. Furthermore, ASUS has kitted out the Ace with a pair of PCIe 4.0 M.2 slots, one 2280 and one 22110 slot, four SATA ports, three slim SAS ports, a Marvell 10 Gbps and an Intel 2.5 Gbps Ethernet interface, a single USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 20 Gbps USB Type-C port around the back and an internal header for a second, case mounted port. Finally the board has four USB 3.2 Gen 2 10 Gbps Type-A ports around the back and a header for a further two., as well as eight USB 2.0 ports around the back and audio courtesy of a Realtek S1220A based solution with optical S/PDIF out.
Intel today announced the new Intel Xeon W-3400 and Intel Xeon W-2400 desktop workstation processors (code-named Sapphire Rapids), led by the Intel Xeon w9-3495X, Intel's most powerful desktop workstation processor ever designed. Built for professional creators, these new Xeon processors provide massive performance for media and entertainment, engineering and data science professionals. With a breakthrough new compute architecture, faster cores and new embedded multi-die interconnect bridge (EMIB) packaging, the Xeon W-3400 and Xeon W-2400 series of processors enable unprecedented scalability for increased performance.
"For more than 20 years, Intel has been committed to delivering the highest quality workstation platforms - combining high-performance compute and rock-solid stability - for professional PC users across the globe. Our new Intel Xeon desktop workstation platform is uniquely designed to unleash the innovation and creativity of professional creators, artists, engineers, designers, data scientists and power users - built to tackle both today's most demanding workloads as well as the professional workloads of the future." -Roger Chandler, Intel vice president and general manager, Creator and Workstation Solutions, Client Computing Group
MSI, a world leader in high-performance and innovative computing solutions, has announced PRO MP161, a 15.6-inch FHD portable monitor with an anti-glare IPS panel and an ultra-slim body. This sleek portable monitor only weighs 0.75 kg (1.65 lbs) and has an ultra-slim 1.08 cm (0.4 inches) profile. It offers a minimalistic look that looks great anywhere. Despite its smaller footprint, it still comes with two built-in speakers. Moreover, with an included protective sleeve, you can easily bring it anywhere.
Work Anytime, Anywhere
MSI's PRO MP161 helps you to extend your screen from a laptop or duplicate the screen from a smartphone. As a result, you can communicate better or effectively share information with others anywhere. Whether checking business data while on the move, working or watching videos on a train, making an important decision on a flight, previewing recorded content, or playing games with friends during downtime, the PRO MP161 makes your life easier.
Leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, proudly announces its new ASRock W790 WS motherboard for workstations for Intel Xeon W-3400/W-2400 series processors (LGA4677). The ASRock W790 WS features up to 2 TB DDR5 ECC RDIMM support, PCI-Express 5.0 expansion slots, USB4/Thunderbolt 4 and Dual 10 Gbps Ethernet. A flagship-class 14-layer PCB and 20+2 phase CPU VRM ensures ultimate performance and superb reliability, even when subjected to the most demanding sustained workloads.
Supports New 4th Generation Xeon Processor
The W790 WS chipset is optimized for new Intel Xeon W-2400 series (LGA4677) processors and is compatible with W-3400 series processors with up to 56 cores also. The ASRock W790 WS provides a quad-channel DDR5 design with 2DPC over 8 DIMM slots, maximizing memory performance, potential memory pool capacity and supports ECC RDIMMs to ensure data reliability.
To help consumers preserve their ever-growing digital world, Western Digital's WD brand is expanding its trusted My Book Desktop Storage lineup. Built upon a legacy of technology innovation, the company has released its highest capacity consumer drive ever with the 22 TB My Book Desktop Hard Drive, giving people greater flexibility to store more of what they love.
"Consumers continue generating data at a rapid pace. In 2022 alone, the average household worldwide generated more than 20 TB of data and we expect this number to continue to rise as people continue to consume and create more data," said John Rydning, research vice president, Global DataSphere at International Data Corporation (IDC), a global market intelligence firm. "While many people rely on the cloud, we know consumers are looking for local storage at their fingertips to help them preserve and readily control their growing amount of personal and business data."
ADATA today unveiled a 4 TB variant of its Premier series M.2 NVMe SSD with integrated heatsink (APSFG-4TCS). The drive takes advantage of PCIe Gen 4 x4 interface, and targets the crowd that wants storage upgrades for their Sony PlayStation 5 consoles. The drive offers sequential read speeds of up to 6300 MB/s when used with a PS5. It's slightly faster when used with a PC, with sequential transfer rates of up to 7400 MB/s sequential reads, with up to 6600 MB/s sequential writes. ADATA is backing the drive with an impressive 2960 TBW endurance rating, and with a 5-year warranty. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Ahead of its launch, the SKU table of Intel's Xeon W "Sapphire Rapids" HEDT/Workstation-class processor lineup was leaked to the web. The lineup is horizontally split between the Xeon W-3400 series, and the Xeon W-2400 series. The W-2400 series come in rather modest CPU core-counts ranging between 6-core/12-thread and 24-core/48-thread. These chips are characterized by a 4-channel DDR5 memory interface (8 sub-channels); and a 64-lane PCIe Gen 5 I/O. The W-3400 series, on the other hand, ranges between 12-core/24-thread and 56-core/112-thread, nearly maxing out the core-count of the "Sapphire Rapids" MCM. These chips feature a massive 8-channel (16 sub-channel) DDR5 memory interface, and a 112-lane PCIe Gen 5 I/O. Prices for the lineup start at a surprisingly low $360 for the base W-2400 series SKU; while the top W-2400 series SKU is priced at $2,189. The W-3400 series ranges between $1,189 for the base 12-core/24-thread part, and goes all the way up to $5,889 for the top 56-core part. All models feature ECC memory support.
Newegg Commerce, Inc. (NASDAQ: NEGG), a leading global technology e-commerce retailer, bestowed Neo Forza the 2022 "Fastest Growing Partner" award at the Gala held in January 2023. "We are glad to have Neo Forza on our sales-portals. It is obvious its products speak to our discerning customers," Betty Lin, Senior Manager, Senior Manager, Newegg Incorporated. "Our retail products are continually audited and reviewed by world-wide tech-media to ensure quality consistency and provide feedback. Our hardware is prominent in HWBOT-submissions and used in their test-platforms too - which is the greatest accolade," Linda Lee, Marketing Officer, Goldkey Technology Corporation, owner of Neo Forza. Neo Forza is perpetually cooperating with its partners to provide best-in-class products to the retail, commercial, and industrial segments.
EK, the leading liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is announcing the availability of two high-performance liquid cooling solutions for the AMD Ryzen processor family based on the AMD AM5 socket. These single-socket AM5 water blocks are available in both the standard and the 1U-compatible format designed specifically for server racks.
EK-Pro CPU WB AM5 Ni + Inox
Being a dedicated workstation-grade water block for AMD AM5 processors, the EK-Pro CPU WB AM5 Ni + Inox water block features two standard G1/4" threaded ports on its top. Built with performance, reliability, serviceability, and no compromises in mind, this enterprise-grade cooling solution is intended for desktops, workstations, and taller server racks. The water block's top is CNC-machined from durable black POM Acetal, and the hold-down bracket is made of laser-cut stainless steel.
Powerful coolers for large processors on Intel Socket LGA 4677! With the new Enterprise Solution Jet and Stream CPU coolers, Alphacool presents progressive solutions for CPU cooling in server and workstation systems.
The Alphacool ES Jet CPU Cooler is equipped with a new complex 4-nozzle technology. For the first time, it distributes water evenly over the cooler base via four nozzles incorporated into the cooler. Thereby, all cores of the high-performance processor are optimally supplied and thus effectively and precisely cooled. The organic water flow ensures a disturbance-free water flow and thus increases the cooling performance. This method makes it possible to optimally dissipate waste heat of up to 800 watts. The chrome-plated cooler base is made of copper and is ideally suited for server and workstation systems with its extremely high thermal conductivity.
I've been using the ASUS ROG Z690 Formula motherboard in all my
recent CPU water block reviews, and also
detailed it here for a specific EK VRM bridge block article. While the board has reached end-of-life status at ASUS internally, the company's customers are only just starting to face problems. The board's unique selling point is that it comes with an optional CrossChill EK III hybrid VRM thermal solution, which is effectively a waterblock for your VRMs to keep them cool at all times. Based on ASUS's official advertisement of "nickel-plated" and EK's involvement, everybody assumed that the material used is nickel-plated copper, but it turns out it's something different, most probably nickel-plated aluminium.
This is not the first time that ASUS has failed the material mix in their watercooling products. The first generation ROG Formula motherboard VRM blocks used plated-aluminium that introduced corrosion when added to a watercooling loop that has copper/brass/steel components elsewhere. Mixing metals in a watercooling loop is a bad idea and will result in galvanic corrosion from the different electrochemical potential of the metals. This can result in the block etching off and flakes/chunks getting in the loop to create an increasingly worse reaction with the coolant used. This can lead to blocked channels and even pump failure due to the corroded materials jamming the impeller.
Tuesday, February 14th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Graphics Cards
The Zotac GeForce RTX 4070 Ti AMP Extreme Airo is a factory overclocked custom-design variant of NVIDIA's newest architecture. Performance is impressive, the card can beat last generation's RTX 3090 Ti flagship, with almost double the energy efficiency and much lower heat and noise.
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announced that its Intel 700 and 600 series DDR5 motherboards can support 24 GB and 48 GB memory modules without BIOS update. This boosts the maximum RAM support from 128 GB to 192 GB on four DIMMs, and 64 GB to 96 GB on two DIMMs. The maximum speed runs up to XMP 7000 on 2 DIMMs 24 GB configuration.
Users can enjoy an effortless overall boost of memory capacity and system performance on both Intel XMP and AMD EXPO platforms, as well as a productivity uplift for multitasking gamers and RAM demanding users. Get your GIGABYTE motherboards now and enjoy the boost. To avail this, update to the latest BIOS on your compatible motherboard.
AMD today released its first driver update in more than two months for Radeon RX 6000 series and RX 5000 series, the Adrenalin 23.2.1 WHQL. The drivers introduce optimization for "Forspoken," with up to 7% performance improvement on offer at 4K with an RX 6950 XT GPU; and optimization for "Dead Space" (2023). The drivers also introduce IREE compiler using MLIR interface on Vulkan, and a handful of new Vulkan API extensions. The drivers also catch up on the past two months of optimizations that were only released for the RX 7000 series, covering Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, Hogwarts Legacy, and some performance improvements to games released in the past six months.
Among the issues fixed with this release include the "Delayed Write Failed" error noticed in Windows 11 22H2, SpaceEngine lower-than-expected performance, display corruption in the Points Shop section of Steam; YouTube playback with Enhanced Sync on some RX 6000 series GPUs; game crashes noticed with Door Kickers 2, Baldur's Gate (Vulkan), Emergency 4, and Sea of Thieves. These drivers unify the driver release trunk, spanning RX 400 series, RX 500 series, RX Vega series, RX 5000 series, RX 6000 series, and RX 7000 series.
DOWNLOAD: AMD Software Adrenalin 23.2.1 WHQL
Cherry Americas, part of the global leader in computer input devices, today announced the launch of an exciting new lineup of computer microphones and accessory products, the CHERRY UM Microphone Series, for streaming and office use. The new product line marks a major expansion of CHERRY's product portfolio into the world of sound and microphones.
A pioneer and pacesetter in computer, office and gaming input devices and accessories and the world leader in mechanical key switches, CHERRY is expanding its audio portfolio with three stylish new microphones for work and entertainment. The CHERRY UM Microphone Series offers anyone from beginners to pro streamers the opportunity to enhance their setups with distinctive designs and the best possible audio recording quality. The new product line fits perfectly into contemporary computing environments where communication and collaboration take place remotely, and podcasts and live streams are part of our daily lives.
Geekbench 6, the latest version of the best cross-platform benchmark, has arrived and is loaded with new and improved workloads to measure the performance of your CPUs and GPUs. Geekbench 6 is available for download today for Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.
A lot has changed in the tech world in the past three years. Smartphone cameras take bigger and better pictures. Artificial intelligence, especially machine learning, has become ubiquitous in general and mobile applications. The number of cores in computers and mobile devices continues to rise. And how we interact with our computers and mobile devices has changed dramatically - who would have guessed that video conferencing would suddenly surge in 2020?
Airvine, the first company to develop a multi-Gigabit-speed wireless backhaul system for indoor connectivity, today announced the general availability of its WaveTunnel product line. The shoebox-sized module mounts on ceilings and other interior high points to provide high speed connectivity for the ever-expanding menu of enterprise applications, whether IT (Information Tech) or OT (Operational Tech). WaveTunnel systems, which can be installed in hours, fill the broadband gap that exists within many large interior spaces by extending LAN reach or upgrading the performance of older 1 Gb/s Ethernet CAT 5 cables.
WaveTunnel operates in the interference-free 60 GHz band, where there is also plenty of spectrum to provide on first release a multi-Gb/s backbone connectivity capability. Typically, 60 GHz systems operate on a line-of-sight (LOS) basis. WaveTunnel, however, can penetrate most indoor walls as well as "beam steer" around corners, making it a true non-LOS 60 GHz system. This breakthrough capability greatly simplifies and expedites network set-up and operational readiness.
Samsung Electronics announced the Galaxy Book3 Ultra is available for pre-order beginning today, February 14, with global availability starting February 22. Samsung's new premium PC offers an unmatched Samsung Galaxy ecosystem experience and high-performance computing, all in a thin, light and sleek design. The Galaxy Book3 Pro and Book3 Pro 360, has been available for global pre-orders on February 1. The latest Galaxy Book Pro series has experienced record-breaking interest from consumers, generating more than doubling pre-orders of last year's Galaxy Book2 Pro series.
"At Samsung, Ultra means big, bold and the best, regardless of category. That's why we're excited to bring the Ultra heritage to our PC lineup, delivering the seamless multi-device connectivity and ultra-high performance that users demand," said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "The Galaxy Book3 Ultra delivers on the market expectation for an ultra-high performance laptop, particularly for consumers interested in gaming and content creation who require the powerful performance."
Getac has today announced the expansion of its flagship X600 rugged mobile workstation range with the launch of the X600 Server and X600 Pro-PCI. The new models will sit alongside the recently launched X600 and X600 Pro, creating a comprehensive lineup of rugged mobile workstations that are purpose-built to meet the demands of professionals working in challenging industries, such as defence, manufacturing and oil & gas.
X600 Server: The fully rugged mobile server
The all-new Getac X600 Server delivers a powerful commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) rugged mobile server that can be folded to a slim profile for easy transportation.
Exascend, Inc., a leader in industrial-grade, enterprise-class and cinematography flash storage solutions, announces new ultra-high-capacity industrial- and enterprise-grade PCIe NVMe U.2 SSDs in 16 TB, or 15,360 GB capacity.
Performance and capacity that power cloud and edge servers
U.2 SSDs have some characteristics that give them an edge over M.2 SSDs, such as better thermal performance, high IOPs, low latency, low power consumption, and the ability to come out with higher capacities due to their 2.5-inch form factor - making U.2 ideal for enterprise data centers switching from traditional HDDs to high-performing SSDs.
Tech innovator GELID Solutions uncovers the new IceCap Pro M.2 SSD Cooling Kit as a product of the GELID Solutions GAMER product line. IceCap Pro is designed to increase performance, lengthen Storage life and keep your M.2 SSD cool. High-performance thermal pads, active PWM fan, enhanced Heat Pipe direct contact, a newly developed aluminium heatsink and secure mounting is what takes the IceCap to the Pro level.
All to ensure the M.2 Type SSD Controller and Memory ICs, optimum heat dissipation and a considerably reduced operating temperature are provided. It comes with a Heatsink Dimensions of 73 x 24 x 16.6 mm and weight of 56 g. It also includes a 20 mm PWM Fan with 12000 RPM for active cooling. GELID Solutions offers a 2 year warranty. "Keep your SSD icy cool and blazingly fast!!" said Gebhard Scherrer, Sales Director of GELID Solutions Ltd. IceCap Pro has a MSRP of USD 16.00 or Euro 16.00. For more information visit
GELID Solutions.
Monday, February 13th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Game Testing
Hogwarts Legacy is out now, with support for NVIDIA's DLSS Super Resolution (DLSS 2.5), NVIDIA's DLSS Frame Generation (also known as DLSS 3), NVIDIA's Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing (DLAA), Intel's Xe Super Sampling (XeSS) and AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.1 (FSR 2.1). In this mini-review we take a look, comparing the image quality and performance gains offered by these technologies.
Article
Other
The AV Access eShare W50 and D10 combo aims to provide a wireless conferencing system at a fraction of the cost of traditional setups, which makes it an interesting option for small businesses looking to further collaboration or individuals who tend to do a lot of presentation in foreign environments.
NVIDIA's mid-range, high-volume graphics card based on the GeForce "Ada" graphics architecture, the GeForce RTX 4060, a 60-class product, could feature specs that make it possible for NVIDIA to carve it out either with a maxed out 5 nm AD107 silicon, or a heavily cut-down AD106. Kopite7kimi, a reliable source with NVIDIA leaks, says that the RTX 4060 has specs which align with the full-spec AD107, with 3,072 CUDA cores across 24 streaming multiprocessors (SM), 96 Tensor cores, 96 TMUs, an unknown ROP count, and 8 GB of 18 Gbps GDDR6 memory. The memory bus width is hard to predict with this generation. The GPU's on-die L2 cache is 24 MB in size. The card has a typical graphics power (TGP) of 115 W, making it possible to build cards with just one 6-pin PCIe power connector.
One of the major issues with M.2 based NVMe SSDs today is the excessive heat they output, part of the reason most of them run so hot is because of the older fabrication node they're made on. Most current PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD controllers are built on a 12 nm node of some kind, but based on data out of IT Home in the PRC, we now have details of Silicon Motion's SM2504XT PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD controller, which appears to be one of the first, if not the first, to be made on a 7 nm node.
Although it's not mentioned specifically who Silicon Motion's manufacturing partner is, it's most likely going to be TSMC, as Silicon Motion is a Taiwanese company. The SM2504XT will be a mainstream 4-channel controller, but it'll support NAND flash rated at up to 3600 MT/s, which is a step up from any other currently announced NVMe SSD controller. It also supports the NVMe 2.0 protocol and will have a PCIe 5.0 x4 host system interface. The new controller is expected to have hit the engineering sample stage some time in September this year.
Bigscreen today unveiled Bigscreen Beyond, the world's smallest VR headset. Weighing just 127 grams and measuring less than 1-inch at its thinnest point, Beyond has an unprecedented form factor that is 6X lighter than competing VR devices. Beyond features ultra-high resolution OLED displays, custom pancake optics, and
tethers to a PC for ultimate VR immersion. Each device is custom-built to the shape of a customer's face, providing unparalleled comfort for long duration VR
experiences.
"As passionate VR enthusiasts, we built the VR headset we wanted for ourselves," said Darshan Shankar, Bigscreen's Founder & CEO. "Today's leading VR headsets have doubled in weight compared to headsets from 2016. We built Beyond because we felt VR was too heavy, bulky, and uncomfortable. We invented new technologies to increase comfort, and developed ultra-high-end components like OLED microdisplays and pancake optics to increase immersion. To deliver the best software experience for watching movies in Bigscreen, we also had to build the best hardware with Bigscreen Beyond."
AGON by AOC - one of the world's leading gaming monitor and IT accessories brands - announces the 27" (68.58 cm) AGON PRO AG274QZM, a super-fast 240 Hz gaming monitor with QHD resolution and a breath-taking Mini LED IPS panel. The AG274QZM beautifully matches the punchy and accurate colors of the IPS panel with a Mini LED backlight that has 576 dimming zones. This enables the monitor to achieve the high-tier DisplayHDR 1000 certification with 1200 nits peak brightness, displaying deep blacks and bright sunlight in the same frame, while offering true high-speed gaming (11 msGtG) without compromises that competitive gamers look for.
Designed for success
AGON PRO AG274QZM is the new member of the AGON PRO family geared towards the legends of the gaming community: pro-competitive players and esports enthusiasts. Sharing the exquisite craftsmanship of its family, the AGON PRO AG274QZM features an award winning (red dot design award) form and heavy-duty, ergonomic stand. The stand, with built-in cable management offers height, tilt, swivel and pivot adjustments for healthy, comfortable gaming sessions.
CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gear for gamers and content creators, today launched a new entry in its acclaimed HS gaming headset lineup: the HS65 WIRELESS. This fashionably lightweight headset boasts two ways to connect to your games via low-latency 2.4 GHz wireless or Bluetooth, giving you the versatility to listen across all your systems and devices. Available in black or white, the HS65 WIRELESS offers advanced audio personalization with Sonarworks SoundID, for sound tailored to you.
The HS65 WIRELESS creates dynamic personal audio with integrated Sonarworks SoundID technology. Conveniently accessible in CORSAIR iCUE software, SoundID uses a quick sound test to find your unique listening preferences and create a personalized audio EQ profile that fine-tunes your audio experience. Combine that with Dolby Audio 7.1 surround sound on PC and Mac, and you have professional-grade sound, without paying a premium.
AMD's high-end X670E motherboard chipset combines two Promontory 21 chips working together to deliver a single solution. With regularly-sized ATX motherboards, having two chips to form a chipset is fine, as there is much room on the PCB. However, with Mini-ITX motherboards, packing two Promontory 21 chips is difficult as the PCB area is limited. To combat this, ASUS introduced an interesting solution to solve the problem and allowed the company to ship the high-end X670E chipset inside a Mini-ITX form factor. Thanks to UNIKO's Hardware's findings, we look at the exciting solution ASUS used to solve this problem.
Instead of two Promontory 21 chips side by side, one is placed on the motherboard directly, while the other stands vertically attached by M.2 PCIe slot. Below, the chipset's pictures and the highlight show how it looks disassembled.
The PC industry has been hit hard by the current market conditions and economic downturns, as the entire industry has seen sales of new PCs drop to new lows. Equally so, the PC motherboard makers have experienced a crash in sales, where collectively, they delivered ten million units less in 2022 compared to 2021. Thanks to the information by DigiTimes, we have information that major motherboard makers, ASUS, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock, have seen their sales plummet to new lows and reflect how much of a drop the market experienced in the middle of economic uncertainty that the year 2022 brought.
In 2021, ASUS delivered more than 18 million motherboard units; in 2022, it is down to 13.6 million, representing a 25% difference. GIGABYTE shipped 11 million units in 2021, whereas in 2022, the company delivered around 9.5 million motherboards. GIGABYTE has experienced the smallest drop with "only" 14% lower sales. MSI used to deliver 9.5 million motherboards in 2021, and in 2022 its sales plummeted by 42% to 5.5 million units. The worst drop in sales is the one by ASRock, where the company saw its sales go from around 6 million units in 2021 to just 2.7 million units in 2022. This is the report's most significant recorded drop, equaling 55% lower sales in 2022.
Sunday, February 12th 2023
Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge 110 introduced RTX virtual super resolution (VSR) support. This would come as a boost to browser-based games, as well as next-generation webpages that use raster graphics objects that can be rendered at a lower resolution than the user's display resolution, and upscaled at minimal hardware-resource cost. When our Chrome browsers and GeForce drivers updated last week, we couldn't get VSR to work. The latest GeForce 528.49 WHQL drivers released on February 8 do not support RTX VSR, yet. Driver support is now expected to be added from GeForce R530-series drivers.
Soon, you'll no longer have to juggle between several bloated apps to control the RGB lighting of your various peripherals from different brands. Microsoft is set to standardize RGB and aesthetic lighting control within Windows 11. Released as a near-future update to the operating system, the new "Lighting" control seamlessly blends within the Personalization settings, within the Settings app of Windows 11. The Lighting section lists out all your hardware with controllable lighting, be it single-color or RGB; and lets you adjust their brightness, colors, and lighting presets. You can also coordinate their color and lighting patterns to match Windows and its other apps (for example, as ambient lighting). The standardized RGB control should significantly reduce the memory usage compared to having various brand apps running in the background; as well as CPU utilization. Currently, the new Lighting settings can be found in the Windows Insider build 25295.
Minisforum announced its first Mars series mini PC MC560 last December, and today it is finally going on sale. Unlike previous versions, the MC560 upgrades the CPU from Ryzen 5 5600U to Ryzen 5 5625U. It has 6 cores and 12 threads and is based on the Zen 3 architecture. The based clock is 2.30 GHz and can be boosted up to 4.30 GHz. The chip is manufactured on the 7 nm TSMC process. The MC560 is different from other mini PCs. It is an all-in-one conference mini PC that combines feature of computer, camera, mic and speakerphone all together to reduce wasted space and cross cabling by taking off unnecessary devices.
It has a 2.5K webcam with HDR support and a 93.8-degree field of view. The adjustable base offers 10°tilt change to the view. With the help of 4 Ω/3 W dual independent speaker design, the maximum sound distortion does not exceed 5%, reflecting authentic human voice. The microphone uses the MEMS dual array with an independent DSP chip for assistance. Combined with the AI intelligence algorithm, it can not only suppress the reverberation, intelligently recognize human voice, but also eliminate environmental noise, thereby accurately restoring human voice.
Thanks to the development of 5G and the popularization of IoT, global industrial automation has entered a period of rapid development. With this trend in mind, Team Group has released its next-generation A501 CFast Memory Card, compliant with the CFast 2.0 specification and supports the SATA III 6.0 Gbps interface. With its high performance, large capacity, and light weight, the A501 can be installed on a variety of industrial-embedded hardware devices and automation tools, helping bring industrial automation to the next level.
The Team Group A501 CFast Memory Card is equipped with a major grade original 3D TLC IC, has a rated endurance of 3,000 P/E cycles, and features up to 512 GB of storage for large-capacity applications. Having undergone strict temperature testing, A501 is able to withstand temperatures from -40 °C to +85 °C, ensuring stable performance over long periods of operation in harsh temperature conditions. In addition, the card can deliver speeds of up to 550 MB/s read and 490 MB/s write (512 GB model) and supports DevSleep's low-power hibernation mode to significantly save power consumption and be used in a variety of automated applications. The newest-released CFast memory card also meets the specifications of industrial products, providing up-to-standard and highly customized solutions that satisfy customer needs.
This week's big AAA game is yet another console port—a PS5 port in this case—that should hopefully have impressive graphics on the PC as well. However, there's a second big release this week that'll be available on all major platforms. We also have some other interesting releases to look forward to and as it's week seven, we decided to throw in seven games in the list this time.
Returnal / This week's AAA title / Wednesday 15 February
Break the cycle as this award-winning third-person shooter brings bullet hell action to PC. Selene's roguelike odyssey arrives with a suite of arresting graphical and performance-based enhancements to ensure an unforgettable journey. This includes the full Returnal experience, complete with Suspend Cycle, Photo and Co-op Modes, as well as the Tower of Sisyphus included from day one.
Friday, February 10th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Graphics Cards
The MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Gaming X Trio is the most affordable custom-design available right now, priced at $1700 and in-stock. We're putting this monster card on our new 2023 Raptor Lake test bench to check if MSI compromised anywhere, or if this is the RTX 4090 you should look at, if you don't want to overspend.
Article
Headphones
TangZu Audio evokes past memories of the royal Tang Dynasty, aiming to shake up the $150-200 IEM market with its new planar magnetic set. The TangZu Zetian Wu uses a full range 14.5 mm planar driver to good effect for an excellent balance of tuning and technical performance while also boasting a neat design and good build quality too.
Back in December, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra announced that the company would be laying off around 10 percent of its staff and according to the Idaho Statesman, Micron will start at its Boise, Idaho fab. This is despite the company investing US$15 billion in a new leading-edge fab there. That said, it doesn't look like Boise will see any huge cuts in staff, as Micron hasn't issued a WARN notice, which is required when a company is planning on laying off more than 500 people within a 30-day period.
Micron issued a statement earlier this week, saying that its layoffs are a combination of "voluntary attrition, workforce reductions and reduced external hiring," which tends to mean that third party contractors will bear the brunt of the layoffs. Micron is also said to be cutting executive salaries, while also suspending bonuses for employees across the board. Further cost reductions include a halted share buyback program and a reduced production output, the latter due to lower demand. Micron has some 49,000 employees globally, with some 6,000 located in Idaho. The company expects to have completed its job cuts by the end of this month.
Atos today announces a contract to build and install a new high-performance computer for the Max Planck Society, a world-leading science and technology research organization. The new system will be based on Atos' latest BullSequana XH3000 platform, which is powered by AMD EPYC CPUs and Instinct accelerators. In its final configuration, the application performance will be three times higher than the current "Cobra" system, which is also based on Atos technologies.
The new supercomputer, with a total order value of over 20 million euros, will be operated by the Max Planck Computing and Data Facility (MPCDF) in Garching near Munich and will provide high-performance computing (HPC) capacity for many institutes of the Max Planck Society. Particularly demanding scientific projects, such as those in astrophysics, life science research, materials research, plasma physics, and AI will benefit from the high-performance capabilities of the new system.
Today MSI is announcing the support of 48 GB and 24 GB DDR5, non-binary memory across Intel 700 and 600 Series motherboards, including MEG, MPG, MAG, and PRO Series products. Namely, the maximum memory capacity support is increased to 192 GB for 4 DIMMs motherboards and 96 GB for 2 DIMMs motherboards. MSI has committed to providing performance and compatibility to DIY enthusiasts.
It is unnecessary to update motherboard BIOS for supporting 48 GB based memory modules. Just install the new memory module to enjoy a more efficient system with more productivity, especially for those multi-tasking gamers and users.
ASUS today announced three new and updated AMD-powered models in its popular Vivobook Classic series of everyday laptops: the 14-inch Vivobook 14 OLED (M1405), the 15.6-inch Vivobook 15 OLED (M1505), and the 16-inch Vivobook 16 (M1605).
These new laptops deliver a stunning visual experience. Vivobook 14 OLED and 15 OLED feature superb OLED NanoEdge Pantone Validated displays with up to a 2.8K (2880 x 1620) resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate and a 0.2 millisecond response time. Vivobook 14 OLED and Vivobook 16 have an expansive 16:10 aspect-ratio display, while Vivobook 15 OLED has a widescreen 16:9 aspect ratio. The NanoEdge OLED displays offer up to a 1.000,000:1 contrast ratio with a screen-to-body ratio of up to 86.5%. All displays additionally have TÜV Rheinland low blue-light certification to ensure eye comfort during long viewing sessions.
Thursday, February 9th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Audio
FiiO re-invents the DAC/amp wheel with the new R7 desktop network streamer all-in-one unit. It uses a novel portrait form factor with an integrated touch screen display and Android OS paired with extensive I/O and support for both headphones and speakers to be the most versatile audio source I have ever tried!
Review
Game Testing
Hogwarts Legacy lets you relive the steps of Harry Potter and is a fantastic adaptation of the books. In our performance review, we're taking a closer look at image quality, differences between the graphical setting presets, VRAM usage, and performance on a selection of modern graphics cards.
Corsair Gaming, Inc. (Nasdaq: CRSR) ("Corsair" or the "Company"), a leading global provider and innovator of high-performance gear for gamers, streamers, content-creators, and gaming PC builders, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2022.
Fourth Quarter 2022 Select Financial Metrics- Net revenue was $398.7 million compared to $311.8 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $510.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. Gamer and creator peripherals segment net revenue was $117.8 million compared to $96.8 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $176.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2021, while Gaming components and systems segment net revenue was $280.9 million compared to $214.9 million in the third quarter of 2022 and $333.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Net income attributable to common shareholders was $12.5 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to net loss of $8.9 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2022 and net income of $24.7 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Adjusted net income was $20.7 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, compared to adjusted net income of $7.6 million, or $0.08 per diluted share in the third quarter of 2022 and adjusted net income of $34.7 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Adjusted EBITDA was $32.0 million, compared to $10.1 million in the third quarter of 2022, and $39.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.
- Cash and cash equivalents were $154.1 million as of December 31, 2022.
To date, Intel has been promised almost
€6.8 billion in subsidies from the federal German government, but apparently this isn't enough for Intel, as the company is now asking for an additional €3.2 billion, for a total of €10 billion is subsidies for its Magdeburg fab. The total investment in the
fab in Magdeburg—which was announced back in March 2022—is said to be around €33 billion. In other words, Intel is asking Germany to pitch in almost a third of the cost for its shiny new fab. According to an Intel spokesperson quoted by the Register, Intel is worried about the current geopolitical situation and that the demand for semiconductors has declined, plus the fact that inflation has made everything much more expensive. Intel's Arizona fabs ended up costing an extra US$5 billion, which is about a third extra compared to the original cost estimate, so it's not hard to see why Intel is asking for more money here.
At the same time, the Vietnamese government jumped the gun and announced that Intel is looking at investing US$3.3 billion in the country, as part of an announcement of investments of a total of US$7.4 billion in Ho Chi Minh, by foreign companies. The additional US$4.1 billion investments apparently hinges on Intel's investment in the country, more specifically in the Saigon Hi-Tech Park. The official stance from Intel is that "Vietnam is an important part of our global manufacturing network, but we have not announced any new investments." It's unclear what the exact plans are, but Intel is said to have met up with government officials in Vietnam, according to Bloomberg. It's likely that it would be some kind of chip packaging facility, much like what Intel and AMD already has in Malaysia and China, among other places.
Today, Comcast accelerates the nation's largest and fastest multi-gig deployment and announced that its latest Xfinity 10G network upgrade will be launched to 10 million homes and businesses by the end of this month. These locations now have the foundational network enhancements in place to begin deploying DOCSIS 4.0, setting the stage for the introduction of new symmetrical multi-gigabit Internet options before the end of 2023 that can be delivered across existing networks with less cost.
To date, and ahead of schedule, more than 40 markets across Comcast service areas have implemented network improvements including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and others. The full deployment of these technical capabilities will reach more than 50 million homes and businesses by 2025. In addition to fast speeds, DOCSIS 4.0 technologies will deliver even greater reliability and capacity to power multiple data-intensive applications.
The new HEATKILLER V PRO graphics card coolers for Nvidia's RTX 4090 Founders Edition have been specially developed to cope with the high power dissipation of 450 watts and more. In order to achieve the necessary performance increase, the German manufacturer decided to introduce a modular high-performance bottom plate as well as implementing existing proven technologies.
To increase the cooling performance in the GPU core area, Watercool relies on a modular high-performance base plate. Due to a fine-slit fin structure and the resulting increase in the cooling surface, this ensures a significantly higher cooling performance compared to a monolithic design. At the same time, the German manufacturer has optimized the fin structure in order to achieve a high flow rate as well. The distances to heat-relevant components were kept tight, which means that the heat of the thermal problem zones like GDDR6X Ram and voltage converters can be dissipated ideally.
The global PC market has been experiencing a demand downtrend after the cooling down of COVID-19 in 2022. The market saw its shipments decline 15% YoY in 2022 and is expected to see another high single-digit decline in 2023, according to Counterpoint Research's data. However, among all the PC sub-sectors, Arm-based laptops are expected to show a comparatively resilient demand throughout the coming quarters thanks to Apple's success with the MacBook series, increasing ecosystem support and vanishing performance gap with x86 offerings.
CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today introduced iCUE Murals Lighting, a groundbreaking software for creating incredibly immersive lighting effects in CORSAIR iCUE. This powerful feature enables you to use images, video, and even on-screen visuals as colorful templates to produce imaginative, mesmerizing lightscapes. With Murals, your desktop - and entire game room - comes alive with dazzling, custom-created RGB.
Murals Lighting is an intuitive, interactive tool that enables users to quickly create custom RGB lighting effects in iCUE like never before. Upload any image, GIF, or video to Murals, and then place your RGB devices over it on-screen to create astonishing visuals across your setup. The platform is simple, easy to use, and surprisingly fun as you watch your gaming space burst to life with each new effect.
ROCCAT, the award-winning PC peripherals brand from best-selling gaming headset and accessories maker Turtle Beach Corporation (Nasdaq: HEAR), today announced its new Magma Mini 60% Gaming Keyboard has launched. The Magma Mini combines responsive membrane switches, performance features, and durability into a compact 60% form factor. Magma Mini's top plate is fully illuminated with five programmable zones showcasing ROCCAT's stunning AIMO RGB lighting. Magma Mini was also designed with top durability in mind and is IP33-rated against water and dust. The Magma Mini is available now at www.ROCCAT.com and participating retailers for just $49.99 (€49.99) MSRP.
Popular tech reviews website TechRadar posted their review of ROCCAT's new Magma Mini and gave it a 4.5/5 score, calling it, "A great gaming keyboard at an even better price." Gaming site MP1st also calls the Magma Mini, "Liquid Fire" and notes, "At 60% form factor, there is very little to compete with it when it comes to features, such as its customizable RGB top-plate, silent keys, and Easy-Shift[+] functionality, that many other mini-keyboards lack."
AGON by AOC—one of the world's leading gaming monitor and IT accessories brands—presents the new G-Menu software suite for the management of all AGON by AOC-branded peripherals - ranging from monitors to keyboards, mice, headsets and mouse pads. AGON by AOC's gaming portfolio, renowned for its award-winning monitors, has been broadened over the last years with a variety of gaming mice, mechanical gaming keyboards, mouse pads as well as gaming headsets. The AOC gaming accessories have been praised for their durability, quality, affordability, high-level specifications as well as RGB synchronization between devices for that little bit of extra flair.
This type of comprehensive gaming ecosystem with monitors and numerous accessories necessitated a software with which to control and customize all settings at once. For keyboards and mice, this means the customization of the keys and buttons, adjusting the sensitivity such as repeat rate, polling rate or DPI level, for headset that means managing the audio settings including the surround sound. Light FX settings and the synchronization of the lights for monitor, keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, and headset can also be managed thanks to G-Menu.
Eiswolf 2 AIO—now also available for custom designs of RTX 4080/4090 GPUs! Alphacool presents more innovative solutions for cooling NVIDIA's GeForce RTX 4080 and 4090 graphics cards. The enormous waste heat of the new graphics card generation is excellently dissipated with this cooler. The very good water flow and the large cooling surface are due to the particularly filigree fin structure. The jet plate with revised inflow engine also distributes the water perfectly over the cooling fins.
The complete chrome plating of the copper base not only provides resistant protection against acids, scratches and damage, but also achieves a beautiful homogeneity and special shine. The Aurora design of the cooler is kept visually calm and simple. This is evident not only in the cooler's design, but also in the wonderfully even lighting, which is achieved using digitally addressable RGB LEDs.
Wednesday, February 8th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Speakers
TRETTIRE is a new audio brand aiming to put out premium and innovative speakers and sources without breaking the bank. The TreSound1 is a unique 5-speakers, 3-way crossover Bluetooth speaker shaped like a mountain peak that is an art piece in your living room as much as it is a surround sound speaker capable of good music playback.
Review
Mice
The ambidextrous Katar Elite Wireless is the premium version of Corsair's earlier Katar Pro Wireless. Coming with the custom Marksman 26,000 CPI sensor, Omron main button switches, and a 68 g lightweight construction, the Katar Elite Wireless is capable of both 2.4 GHz and Bluetooth operation, promising up to 110 hours of battery life.
PowerColor on Wednesday formally launched its flagship graphics card, the Radeon RX 7900 XTX Liquid Devil. Designed for enthusiasts with DIY liquid-cooling setups, the Liquid Devil is essentially an RX 7900 XTX Red Devil, but with a factory-fitted full-coverage water block instead of the massive air cooler. The block has been made by EK Water Blocks, and consists of a nickel-plated copper main material, with a clear-acrylic top, and some vinyl decals. The top is studded with ARGB LEDs. The block lacks fittings, but has G 1/4" threading, and PowerColor has included goodies such as an EK-Loop Leak Tester Flex kit (lets you check for coolant leaks).
The PowerColor RX 7900 XTX has an ace up its sleeves that positions it above the Red Devil OC—the "Unleash" BIOS. The card has a dual-BIOS setup, with the default BIOS being labeled "OC" and the other one being "Unleash." OC enables speeds comparable to the Red Devil OC—2395 MHz game and 2565 MHz boost (vs. 2269 MHz game and 2499 MHz boost AMD reference speeds). PowerColor is yet to spell out the clock speeds of the "Unleash" BIOS, but we're hearing that it will be even higher (possibly the highest factory OC for the RX 7900 XTX), along with increased power-limits. The PowerColor RX 7900 XTX Liquid Devil should be available from mid-February, 2023.
ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) launches the ROG Strix SCAR and Strix G lineup of gaming laptops. Brand-new designs come to the Strix SCAR 16, Strix SCAR 18, Strix G16, and Strix G18, with updated internals for the Strix SCAR 17 and Strix G17. When combined with ROG's Nebula and Nebula HDR displays and an updated Intelligent Cooling thermal solution, these powerhouse laptops are prepared to power victories among esports pros and gaming enthusiasts alike.
As ROG's highest-performing laptops, the Strix series is powered by the latest and greatest chips from Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA. The Strix SCAR 16 and 18 feature up to an Intel Core i9-13980HX processor with 24 cores and 32 threads, alongside up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPU. A MUX Switch with NVIDIA Advanced Optimus intelligently ensures optimal framerates when plugged in, and better battery life when untethered, with no manual intervention needed. The Strix G16 and G18 are powered by up to an Intel Core i9-13980HX CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 GPU and the same MUX Switch with Advanced Optimus.
Intel 11th Gen Core "Rocket Lake" desktop processors in the Socket LGA1200 package, the first Intel desktop processor generation in five years to offer an IPC increase, has been marked EOL (end of life) and is formally discontinued from the company's product stack. This comes in the latest product-change notification (PCN), dated February 6, 2023, and is consistent with a normal product lifecycle for Intel. A product marked EOL and discontinued can no longer be ordered from Intel, although there are still plenty of 11th Gen Core processors in the market, which Intel will fully honor product warranties for; so those on entry-level 11th Gen processors such as the i5-11400 still have a certain amount of upgrade headroom to the 8-core i7-11700/K or the faster i9-11900/K. The PCN covers pretty much the entire 11th Gen Core desktop product stack.
GIGABYTE today introduces the AORUS 17, AORUS 15, and AERO 14 OLED, a suite of new laptops optimized to provide power and mobility. The three new additions now join the flagship AORUS 17X, AORUS 15X, and AERO 16 OLED in GIGABYTE's 2023 laptop lineup, which was unveiled earlier at CES 2023. Boasting the latest cores from both Intel and NVIDIA in a sleek and portable design, the AORUS 17 and AORUS 15 provide strong performance with max total graphics power (TGP) for enthusiasts who want to take their games on the go; while the AERO 14 OLED is tailored for creative minds, combining portability with a perfectly color-accurate display.
Both AORUS 17 and AORUS 15 offer powerful gaming performance fueled by the Intel 13th-gen i7 H series processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 laptop GPUs with full access to max 140 W TGP with Dynamic Boost technology, all in a slender profile. These portable powerhouses feature the improved WINDFORCE Infinity cooling system that can handle up to 160 W of thermal design power (TDP) to ensure optimal performance even when running at maximum capacity. As for the significantly upgraded display performance, blazing-fast 240 Hz refresh rates at 1440p resolution enable a smooth and vibrant gaming experience. The gaming essence is reflected both in the device's internal power and the external design. The sleek enclosure is further accented with the mysterious spatial design and RGB Light Bar for a sophisticated gaming aesthetic.
Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. today announced Snapdragon X35 5G Modem-RF System, the world's first 5G NR-Light modem-RF system. NR-Light, a new class of 5G, fills the gap in between high-speed mobile broadband devices and extremely low-bandwidth NB-IoT devices. NR-Light devices, powered by Snapdragon X35, can be smaller, more cost-efficient, and provide longer battery life than traditional mobile broadband devices.
With its optimized design and breakthrough performance, Snapdragon X35 offers a device platform that bridges the complexity and capability gap between the extremes in 5G today and addresses the need for mid-tier use cases. This lower cost option provides device makers with a long-term migration path to replace LTE CAT4+ devices, ultimately increasing 5G adoption and allowing for faster transition to a unified 5G network.
Philips brand licensee TP Vision, has launched updated versions of several of its earphones and headphones, with two new, high-end Fidelio products. The Fidelio L4 is an updated version of last year's L3, that adds a slimmer headband with leather trim, as well as an overall sleeker look. However, maybe more importantly, The L4 appears to have a non Qualcomm Bluetooth chipset, so gone is aptX support, in favour of LC3 and LDAC support. The Bluetooth 5.3 chipset also supports
Auracast and Philips seems to be the first company to announce support for the standard. The speaker drivers remain at 40 mm and Philips have further improved the noise cancelling by relocating the microphones. The battery life has also seen an increase, by a whole 12 hours with ANC off and eight hours with it on, for a total of 50 hours with ANC off and 40 hours with it on. Thankfully Philips also dumped the 2.5 mm audio jack in favour of a standard 3.5 mm jack and charging is of course done via USB-C.
Last year's Fidelio T1 wireless IEMs were a bit of a bust, at least based on the fairly negative reviews the earphones, got and this year's T2 model has been given a big design overhaul. The new design is 20 percent smaller than the T1, but it still screams Philips and has an odd retro Bluetooth headset kind of look to it. As with the L4, the T2 is based on a Bluetooth 5.3 capable chipset and supports LC3, LDAC and Auracast. Like the T1, the T2 sports a dynamic driver, as well as a balanced armature driver, although the dynamic driver has shrunk somewhat from 10 to 9.2 mm in size. The T2 sports nine hours of battery life with ANC enabled or 10 hours with it disabled. The charging case adds a further 27 to 30 hours battery life. A full charge taxes two hours, but a five minute top up adds an hour worth of playback time. The T2 are also IPX4 rated, so they should have no issues with a bit of sweat or a light rain shower. No pricing was announced for either model.
Intel became the first of the three discrete GPU makers to release a day-0 graphics driver for "Hogwarts Legacy." The new Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers version 101.4123 beta comes with optimization for the hotly anticipated Harry Potter universe-based RPG, as well as the survival horror "Returnal," so gamers on Intel Arc "Alchemist" discrete GPUs can get gaming the moment the game goes live. The company didn't release any fixes for outstanding issues with this particular release, but identified a bunch of new issues with its driver and the Arc Control app.
DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4123 betaUpdate 14:02 UTC: Today's release of NVIDIA GeForce software (version 528.49, lacks "Hogwarts Legacy" optimization.
Update 14:55 UTC: We asked NVIDIA whether a driver update with game-ready support is planned and if there's any estimate when it will come out. The company answered that it had no comment on these questions.
Philips brand licensee TP Vision has announced a set of earphones specifically designed to be used while sleeping. The N7808 sleep headphones with Kokoon have been designed specifically to be worn during sleep and the in-ear monitors (IEMs) have been designed to be as unobtrusive and comfortable as possible during sleep. Part of the reason for this, is a very compact body that is only 6 mm thick, which Philips claims is thanks to the use of balanced armature drivers and should be compared to regular earphones that often have a body with a thickness of 20 mm or or more. However, what makes the N7808's really special, is that it also features sensors that monitor your sleep pattern, that will fade out the audio as the wearer falls asleep.
The downside is that many of the sensors are placed in a compartment that rests behind your neck and this is also where the battery and Bluetooth connectivity is located. It doesn't appear to be any kind of ANC built in, as the company only mentions noise isolation. However, the heaphones are said to be inducing "intelligent" white noise that is said to masking sounds that make you wake up. The battery is said to be good for 10 hours of usage, which should be sufficient for most people. The partner app designed together with Kokoon allows the user to monitor their sleep duration, as well as the kind of sleeping state the user has attained and for how long during the night. The SN7808 is currently offered at an introductory price of US$174, with an MSRP of US$249.
NVIDIA today released the GeForce 528.49 WHQL drivers. These come Game Ready for "Hello Neighbor 2" and "PERISH," including DLSS support for the two. NVIDIA Reflex support is added to "Company of Heroes 3," and "World of Warcraft." The drivers also introduce support for GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" Laptop GPUs, which are now shipping. Among the handful issues fixed with this release, are a driver-level fix for the Discord app causing GPU memory clocks to fall short of their maximum speed. Resizable BAR support is disabled at a driver-level for "Hitman 3" on Intel platforms (as it's buggy, while NVIDIA works on a fix). Adobe Bridge stability issues noticed in 528.02 drivers have been fixed. Grab the driver from the link below.
DOWNLOAD: NVIDIA GeForce 528.49 WHQLSilicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion" or the "Company") today announced its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2022. For the fourth quarter of 2022, net sales (GAAP) decreased sequentially to $200.8 million from $250.8 million in the third quarter of 2022. Net income (GAAP) decreased to $23.5 million, or $0.71 per diluted American Depositary Share ("ADS") (GAAP), from net income (GAAP) of $42.9 million, or $1.29 per diluted ADS (GAAP), in the third quarter of 2022.
For the fourth quarter of 2022, net income (non-GAAP) decreased to $41.1 million, or $1.22 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), from net income (non-GAAP) of $51.2 million, or $1.53 per diluted ADS (non-GAAP), in the third quarter of 2022.
Neo Forza today unveiled the Trinity DDR5-7200 32 GB (2x 16 GB) dual-channel memory kit. Based on SK hynix A-dies, the modules pack an Intel XMP 3.0 profile that runs the kit at its advertised speed of DDR5-7200. It also includes an AMD EXPO profile, although this enables a slightly lower speed of DDR5-6400. The DDR5-7200 XMP 3.0 profile ticks at timings of 36-46-46-82; while the DDR5-6400 EXPO profile offers 40-40-40-77. Both these profiles run the modules at 1.4 V. Neo Forza claims that the module comes with good overclocking headroom, and they've achieved DDR5-8000 on an Intel Core i9-13900K machine with minimal effort. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability information.
Majority, the consumer electronics brand known for its innovative products, is today proud to announce the launch of its latest offering, the Tru Bio True Wireless Earbuds. Designed with both the environment and audio quality in mind, the Tru Bio delivers exceptional sound and a sustainable design. Available in three funky pastel colours, the Majority Tru Bio Earbuds are available for £34.95 from Amazon and the Majority website.
It's no secret that Majority care about the environment and it is now creating products to help the company reach its goal of being the first carbon-neutral audio brand. Thanks to the eco-biodegradable earbuds and charging case, plus 13 mm bio-cellulose speaker drivers, made from certified compostable plastic, the Tru Bio earbuds are just that. A product to enjoy, be used and eventually recycled without affecting the environment.
Raijintek today introduced the Forkis DDC Ultra, a CPU water block with an integrated pump, with which you can connect a DIY liquid cooling loop using your own fittings. With its retention module in place, it measures 80 mm x 84 mm x 45 mm (WxDxH), and features a nickel-plated copper cold-plate. Right above it is the POM+aluminium casing, which contains a DDC Ultra pump with 150 kPa (21.7 PSI) pressure, and 3.8 m (13 ft) head, and 750 L/h discharge rate; along with a ceramic bearing that's rated for 50,000 hours. The cold-plate features a large microfin lattice throughout its inner surface, so the block is even optimized for MCMs such as the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael." The block has threads for standard G 1/4" (fittings not included). Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1700, LGA1200, AM5, and AM4. The company didn't reveal pricing.
Shenzhen Century Joint Innovation Technology Company Ltd. (INNOCN) has been a driving force in the competitive market for smart displays for the last decade, producing some of the most elite smart monitors and computers. INNOCN, or Innovation China, is an award-winning manufacturer that has made a name for itself by developing smart displays with more unique features than competitors.
The INNOCN 27 Inch 2K QHD 144 Hz Gaming Monitor 27G1R, one of the company's most recent innovations, is a unique smart display with features that gamers, graphic designers, and other creatives will love. Due to its frameless and ultra-thin design, it can easily be placed anywhere in a home or work office. It includes a metal stand and is VESA wall mountable.
ASRock Industrial announces the 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series Mini PCs powered by AMD Ryzen 7000U-Series APUs up to 8 Zen 3+ cores. Featuring maximum dual DDR5 4800 MHz memory up to 64 GB, the 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series bring about performance enhancement through unleashing higher standards of power, speed, and energy efficiency. Now poised with enriched IOs and expansions, the Series also provide quad-display outputs of up to 8K outstanding graphics with one HDMI 2.1, three DisplayPort 1.4a, and five USB ports, including two USB4 for versatile connectivity. Moreover, dual storages with one SATA 3.0, one M.2 Key M, plus dual LAN ports up to 2.5 Gigabit, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.2 are supported for reliable communications. The unleashed features make this Series the leading choice for a wide range of top-notch applications such as gaming, entertainment, content creation, office productivity, business, and AIoT use cases.
Powered by AMD Ryzen 7 7735Uand Ryzen 5 7535U, ASRock Industrial presents the 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series selections: 4X4 BOX-7735U/D5 and 4X4 BOX-7535U/D5. Featuring up to 8 Zen 3+ cores and next-generation AMD Radeon Graphics, the Series guarantee optimal power, speed, and performance upgrades. The 4X4 BOX 7000/D5 Series showcase the very first dual-channel DDR5 4800 MHz SO-DIMM memory up to 64 GB with new features that unleash effortless multitasking abilities for higher performance, lower power consumption, and more robust data integrity for future computing.
As a leading brand in True Gaming hardware, MSI is excited to announce the availability for the RTX 4080 and RTX 4070 Ti based GAMING TRIO WHITE graphics cards. The new WHITE series unite the latest in graphics technology, high-performance circuit board design, and advanced cooling in a fabulous silver & white finish. Besides being perfectly tuned for keeping temperatures low while staying virtually silent, these new cards are the perfect choice for white or silver builds by DIY builders everywhere.
Just like the standard MSI GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB and RTX 4070 Ti GAMING TRIO cards, the WHITE edition features the same great balance between performance, cooling, and low noise that gamers have come to trust. Sporting three white versions of the latest TORX Fan 5.0 design, which uses pairs of three fan blades bound together with an outer link to form a rim that focuses airflow into the upgraded TRI FROZR 3 cooling system. The proven nickel-plated copper baseplate at the heart of the heatsink assists to dissipate the heat effectively. The new GAMING TRIO WHITE series are also fitted with a Dual BIOS, giving easy access to profiles that prioritize low noise or more performance with the flick of a switch. A frosty white & silver version of the metal backplate with a flow-through design reinforces the graphics card, while also providing passive cooling action through the implementation of thermal pads. Mystic Light adorns the exterior of the graphics card, illuminating color in synchrony with the rest of the PC through Mystic Light Sync and Ambient Link. As a finishing touch, these cards even come with a white version of the GAMING TRIO support bracket. Combined with other components from MSI's white product line, an impeccable white build can be achieved.
Google announced that its Chrome 110 browser is entering its stable channels yesterday, which means regular users will see an update rollout in the coming days/weeks. What is interesting about this release is that it supports NVIDIA's RTX Super Resolution capability in the browser for the first time. NVIDIA first announced RTX Super Resolution at CES 2023. This feature allows upscaling videos to higher resolutions using the GeForce RTX 30 and 40 graphics cards. For example, you can now upscale a 1080p video to 4K in real-time using the RTX Super Resolution technology and seamlessly watch upscaled content.
Available in the Chrome 110.0.5481.77/.78 version released yesterday, this functionality must be turned on manually in the NVIDIA control panel to work, as it is not enabled by default. In the YouTube video below, NVIDIA demonstrates how the technology works.
Yesterday, Microsoft held a conference showcasing its next-generation AI solutions in partnership with OpenAI. Among them, the company showed that it is making steady progress toward integrating Large Language Models (LLMs) in the Bing search engine, which will appear soon. What is interesting about the future release is the new functionality and capability of LLM, which Microsoft says is much more potent than an existing solution like ChatGPT. OpenAI's ChatGPT is not suited particularly well for search engines and its capabilities, which is why Microsoft's next-generation Bing will use a custom LLM called Prometheus Model, envisioned for advanced search capabilities.
As the company notes, Prometheus will show users relevant search results and allow up to 1000 character input in the chat. Even when the model doesn't know the answer, it will not hallucinate and produce false results. Instead, Prometheus will point the user to further reading, allowing for a safer and more accurate search experience. Currently, anyone can go to Bing.com and join the waitlist to try out the preview of the upcoming Bing Chat. Microsoft Consumer Chief Marketing Officer Yusuf Mehdi said, "We're going to scale the preview to millions in the coming weeks." A mobile-tailored preview is coming soon as well.
MSI, a world leader in high-performance and innovative computing solutions, announced the Cubi 5 12M Business & Productivity PC. Featuring a miniature chassis, powerful processor options, exclusive software, and Thunderbolt 4, the Cubi 5 12M is designed with efficiency and productivity in mind.
The Cubi 5 12M is a mini PC less than 0.7 Liters in size with limitless potential for businesses. It provides a space-saving design that can tidy up desks, and the robust hardware and software configurations available will support you to multitask. Equipping up to a 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with 10 cores and Iris Xe Graphics enables users to edit graphics and work with multiple programs smoothly and faster than previous generations. In addition, the robust selection of IO ports includes one HDMI-out, one DP-out, and one Thunderbolt 4, which supports up to 40 Gb transfer speed and display output up to 8K resolution; Cubi 5 can support three displays at the same time, so users can view different programs in great detail simultaneously.
Tuesday, February 7th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Cases
The Thermaltake Ceres 500 TG ARGB is a beefy chassis that ships with four 140 mm ARGB equipped fans. It also allows for big air cooling or long AIO builds. As with most Thermaltake cases, it has a few unique selling points that may help justify its price tag and are worthy of a closer look.
Article
Keyboards
Audio specialist MOONDROP has stepped into the custom keyboard space with two unique mechanical switches. We put both to the test today in a custom keyboard build, pairing them with the Akko MOD 004 CNC-machined aluminium kit in a 96% layout as well as Epomaker's "Sailing" keycap set for a refreshing blue color scheme.
Earlier this week, we learned about the existence of the Intel
Core i5-13490F, a China-exclusive processor SKU that's designed to strike "just the right" price-performance against AMD's Ryzen 5 7600 series, and possibly even the Ryzen 7 7700. It turns out that the i5-13490F isn't the only such SKU, there's also the Core i7-13790F. Positioned between the i7-13700 and i9-13900, the i7-13790F is a unique piece of silicon. It has the same 8P+8E core-configuration as the i7-13700 and i7-13700K, and even the same 5.20 GHz maximum P-core turbo frequency as the i7-13700, but comes with a little extra shared L3 cache of 33 MB.
Each of the 8 "Raptor Cove" P-cores on the i7-13790F has 2 MB of dedicated L2 cache, and each of the two available E-core clusters has 4 MB of L2 cache that's shared among the four "Gracemont" E-cores in the cluster. The L3 cache that's shared among the 8 P-cores and 2 E-core clusters, has been bumped up to 33 MB from 30 MB on the other 13th Gen Core i7 desktop SKUs. This is still short of the 36 MB physically present on the "Raptor Lake-S" silicon. There are a couple of gotchas, though. Firstly, this is still a "locked" (non-K) SKU having minimal overclocking capabilities, with a 65 W base power and possibly the same 219 W maximum turbo power as the i7-13700; and secondly, as an "F" SKU, it lacks integrated graphics. The i5-13490F and i7-13790F appear to be targeting the SI and retail channels, and come in an exclusive black paperboard box. The i7-13790F is priced at RMB ¥2,999 including taxes, or about $440.
ModMyMods has developed a brand new thermal compound made right here in the USA with international materials! While most thermal compounds are derived from a primarily ceramic, metallic base or silicone. We have developed an effective synthetic industrial oil based compound that is far less electrically conductive while still maintaining a highly effective heat transference between a chip and heatsink/waterblock. The ModMyMods MP-9 Modpaste comes packaged in a rubber capped borosilicate glass syringe that boasts an impressive three year shelf life, removable, reusable applicator tip and a magnetically closed carrying case.
A new Android tablet has launched today, courtesy of Chinese phone maker OnePlus. However, the name leaves a lot to be desired, as OnePlus decided to call its new tablet, the Pad. There were enough jokes going around when the iPad was launched and we can only guess the OnePlus Pad isn't going to fare much better, although, as it's a much smaller brand, they might get away with it. Regardless of the naff product name, the OnePlus Pad is powered by
MediaTek's Dimensity 9000 SoC, which has been paired with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of UFS 3.1 flash memory.
The standout feature of the Pad is its 11.61-inch 2800 x 2000 pixel resolution IPS display, with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz. The odd resolution means that it has a 7:5 aspect ratio, something never before seen in a tablet and it places it somewhere between a 3:2 and a 4:3 display in terms of the aspect ratio. The panel offers up to 500 nits brightness and a 1400:1 contrast ratio and the Pad is said to have an 88.14 percent screen-to-body ratio. The back of the Pad is home to a 13 Megapixel camera that can shoot 4K video and around the front is an 8 Megapixel camera with 1080p video support. OnePlus has kitted out the Pad with a 9,510 mAh battery which is said to be good for 14 and a half hours of usage and a full charge from empty takes only 80 minutes thanks to support for 67 W SuperVOOC charging. The housing is made of aluminium and OnePlus offers an optional magnetic keyboard and a stylus for the Pad. No pricing was announced.
Innovative Eyewear, Inc. ("Innovative Eyewear" or the "Company"), the developer and retailer of smart eyewear under the Lucyd, Nautica and Eddie Bauer brands, announces a major upgrade to its flagship Lucyd Lyte audio eyewear platform. The new Lucyd Lyte 2.0 line brings several advances to the company's core product and is available now, in any optical prescription, at Lucyd.co. The Company intends to introduce the product to optical and specialty retailers worldwide. The Lyte 2.0 marks the culmination of years of R&D to realize the company's mission to make smart eyewear more accessible, useful and stylish for the optical and sunglass markets.
"Simply put, there is no smart eyewear on the market that is as bold, beautiful and functional as the Lucyd Lyte 2.0," says Harrison Gross, CEO of Innovative Eyewear. "We are in a very unique place in history where time-tested devices like the wristwatch and eyeglasses are being reimagined as onramps into our digital lives. I am grateful and amazed that my team was able to develop smart eyewear that truly delivers on the promise of wearables to make many forms of data and mobile computing easier to access, and more natural and seamless. Unlike many companies that produce smart eyewear alongside dozens or hundreds of other products, we are singularly focused on this emerging category to make it useful and exciting for the average person. I encourage everyone to upgrade their eyewear with the Lyte 2.0, to see and hear the difference that years of thoughtful and rigorous development on a single core concept can make."
EnGenius Technologies Inc., a leading provider of networking solutions for any sized businesses, today announced the launch of the ENH500-AX, a Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) 5 GHz 2x2 outdoor wireless point to point client bridge. This innovative new product takes advantage of the latest Wi-Fi technology to deliver high-density transmissions between buildings and large outdoor properties without needing the complexity or costs of fiber cables. The EnGenius Wi-Fi 6 outdoor bridge boasts Wi-Fi 6 capabilities and features that significantly improve throughput, efficiency, and accommodates 8k ultra-HD video and heavy multi-application traffic with extended bandwidth over greater distances.
The ENH500-AX "invisible wire" bridge comes with Qualcomm Quad-Core ARM Cortex A53s @ 2.0 GHz CPU and is a game-changer for businesses looking to connect multiple buildings or extend their networks to outdoor spaces without the expense of running fiber cables. Designed for peak performance in harsh climates, EnGenius Fit Wi-Fi 6 outdoor access points feature IP55-rated waterproof and dustproof enclosures ensuring they can withstand harsh outdoor environments.
Minisforum unveiled the new Intel 12th Mini PC NUCG5 with dual 40 Gbps thunderbolt 4 ports today. Equipped with the powerful Intel Core i5-1240P chip, NUCG5 is even more powerful, capable, and affordable for the edge, business, or home. The Intel Core i5-1240P is a mid-range Alder Lake-P family SoC with 12 cores/16 threads. It has 12 MB of L3 cache and operates at 1700 MHz by default, but it can boost up to 4.4 GHz, depending on the workload. It also integrates the 80 EU Intel Iris Xe Graphics that can run up to 1.30 GHz.
Measuring 109.5 mm long, 110.5 mm wide and 61.6 mm high, NUCG5 is even smaller than the Minisforum UM series lineup such as Minisforum UM560. The dual Thunderbolt 4 ports design makes it stand out among other members.
A few days ago,
PowerColor teased its upcoming flagship Radeon RX 7900 XTX Liquid Devil graphics card. Today, we have the first images coming from CornerJack of Overclocking.com. According to his unboxing, we can see the new collaboration of EK and PowerColor to create the latest Radeon RX 7900 XTX Liquid Devil graphics card with nickel-plated copper block based on Quantum Vector technology, addressable RGB illumination through the acrylic top, and a black backplate that is also presumably RGB illuminated to match the block as well. Powered by triple 8-pin connectors, the card features a BIOS switch that allows users to switch between OC BIOS and unleash BIOS modes, with the latter presumably having higher power limits.
In the box, besides the card, there is a provided EK loop pressure test that tests if any leaks are occurring. You can see the card's pictures below and look at the complete
unboxing by CornerJack here.
OpenAI's ChatGTP has reportedly reached an astonishing 100 million monthly active users in the heating wars of AI. This figure is achieved after a few months of availability, and big tech companies are pressured to respond. Today, we have information that Google will release a model similar to ChatGTP called Bard AI. Based on Language Model for Dialogue Applications (LaMDA) that Google introduced over two years ago, the Bard AI solution will integrate with Google search to access the latest information around the web. Currently in preview for private testers, Bard AI will roll out to the public in the coming weeks as the demand for Large Language Models that are in chat format soars.
Google CEO Sundar PichaiBard seeks to combine the breadth of the world's knowledge with the power, intelligence and creativity of our large language models. It draws on information from the web to provide fresh, high-quality responses. Bard can be an outlet for creativity, and a launchpad for curiosity, helping you to explain new discoveries from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, or learn more about the best strikers in football right now, and then get drills to build your skills.
Dell, the global PC conglomerate, is reportedly cutting the number of its employees. The alleged move is a direct response to the economic downturn caused by declining demand for PCs, which is Dell's primary source of revenue. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, Dell is laying off about 5% of its global workforce, representing 6,650 employees from its offices. As the source notes, Dell is going under re-evaluation of its operations, and the employee headcount reduction is the affected area that will benefit the company an estimated 700 million to one billion US Dollars, as analysts predict.
IDC notes that shipments of Dell PCs have experienced the most significant decline of 37% in Q4 of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021. And given a considerable downturn, Dell's 55% of revenue from PCs is poorly affected. The company is now joining others in big tech in performing layoffs to keep profits afloat.
Monday, February 6th 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Memory
G.SKILL is at it again pushing the bar and raising expectations. Using the newest DRAM revision, the G.SKILL Trident Z5 DDR5-7200 brings us an enthusiast-grade memory kit marketed towards hardcore gamers and PC enthusiasts alike. With serious high frequency overclocking, follow along as we see what G.SKILL has in store!
Review
Headphones
Noble Audio joins the TechPowerUp review database with its new flagship Viking Ragnar. It uses an impressive 10-driver tribrid setup paired with a deliberately colored tonality and places the audio experience inside unique shells with hand-forged Damascus steel face plates.
Semiconductors are largely made using silicon, even though there are other types of substrates that can be used as well, such as gallium nitride or silicon carbide. However, most semiconductors today are made using silicon wafers, which in turn means that silicon wafers are a key material in the semiconductor industry. Over the past three years, the cost of silicon wafers have increased in pricing, due to higher demand, as there has been a higher demand for semiconductors. However, as there are a limited number of suppliers of silicon wafers, especially at the larger 12-inch size, the increased cost in materials has had an impact on the cost of the final semiconductors.
Reports out of Taiwan are suggesting that the price of 12-, 8- and 6-inch wafers are all starting to see a decline in price. We're talking single digit percentages here and it should be noted that these are spot prices, not contract prices, which are negotiated between the parties a long time before delivery. That said, the fact that the spot prices are point downwards also means that companies with not so great contract pricing are starting to want to renegotiate their contract pricing, as even a small saving here can lead to a bigger saving further down the line. Many IC manufacturers have also asked to pause their contract orders, as the utilisation rate of many foundry nodes are going down, which means the foundries aren't in need of as many wafers as they have ordered. Hopefully this will all lead to lower prices across the board when it comes to semiconductors this year, but it's too early to draw any real conclusions. It's also possible that the end customers won't see any direct benefits from lower costs to the manufacturers.
Fortinet, the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, today announced FortiSP5, the latest breakthrough in ASIC technology from Fortinet, propelling major leaps forward in securing distributed network edges. Building on over 20 years of ASIC investment and innovation from Fortinet, FortiSP5 delivers significant secure computing power advantages over traditional CPU and network ASICs, lower cost and power consumption, the ability to enable new secure infrastructure across branch, campus, 5G, edge compute, operational technologies, and more.
"With the introduction of FortiSP5, Fortinet once again sets new industry records for performance, cost, and energy efficiency. As the only cybersecurity vendor leveraging purpose-built ASICs, an over 20-year investment in innovation, Fortinet delivers the secure computing power that will support the next generation of secure infrastructure." Ken Xie, Founder, Chairman of the Board, and Chief Executive Officer at Fortinet
Antec Inc., leading provider of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself market, broadens its Gold series with three models offering 650 W, 750 W or 850 W. The 80 PLUS GOLD rating and modular cabling make the Neo Eco Gold Modular a great and affordable choice to Antec's range of industry-leading power supplies. They are now commercially available from 109 € (suggested retail price including VAT).
The brand-new NeoECO Gold Modular series was born ready for the best DIY-PC experience, and it also serves exceptional performance and outstanding stability. Featuring 100% full modular design and 80 PLUS Gold certification, the NeoECO Gold Modular series keeps the PC hardware installation convenient and clean. It provides highly efficient power to your system and reduces your electricity bills.
Intel's upcoming Meteor Lake processor family is supposedly looking good with the new performance/efficiency targets. According to the @OneRaichu Twitter account, we have a potential performance estimate for the upcoming SKUs. As the latest information notes, Intel's 14th-generation Meteor Lake will feature around a 50% increase in efficiency compared to the 13th-generation Raptor Lake designs. This means that the processor can use half the power at the same performance target at Raptor Lake, increasing efficiency. Of course, the design also offers some performance improvements besides efficiency that are significant and are yet to be shown. The new Redwood Cove P-cores will be combined with the new Crestmont E-cores for maximum performance inside U/P/H configurations with 15-45 Watt power envelopes.
For integrated graphics, the source notes that Meteor Lake offers twice the performance of iGPU found on Raptor Lake designs. Supposedly, Meteor Lake will feature 128 EUs running 2.0+GHz compared to 96 EUs found inside Raptor Lake. The iGPU architecture will switch from Intel Iris to Xe-LPG 'Xe-MTL' family on the 14th gen models, confirming a giant leap in performance that iGPU is supposed to experience. Using the tile-based design, Intel combines the Intel 4 process for the CPU tile and the TSMC 5 nm process for the GPU tile. Intel handles final packaging for additional tuning, and you can see the separation below.
ASUS today announced Vivobook 13 Slate OLED (T3304), the new generation of this fun-filled 13.3-inch detachable 2-in-1 laptop that makes it make it easier to enjoy everything, everywhere. With its vivacious styling and versatile design, Vivobook 13 Slate OLED is a brilliant all-rounder. Its combination of a brilliant 13.3-inch OLED Dolby Vision Pantone Validated touchscreen and a quad-speaker Dolby Atmos sound system makes it the perfect choice for on-the-go entertainment.
Creativity is a cinch with the handy ASUS Pen 2.0, an MPP 2.0-compliant stylus with 4096 pressure levels, four swappable tips, and convenient one-click Bluetooth functions via a shortcut button. A speedy new eight-core Intel Core processor is faster and delivers better battery life than its predecessor, and is backed by a 512 GB PCIe SSD and up to 8 GB of fast LPDDR5 memory. The magnetically-attached keyboard, large touchpad, and a cover stand make it endlessly adaptable to any situation, and users can enjoy easy connectivity via the dual USB-C ports, audio jack and microSD card reader.
The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) today announced global semiconductor industry sales totaled $573.5 billion in 2022, the highest-ever annual total and an increase of 3.2% compared to the 2021 total of $555.9 billion. Sales slowed during the second half of the year, however. Fourth-quarter sales of $130.2 billion were 14.7% less than the total from the fourth quarter of 2021 and 7.7% lower than the total from third quarter of 2022. And global sales for the month of December 2022 were $43.4 billion, a decrease of 4.4% compared to November 2022 total. Monthly sales are compiled by the World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) organization and represent a three-month moving average. SIA represents 99% of the U.S. semiconductor industry by revenue and nearly two-thirds of non-U.S. chip firms.
"The global semiconductor market experienced significant ups and downs in 2022, with record-high sales early in the year followed by a cyclical downturn taking hold later in the year," said John Neuffer, SIA president and CEO. "Despite short-term fluctuations in sales due to market cyclicality and macroeconomic conditions, the long-term outlook for the semiconductor market remains incredibly strong, due to the ever-increasing role of chips in making the world smarter, more efficient, and better connected."
Intel today revealed that it will launch its Xeon W "Sapphire Rapids-WS" processors for workstations and high-end desktops (HEDTs) at a launch event dated February 15, 2023. The series is expected to consist of two distinct classes of processors, the Xeon W-2400 series, and the Xeon W-3400 series, which are rumored to be available from different dates within Q1-2023. The W-3400 series and W-2400 series could be differentiated with platform I/O and core-counts. The W-3400 series is expected to put out the full PCIe Gen 5 112-lane I/O of the "Sapphire Rapids" MCM, while the W-2400 series has a narrower 64-lane PCIe Gen 5 interface. The two could also differ in DDR5 memory channels (8 for the W-3400 series vs. 4 for the W-2400 series), and hence maximum memory supported (4 TB vs. 2 TB, respectively), although both support ECC. Intel W790 is expected to be the common chipset for both.
ASUS UK launched a trade-in program for graphics not unlike the Apple trade-in program for the latest iPhones. The company is offering cash payments ranging between GBP £65 to £300 for trading in your old graphics card. The way this works is, you purchase an ASUS GeForce RTX 40-series "Ada" graphics card from the company's ROG Strix or TUF Gaming series, by paying its full price upfront. You then submit a trade-in claim on the ASUS website within 15 days of delivery of your new graphics card. You then mail in your old graphics card within 30 days of receiving a trade-in approval from ASUS. Within 30 days of ASUS receiving your old graphics card, assuming it's in working condition and matches your trade-in claim, ASUS pays you the trade-in price directly to your bank account. For now the program is limited to the UK, and to participating online retailers, only UK residents can avail it, and the qualifying new graphics cards only cover the RTX 4070 Ti and RTX 4080 (but not the RTX 4090).
This page lists out the participating retailers, qualifying new graphics cards, qualifying old graphics cards, and the money you stand to receive when everything checks out.
Sunday, February 5th 2023
SilverStone introduced the RM51, a 5U rackmount case meant for servers and workstations, which can be tilted along its side to be used as a tower-type case. It supports motherboard form-factors that include SSI-EEB, SSI-CEB, E-ATX, and smaller. There are two PSU bays on offer, the main one being a conventional ATX/PS2; while a second SFX PSU can be deployed by replacing a 3.5-inch bracket. Internal drive bays include four 2.5-inch, and up to four 3.5-inch. You get room for a graphics card up to 455 mm in length, and depending on whether you use the expansion slot retainer, either 157 mm or 198 mm of height. The same goes to CPU coolers—181 mm with it, and 192 mm without.
The cooling setup of the SilverStone RM51 includes a mesh-type front intake that can hold either three 120 mm fans, or two 180 mm fans. Two 180 mm Air Penetrator 184i PRO are included with the case. The rear fan-cage holds two 80 mm, and there's another 140 mm vent at the rear I/O. You can mount up to a 360 mm radiator along the front intake, and a 120 mm radiator along the rear exhaust. Including the rear fan-cage, the case measures 440 mm (W) x 220 mm (H) x 485 mm (D). The case should be available in Asia and North America from the second half of February, priced at USD $489.99, with European availability expected in March.
GIGABYTE formally launched its flagship AORUS Gen5 10000 series M.2 NVMe SSDs that take advantage of a PCI-Express 5.0 x4 interface. Currently, all AMD B650 series and X670 series motherboards offer a PCIe Gen 5 M.2 slot wired to the processor without eating into PEG bandwidth, while some Intel 700-series chipset motherboards offer Gen 5 M.2 slots by subtracting lanes from the PEG slot. AORUS Gen5 10000 for now comes in 1 TB and 2 TB capacities. The drives combine a Phison E26 series controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory and LPDDR4 DRAM cache.
The 1 TB model offers sequential transfer speeds of up to 9.5 GB/s reads, with up to 8.5 GB/s writes, and 700 TBW endurance; whereas the 2 TB model is faster, with up to 10 GB/s sequential reads, up to 9.5 GB/s writes, and 1,400 TBW endurance. The drive's power consumption is under 10 W, and GIGABYTE has deployed a thoughtful fanless cooling solution for the drive that spares you from the annoying high-pitched noise of other upcoming Gen 5 M.2 SSDs that use fan-heatsinks. The company didn't reveal pricing, but mentioned that the drives are backed by 5-year warranties.
The Windows app of Discord, the popular social-networking software, apparently trims the graphics card memory clock of NVIDIA GPUs by an innocuous 200 MHz, or so observe gamers. NVIDIA GeForce GPUs dynamically adjust memory clock speeds in response to load, as part of their power-management. Ideally, with gaming workloads, the GPU is supposed to hit its maximum rated memory frequency, but some keen-eyed gamers with monitoring tools noticed that with the Discord app running in the background, the memory clock tops out at T-minus 200 MHz (i.e. if it was supposed to be 7000 MHz, it tops out at 6800 MHz). Even under the infernal stress of Furmark, something that's designed to push memory clocks to the maximum rated speeds until the graphics card runs into thermal limits; the memory clock is seen falling 200 MHz short.
NVIDIA took note of this issue, and assured that a fix is on the way in a future GeForce driver update. In the meantime, it posted a DIY workaround to the problem that involves downloading the GeForce 3D Profile Manager utility, making the utility "export SLI profiles" (applicable even to single-GPU machines), editing the exported SLI profiles file as a plaintext document, and importing the profile back. This basically alters the way the driver behaves with the Discord app running. The NVIDIA 3D Profile Manager utility can be downloaded from
here, and step-by-step instructions on using it to fix this issue,
here.
Update Feb 6th: NVIDIA
released a GeForce driver application profile that automatically downloads to your driver, which should fix this issue. You don't need GeForce Experience to receive the update.
MSI Radeon RX 7900 XTX Gaming Trio Classic, the company's first Radeon 7000 series RDNA3 graphics card, is finally listed online. American retailer Newegg put it up for sale at $1,100, a $100 premium over the $1000 AMD baseline price for the RX 7900 XTX. This is a "sold and shipped by Newegg" listing. MSI
showed this card off last month, at the 2023 International CES. It pairs a custom-design PCB with a previous-generation Tri Frozr 2.0 cooling solution—the same one it used with its RX 6950 XT Gaming series. The PCB, however, is an MSI in-house design, with a meaty VRM that draws power from three 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and should hence feature a higher power-limit than the reference-design board, which has been known to scoop out a far greater overclocking headroom on other cards with a similar power setup (such as the ASUS TUF Gaming RX 7900 XTX).
The MSI RX 7900 XTX Gaming Trio Classic comes with clock speeds of 2.30 GHz game, and 2.50 GHz boost, which surprisingly are AMD's reference clocks. Perhaps MSI is saving factory-overclocks for the RX 7900 XTX Gaming X Trio Classic, which it will price even higher. Maxing out the 5 nm "Navi 31" GPU, the RX 7900 XTX offers 6,144 stream processors across 96 RDNA3 compute units, with 96 Ray Accelerators, 384 TMUs, 192 ROPs, and a 384-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface, running 24 GB of memory at 20 Gbps (960 GB/s memory bandwidth).
Intel released a curiously-named Core i5-13490F desktop processor SKU in the Chinese market, in what is a sign that the company is optimizing its lineup to better square off against AMD's Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 "Zen 4" processors at highly competitive pricing. The i5-13490F is positioned in between the i5-13400F and the i5-13500. It has the same 6P+4E core-configuration as the i5-13400F, and not the 6P+8E configuration of the i5-13500; but comes with a larger shared L3 cache of 24 MB, compared to 20 MB on the i5-13400F. The P-cores still only get 1.25 MB of L2 cache a piece, and the E-core clusters each only get 2 MB of shared L2 cache. As an "F" SKU, it lacks integrated graphics. The clock-speeds see the P-cores at a maximum boost frequency of 4.70 GHz (compared to 4.60 GHz of the i5-13400F). A quick CPU-Z Bench run put the processor's performance at roughly 6% higher single-threaded score than the i5-13400F, and a roughly 4.5% higher multi-threaded score.
Transcend introduced the MTE400S, a value-ended M.2 NVMe SSD meant for the prebuilt OEM/SI channel. Built in the 42 mm-long M.2-2242 form-factor, the drive features a PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface. It comes in capacities of 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB; and features a DRAM-less design, possibly using a Phison-sourced controller. The company didn't specify the type of 3D NAND flash used. The top-spec 1 TB variant offers transfer-speeds of up to 2000 MB/s reads, with up to 1700 MB/s writes; while the 512 GB variant writes at up to 1000 MB/s, and the 256 GB variant up to 900 MB/s; with endurance ratings of 100 TBW, 200 TBW, and 400 TBW, respectively. The company didn't reveal pricing, but these should be among the cheapest drives in the market, as they're sold in tray volumes.
Angry Miao, a leading technology brand focusing on revolutionizing wireless desktop products, is adding to its existing keyboard lineup with the Indiegogo launch of the new AM Compact Touch, previously known as the AM 65 Less. Featuring a new symmetrical layout that takes the fundamental usage habit of the 65% layout, the AM Compact Touch will bring this new layout to the masses with the quality and innovative features expected from Angry Miao.
Citing market demand for the specific layout, Angry Miao sees the 65% layout satisfying the requirements of the majority of users with all the practical functions expected from a keyboard. With the compact size of the AM Compact Touch, it takes up a relatively small area on your desk, and will take up to 11% less space than an ordinary 65% layout keyboard. By retaining the fundamental user habit of 65% and making a few adjustments for symmetric design, Angry Miao wants users to enjoy the full keyboard experience without any loss.
In Japan, the first consumer focused PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSDs have gone on sale and one of these drives has been put through some quick synthetic benchmarks by @momomo_us on Twitter. We're not familiar with the CFD Gaming brand which the drive is sold under, but the CSSD-M2M2TPG5NFZ—as the drive is called—is based on Phison's E26 controller and it's paired with Micron's B58R 3D TLC NAND, suggesting it's based around a reference design from Phison. CFD Gaming offers the drive in 1, 2 and 4 TB sizes and @momomo_us tested the 2 TB version.
Before we go into the performance figures, there's one thing that needs to be highlighted about this drive, it produces a high pitch noise during use, thanks to its tiny 17x17 mm, 21,000 rpm fan from Sunon. @momomo_us provided a video on Twitter which is linked below, so you can hear it in action for yourself. Hopefully this isn't the future of NVMe SSDs, as it's going to put off many potential customers from getting one. @momomo_us only tested the drive with CrystalDiskMark 8.0.4, which shows that sequential write speeds are slightly faster than claimed by CFD Gaming, with the sequential write speeds being bang on the money. For those hoping for higher random performance, things aren't looking so great, as the drive only performs slightly better than the best PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives.
Benchmarks and specifications of an alleged NVIDIA AD106 GPU have tipped up on Chiphell, although the original poster has since removed all the details. Thanks to @harukaze5719 on Twitter, who posted the details, we still get an insight into what we might be able to expect from NVIDIA's upcoming mid-range cards. All these details should be taken as is, as the original source isn't exactly what we'd call trustworthy. Based on the data in the TPU GPU database, the GPU in question should be the GeForce RTX 4070 Mobile with much higher clock speeds or an equivalent desktop part that offers more CUDA cores than the RTX 4060 Ti. Whatever the specific AD106 GPU is, it's being compared to the GeForce RTX 2080 Super and the RTX 3070 Ti.
The GPU was tested in AIDA64 and 3DMark and it beats the RTX 2080 Super in all of the tests, while drawing some 55 W less power at the same time. In some of the benchmarks the wins are within the margin of testing error, for example when it comes to the memory performance in AIDA64. However, we're looking at a GPU connected to only half the memory bandwidth here, as the AD106 GPU only has a 128-bit memory bus, compared to 256-bit for the RTX 2080 Super, although the memory clocks are much higher, but the overall memory bandwidth is still nearly 36 percent higher in the RTX 2080 Super. Yet, the AD106 GPU manages to beat the RTX 2080 Super in all of the memory benchmarks in AIDA64.
With the current cold spell in much of the northern hemisphere, it might be a good time to stay at home and play some games. This week's AAA release involves wizards and the game has racked up a bit of controversy before it even launched, for reasons that we won't go into here.
Hogwarts Legacy / This week's AAA title / Friday 10 February
Hogwarts Legacy is an open-world action RPG set in the world first introduced in the Harry Potter books. Embark on a journey through familiar and new locations as you explore and discover magical beasts, customize your character and craft potions, master spell casting, upgrade talents and become the wizard you want to be.
Saturday, February 4th 2023
PowerColor today teased its Radeon RX 7900 XTX Liquid Devil flagship graphics card. Designed for those with a DIY liquid cooling setup, the Liquid Devil essentially combines an RX 7900 XTX Red Devil PCB with a factory-fitted full-coverage water block. The water block is sourced from EK Water Blocks, just like with the previous-generation RX 6900 XT Liquid Devil, and is likely based on the company's Quantum Vector series, which combines nickel-plated copper primary material with a clear acrylic top that's studded with addressable RGB LEDs; and capped with vinyl decals specific to PowerColor. The card probably features a metal backplate with an illuminated PowerColor Devil logo. It remains to be seen if the Liquid Devil is differentiated from the air-cooled Red Devil OC Limited Edition with slightly higher factory-overclocks or power-limits.
Friday, February 3rd 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Audio
The Creative Sound Blaster X5 is, in many ways, the company's most ambitious external sound card to date. It's aimed at demanding audio enthusiasts who want excellent sound performance and rich software features in a single unit.
Review
Motherboards
ASUS presents the ROG Crosshair X670E HERO. Featuring a top of the line 18+2+2 VRM using 110 A power stages, USB4 ports, PCIe Gen 5 slots and four M.2 sockets all packed into the standard ATX form factor. Follow along as we take a deep dive and check out all the features this motherboard has to offer!
CHERRY MX, the market leader and expert for mechanical switches in keyboards, is now also represented in the new high-end laptops MEDION ERAZER Beast X40 and Major X20 with the MX Ultra Low Profile Tactile switches. This allows MEDION to complement the latest high-performance hardware with a durable mechanical keyboard that ensures reliable precision and a high-quality typing experience in all situations.
With the top-of-the-line Beast X40, MEDION ERAZER sets new standards. The combination of the powerful Intel Core i9-13900HX processor, 32 gigabytes of DDR5-4800 memory, and the laptop GPU NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 with an impressive 16 gigabytes of VRAM ensures a smooth display on the 17-inch QHD+ screen with a 16:10 aspect ratio. Thanks to the NVIDIA G-Sync synchronization technology and a fast refresh rate of 240 hertz, a constant fast and stutter-free playback of the content is guaranteed. With the integration of a two-terabyte PCIe-4.0 SSD, there is also enough space for applications and games.
An 8 lbs (roughly 4 kg) solid cylinder made of copper was used as a fanless heatsink to cool an Intel Core i9 processor. This isn't a heatsink in that it's made of extruded copper, but a literal hunk of copper that is used as raw material. The metal is both extremely malleable and ductile, so it's shipped in such cylinders. The best part—the contraption is surprisingly good at the job, with That-Desktop-User, the Redditor behind this feat, claiming 35 °C idle and 80 °C load temperatures. The processor is essentially a heat-source that's trying to heat up the entire block of metal (with much lesser surface area for heat-dissipation than a real heatsink), which is how temperatures are being held at only up to 80 °C.
Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 customers still represent a large group, as Microsoft has announced an additional year of Extended Security Updates (ESU) with a caveat. Only available for Microsoft Azure customers, the ESU program will allow Windows Server 2008 and R2 users on Azure cloud to get security updates until January 9, 2024. By no means is this not a free program, and Microsoft will bill this extensively as it is available internationally. Many customers are forced to join the ESU program for their Windows Server 2008 and R2 systems, as upgrading the OS to the latest version is not always possible without significant downtime or a hardware update.
The following customer base has legibility to the fourth year of the ESU program:
- Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
- Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2)
- Windows Embedded POSReady 7
- Windows Embedded Standard 7
- All Azure virtual machines (VMs) running Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems on Azure, Azure Stack, Azure VMWare Solutions, or Azure Nutanix Solution.
Chinese company Origin Quantum announced that it has developed China's first practical 24-qubit quantum computer using superconducting chip technology, named Wuyuan. The computer uses an unspecified number of quantum processing units (QPUs), but comes with a custom operating system, and a cloud-computing platform, allowing Chinese businesses to hire the computer as they would any HPC cloud-computing instance. Origin Quantum said that with the production of Wuyuan, the company is already developing an even more powerful quantum computer, named Wukong. Origin Quantum is one of the many curiously new Chinese high-technology startups that have sprung up and don't feature on Western tech sanctions lists, to which Western companies are forbidden to sale certain high-tech machinery and chips to.
Many Thanks to TumbleGeorge for the tip.Intel in an interview with Hardwareluxx shed more light on its second generation Xe graphics architecture, codenamed "Battlemage." There will be two key variants of "Battlemage,"—Xe2-LPG and Xe2-HPG. The Xe2-LPG (low-power graphics) architecture is a slimmed-down derivative of "Battlemage" that's optimized for low-power. It is meant for iGPUs (integrated graphics), particularly upcoming "disaggregated" Intel Core processors in which the iGPU exists on Graphics Tiles (chiplets). The iGPU powering the upcoming Core "Meteor Lake" processor is rumored to meet the full DirectX 12 Ultimate feature-set (something Xe-LP doesn't), and so it's likely that Xe2-LPG is getting its first outing with that processor. The Xe2-HPG (high performance graphics) architecture is designed squarely for discrete GPUs—either desktop graphics cards, or mobile discrete GPUs hardwired into laptops.
In the interview, Intel talked about how its first-generation Xe graphics IP had at least four separate product verticals based on the scalability of the product, and the specific application (Xe-LP for iGPUs and tiny dGPUs, Xe-HPG for client- and pro-vis discrete GPUs, Xe-HPC for scalar compute processors, and Xe-HP for data-center graphics). The company eventually axed Xe-HP as it felt the Xe-HPG and Xe-HPC architectures adequately addressed this segment. With AXG (accelerated compute group) being split up between the CCG (client computing group) and DCG (data-center group); Xe2-LPG and Xe2-HPG will be developed primarily under CCG, with a client and pro-visualization focus; while Xe-HPC will be developed as a scalar-compute architecture by DCG, which effectively leaves the Intel Arc Graphics team with just two verticals—to deliver a feature-rich iGPU for its next-generation Core processors, and a performance discrete GPU lineup so it can eat away market-share from NVIDIA and AMD—hopefully with better time-to-market.
Apple today announced financial results for its fiscal 2023 first quarter ended December 31, 2022. The Company posted quarterly revenue of $117.2 billion, down 5 percent year over year, and quarterly earnings per diluted share of $1.88.
"As we all continue to navigate a challenging environment, we are proud to have our best lineup of products and services ever, and as always, we remain focused on the long term and are leading with our values in everything we do," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "During the December quarter, we achieved a major milestone and are excited to report that we now have more than 2 billion active devices as part of our growing installed base."
Thursday, February 2nd 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Fans
CORSAIR has updated its AF120 ELITE fans with RGB lighting. The new AF120 RGB ELITE comes in single or triple pack versions (w/ included lighting hub) offering extensive lighting options and higher max performance while retaining the handy zero-RPM mode and quiet fluid dynamic bearing too.
Review
Cases
The Corsair iCUE 5000D Airflow RGB takes the original 5000D Airflow through a few very subtle tweaks and adds the new AF120 Elite RGB fans into the mix. All at a cost lower than buying the individual pieces. Is pairing brand new fans with a two year old case trouble or a match made in heaven?
In the wake of its Ryzen 7000X3D series announcement, AMD cut the price of its Ryzen 7 7700X 8-core/16-thread "Zen 4" processor. The Ryzen 7000X3D series is available from February 28, however, the 8-core 7800X3D will only be available from April 6. Despite this, sales prospects of the 7700X could be affected, as the SKU faces cannibalization not just from the 7800X3D, but also the recently launched 65 W Ryzen 7 7700, which has shown decent overclocking potential with motherboard-level power limit unlocks. What's interesting is that the 105 W 7700X at $299 puts it below the 65 W 7700 that launched at $325, which means that the 7700 could get even cheaper. This series of price-cuts and SKU re-positioning could make AMD competitive against Intel's 13th Gen Core i5 SKUs such as the i5-13600 and i5-13500 6P+8E models.
Based on news out of Korea, Samsung is said to be launching a 49-inch QD-OLED based monitor at some point later this quarter, although sadly, nothing was mentioned about what kind of resolution the display would sport. At the same time, Samsung is also said to be launching a 77-inch TV model, as the Elec suggests the two will be made from the same Gen 8.5 substrate.
This is because Samsung Display can cut two 77-inch and two 49-inch QD-OLED display panels from each Gen 8.5 substrate. Initially Samsung had apparently requested a 48-inch monitor, but based on the Elec's sources, Samsung Display declined, as it didn't make economical sense to waste the extra panel substrate. With a bit of luck, the new 49-inch display panel will feature a 4K resolution, as all of Samsung's QD-OLED TVs to date, are 4K. The only exception is Samsung's 34-inch QD-OLED monitor panel, which is 3440x1440, as we know. The monitor is said to be sold as Samsung OLED, suggesting that Samsung might dual source panels from LG Display as well.
OWC - the leading end-to-end ecosystem solution of computer hardware, accessories, and software for both consumers and professionals - today announced the all-new 2-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe Network Adapter Expansion Card. Whether users need connectivity for high bandwidth workstations or need to move large resolution (up to 8K) files without dropped frames, the new OWC 2-Port 10G Ethernet PCIe Network Adapter is focused on eliminating bottlenecks and keeping data flowing to any mission-critical project.
Double the Opportunities
Like all OWC products, the 2-Port 10 Gigabit Ethernet PCIe Network Adapter Expansion Card is a solution designed to solve hassles throughout the creative process, expanding data streams and opening a new world of access and storage options:
An entirely new TWS earbud flagship that combines an industry-first LE Audio technology, the latest Qualcomm chip, Bluetooth 5.3, and low-latency aptX certification in an all-new elegant metallic texture body. Award-winning wireless audio company EarFun will launch their upcoming TWS earbud flagship, the Air Pro 3, making it the world's first ANC wireless earbuds to debut highly-efficient LE-Audio Bluetooth architecture. The Air Pro 3's combination of features, design, and specs puts premium audio and the latest advances in Bluetooth technology into the hands of everyday people who want to focus on their work and elevate their daily soundtrack.
Incredible Sound, Quietly
Adopting next-generation Bluetooth technology, the Air Pro 3 features LE Audio with the new audio codec LC3. This delivers an impressively-low power consumption, but with a significant improvement in sound quality over the common SBC codec during low-battery states. In fact, the bass response becomes guttural, powerful. The sound overall is simply superior. Paired with the QuietSmart 2.0 Hybrid Active Noise Cancellation system, the Air Pro 3 silences the outside world up to 43dB. In addition, the sound of wind shear is subdued with an Anti-Wind Noise algorithm that works every millisecond.
Razer, the leading global lifestyle brand for gamers, today announced the Razer Viper Mini Signature Edition, the epitome of gaming mouse technology. Built as a result of years of meticulous craftsmanship and engineering, the Viper Mini Signature Edition is an ultra-high-end, hyper-lightweight wireless performance gaming mouse that is turbocharged with Razer's best-in-class technologies.
Engineered for the gamers that dare to want it all, the Viper Mini Signature Edition is the pinnacle of gaming mouse performance. Weighing an astonishing 49 grams, gamers can experience true perfection with a master-grade gaming peripheral packed with our best-in-class technologies, all in one perfect form.
CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today launched a slew of upgrades to a wide range of its most acclaimed PC components. With its best performing RGB fan in the AF RGB ELITE, new liquid CPU cooler options in the iCUE ELITE CAPELLIX XT, ELITE LCD XT, and RGB ELITE Series, and new 4000D/5000D RGB AIRFLOW cases, CORSAIR is delivering stylish looks and upgraded performance in a large-scale coordinated launch to support enthusiasts building a brand-new performance PC or upgrading their system for the new year.
The AF RGB ELITE PWM fan takes the crown as CORSAIR's highest performing RGB fan, merging the fantastic airflow of the AF ELITE Series with eight brilliant individually addressable LEDs per fan. CORSAIR AirGuide technology concentrates airflow into a cone directed at your hottest components, with fan speeds reaching up to 2,100 RPM and 1,700 RPM for 120 mm and 140 mm, respectively. Fluid dynamic bearings ensure low-noise operation, with support for Zero RPM mode at low loads to eliminate fan noise altogether. AF RGB ELITE is available in multi-fan kits with an included iCUE Lighting Node CORE controller, or single fan expansions.
The PCI Resizable BAR feature can have a major impact on the performance of "Dead Space" (the 2023 reboot). sxKYLE on Reddit discovered that his GeForce RTX 4080 "Ada" experienced a major performance jump from 76 FPS up to 111 FPS (+46%) with resizable BAR enabled. NVIDIA Profile Inspector was used to enable resizable BAR for the game. The feature allows the CPU to see the graphics card's video memory as a single, continuously-addressable block, rather than through 256 MB apertures. We can imagine how "Dead Space" in particular could benefit from the feature, as the game's campaign is a single continuous action sequence with assets being constantly streamed to the GPU (and no level load screens).
More thermal conductivity with the new Core Soft thermal pads! The performance thermal pads from Alphacool offer a variety of advantages compared to a standard pad. They perfectly cling to surfaces, compensate for unevenness between electronic components and thus provide a significant improvement in heat transfer. This means that the enormous waste heat not only from voltage converters and VRAMs of graphics cards, but also from Playstation and Xbox game consoles, can be effectively dissipated and performance and durability significantly increased. Due to their excellent electrical insulation as well as the large number of variants in terms of thickness and dimensions, the Core thermal pads can also be used to cool a wide variety of electronic components apart from PC water cooling.
AMD in its Q4-2022 earnings release call disclosed to investors that it "undershipped" chips in the second half of 2022 to keep prices (margins) high and save itself from unsold inventory, in the wake of a steep slump in the PC market. "We undershipped in Q3, we undershipped in Q4," AMD CEO Dr Lisa Su told investors. "We will undership, to a lesser extent, in Q1 [sic]," she added.
Major chipmakers are experiencing an unprecedented slump in demand compared to the spike in demand during the COVID 19 pandemic lockdowns. With high energy prices and the ebb in the pandemic causing much of the white-collar workforce to return to office, there's no longer the kind of demand the PC industry saw in 2021. On the other hand, undersupplies artificially hold prices high, with graphics cards and desktop processors still being unreasonably pricey compared to previous generations. AMD calculated that it would rather make less revenues on fewer chips shipped, than end up with a bloated unsold inventory that it would have to sell at a thin margins, or even at a loss. The company on Tuesday beat expectations to report
good Q4-2022 results, which received a thumbs-up from investors.
Wednesday, February 1st 2023
Today's Reviews
Review
Memory
KLEVV brings forward the CRAS XR line to the DDR5 market. Equipped with a 6200 MT/s XMP profile using modest CL40-42-42-78 timings, KLEVV is targeting gamers and PC enthusiasts alike. Follow along as we test this memory and see how it stacks up the competition!
Rambus Inc., a premier chip and silicon IP provider making data faster and safer, today announced the availability of its new 6400 MT/s DDR5 Registering Clock Driver (RCD) and sampling to the major DDR5 memory module (RDIMM) manufacturers. With a 33% increase in data rate and bandwidth over Gen 1 4800 MT/s solutions, the Rambus Gen 3 6400 MT/s DDR5 RCD enables a new level of main memory performance for data center servers. Delivering industry-leading latency and power, it offers optimized timing parameters for improved RDIMM margins.
"Data center workloads have an insatiable thirst for greater memory bandwidth and capacity, and our mission is to advance the performance of server memory solutions that meet this need for each new server platform generation," said Sean Fan, chief operating officer at Rambus. "We were first in the industry to 5600 MT/s, and now we have raised the bar with our Gen 3 DDR5 RCD capable of 6400 MT/s to support a new generation of RDIMMs for server main memory."
Samsung Electronics today unveiled the Galaxy S23 Ultra, Galaxy S23+ and Galaxy S23, marking a new era of Samsung Galaxy's ultimate premium phone experience. Samsung Galaxy's epic camera gives users more freedom to explore their creativity, like capturing truly cinematic Nightography videos with transformative AI. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 Mobile Platform for Galaxy unleashes premium experiences, including groundbreaking AI, future-ready mobile gaming feature and powerfully sustained game play with the world's fastest mobile graphics. On the Galaxy S23 Ultra, an embedded S Pen that many long-time Samsung Galaxy users know and love offers more possibilities for productivity, notetaking, hobbies and more. All the Galaxy S23 series' new standard-setting innovations are housed within a striking design that advances the company's sustainability commitment with more components made using recycled materials than any other Samsung Galaxy smartphone.
"The value of impactful technology is measured, not just by what it enables for people today, but also how it contributes to a better future," said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "The entire Galaxy S23 series is the new standard-bearer of trustworthy premium smartphone experiences. We're on a mission to redefine peak performance by bringing together powerful, lasting innovations and sustainability."
Samsung Electronics today unveiled the Galaxy Book3 series, its latest flagship PC lineup featuring the Galaxy Book3 Ultra, Book3 Pro 360 and Book3 Pro. The Galaxy Book3 Ultra—Samsung's new premium PC—features ultra-high-performance computing, the Galaxy Book3 Pro 360 features a 2-in-1 convertible form factor with S Pen functionality, and the Galaxy Book3 Pro features thin and light, mobility-first clamshell design. The Galaxy Book3 series is designed for those who need seamless multi-device connectivity and premium hardware to supercharge their productivity and creativity.
"Today, we're seeing an increasing number of people using multiple devices to perform efficiently. These new workflows are made possible thanks to our open and extensive Galaxy ecosystem," said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "The latest Galaxy Book3 series further enriches our connected offerings. It is tailor-made for Galaxy enthusiasts looking for ultra-high computing performance and seamless connected Galaxy experiences to maximize their productivity and creativity."
AMD today announced the retail channel pricing of its upcoming Ryzen 7000X3D "Zen 4" line of high-performance Socket AM5 desktop processors. These processors introduce the 3D Vertical Cache (3DV cache) technology, which the company claims has a significant impact on gaming performance, making them perform competitively with 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" processors, including the fastest i9-13900K, and possibly even the i9-13900KS. AMD announced retail availability from February 28, 2023 for the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and 7900X3D. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D launches on April 6, 2023.
The Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-core/16-thread processor is priced at USD $449. The 12-core/24-thread Ryzen 9 7900X3D is priced at $599. The flagship 16-core/32-thread Ryzen 9 7950X3D is priced at $699. The 7800X3D launches at a $50 higher price than the $399 price that the Ryzen 7 7700X launched at, before settling down at $349. The 7900X3D launches at $599, which again is a $50 premium over the launch price of the Ryzen 9 7900X—currently going for $475. The top-dog 7950X3D launches at the same $699 price that the 7950X launched at, which has its price slashed all the way down to $575.
A video presentation by AMD follows.
We're excited to announce a headset edition of our award-winning NTH-100 headphones, the NTH-100M. Released earlier this year to widespread acclaim, the NTH-100s marked our highly anticipated debut into the headphone market and they have since been cemented as a modern classic with their exceptional sound quality, innovative features for superior comfort, sleek looks and rugged build quality.
The NTH-100M offers the same premium features, with the addition of a broadcast-grade headset microphone, making it ideal for media and broadcast, podcasting, streaming, gaming, conference calls and other business applications. The microphone is also available as a standalone accessory, the NTH-Mic, allowing existing NTH-100 users to transform their headphones into a professional headset.
Although we haven't been able to confirm these specs, full specifications of AMD's upcoming A620 chipset was posted on Twitter by @g01d3nm4ng0, who has proven to have solid details in the past. This is supposedly the cut-down version of the B650 chipset, due to the rumored delays of the actual A620 chipset. The A620 chipset will be identical to the B650 chipset when it comes to PCIe lane counts, but rather than PCIe 4.0 lanes, the chipset will only offer PCIe 3.0 lanes. What is unclear is if the PCIe 3.0 of the B650 chipset will remain or not, as they're not included in the leaked specs.
If not, then the A620 chipset will only have a total of eight usable PCIe lanes, but four lanes that are connected to the CPU, which will apparently also be limited to PCIe 3.0 speeds. There's also no mention of SATA port configurations. AMD has trimmed the amount of USB 3.x ports significantly, with the A620 chipset only getting two 10 Gbps and two 5 Gbps ports. USB 2.0 ports remain the same at a total of six. A620 motherboards will apparently also be limited to PCIe 4.0 for the lanes from the CPU, but this should be less of an issue for most consumers. As rumored, CPU overclocking is also said to be missing, but RAM overclocking will still be present.
Intel confirmed the price-cut for its Arc "Alchemist" A750 performance-segment graphics card that we
earlier reported. The company also gave us a quick heads-up of just how far along the Arc 7-series graphics cards have matured in performance and features, over the months of driver updates. In particular, the company focused on how performance of the A750 is about 43% higher than it was at launch in DirectX 9 titles—an API the Xe-HPG graphics architecture doesn't natively support.
Intel relies on a combination of D3D9 to D3D12 API translation, and game-specific optimization at the driver-level, to play DirectX 9 games. The company has been optimizing popular DirectX 9 titles over the past several months, and put out performance gains in a new presentation. Since launch, Intel has added XeSS support to over 35 games, and promises to expand the list. With its starting price now at $249, one can expect custom-design boards, such as the ASRock A750 Challenger OC and the GUNNIR A750 Photon, to be priced at or under $300, although the reference-design Intel A750 Limited Edition cards can be found in some places. Intel also announced that it is bundling "Nightingale," and "The Settlers: New Allies" with pre-built desktops that combine 12th Gen or 13th Gen Core desktop processors and Arc A750 graphics cards.
The complete slide-deck follows.
Back in January, Intel officially
increased the price of its 12th Gen Core processors by 10 percent, a move that was thought to help push the 13th Gen Core processors in retail. Here we are, barely a month later and Intel is now said to be cutting the price on said 12th Gen Core processors by as much as 20 percent. The report comes from DigiTimes in Taiwan and should as such be taken with a pinch of salt, but apparently the higher-end SKUs are expected to see the biggest price cuts.
Twitter user @harukaze5719 has put together a cheat sheet that gives us an easy overview on what we might be able to expect, if the 20 percent price cut is done across the board. This should make Intel's 12th Gen Core processors quite attractive price wise, as all models would end up selling for much less than they did before the 10 percent price increase. This would give Intel some extra leverage over AMD, which might be forced to lower its prices in turn, to be able to stay competitive.
Intel didn't exactly report stellar results for the past year and now news out of the US are reporting that the management team is in for big pay cuts, due to missing the earnings targets. Unfortunately the pay cuts aren't limited to management level employees only, as everyone "level 7" and above are affected. Level 7 appears to be some groups of mid-level employees, such as staff engineers. Intel is said to have 14 different employee levels, where fresh graduates start at level 3 and the CEO is level 14. Pat Gelsinger is expected to see a 25 percent cut to his base salary, with the leadership team seeing a 15 percent cut in their base salary.
However, VP's are only seeing a 10 percent pay cut and those below VP—to level 6—will see a five percent pay cut. This is said to go into effect on the first of March and it might seem like those employees at lower hiring tiers are getting away without a pay cut, but it's not quite that simple. Everyone else will see a pay freeze and incentives will be cut for all employees at Intel. This includes suspended quarterly profit sharing bonuses, no employee recognition program and the retirement plan contribution matching cut in half to 2.5 percent. The only perk left will be the annual bonus. Considering the current state of the world, the upside of all of this, is that Intel is at least not laying off any employees as of right now, at least not officially. That said, we might see some employees jumping ship to Intel's competitors, if they can offer a more attractive package. We should point out that the average salary at Intel is around US$134,000, so it's unlikely that most of its employees will suffer due to the reduction in pay.
Intel cut the baseline prices of its Arc A750 performance-segment graphics card. The card now starts at USD $249, down from its launch price of $289 for the first-party reference-design card. Among the handful custom-design board partners for the A750 are Acer, Gunnir, and ASRock. The A750 targets maxed-out AAA gaming at 1080p, although the card is capable of higher resolutions with the Intel XeSS performance enhancement.
Based on the 6 nm ACM-G10 silicon, the A750 is endowed with 3,584 unified shaders across 28 Xe Cores or 448 EUs, 224 TMUs, 112 ROPs, and 8 GB of 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory across the chip's full 256-bit wide memory interface (512 GB/s memory bandwidth). The card has a typical board power of 225 W, draws it from a combination of 8-pin and 6-pin PCIe power connectors; and has modern display outputs that include HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 2.1. The Arc "Alchemist" family of GPUs meets the full DirectX 12 Ultimate feature-set, including real-time ray tracing. They also have regular driver updates with day-zero optimization for big game releases.
Many Thanks to TumbleGeorge for the tip.
Acer through its gamer-focused brand, Acer Predator, is reportedly preparing custom-design AMD Radeon graphics cards for launch in 2023. The company already made an entry into the DIY gaming PC components space with Intel Arc "Alchemist" graphics cards, and Predator-branded high-end memory products, such as M.2 NVMe SSDs and memory kits. The company already showed off its engineering chops with custom-design graphics cards, such the likes of its Arc A770 Predator models, and it's expected that the Taiwanese PC giant will do the same with AMD Radeon cards. 2023 will see AMD ramp up its Radeon RX 7000 series graphics cards based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture, across several price-points.
Intel Graphics today released the latest version of the Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.4091 adds support for the iGPUs of 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake-P" mobile processors. The Intel Arc Control software now supports a standalone desktop mode. Among the handful issues fixed with this release, an application crash noticed in Warhammer 40,000: Darktide during the character-selection screen on Arc discrete GPUs, has been fixed. For the iGPUs of Intel Core processors (11th Gen and later), the drivers fix color/display corruption issues with Need for Speed Unbound and Battlefield 2042; and an intermittent application crash issue with Total War: Warhammer III. Grab the driver from the link below.
DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4091YEYIAN Gaming, a global leader in the design and manufacturing of innovative pre-built gaming PCs, peripherals, and computer components, is proud to announce the market launch of the latest YEYIAN Ultrawide 34" 2K SIGURD 4000 WQHD curved gaming monitor (sku: YMC-VA34-01). YEYIAN SIGURD 4000 is an ultra-thin bezel design with WQHD resolution, delivering excellent resolution and brightness on a LED VA panel with a 3000:1 contrast ratio. It provides gamer-oriented features, including six scenarios presets for optimized screen settings when playing games, watching movies, and a standard text display.
The Adaptive-Sync technology is fully compatible with AMD FreeSync and NVidia G-Sync to ensure every frame is displayed correctly without artifacts or tearing. The monitor is also built using an advanced HDR processing chip to offer more than 16.7 million colors in a higher dynamic range and a broader color gamut for vivid gaming graphic visibility. A 1 ms response time combined with a 165 Hz refresh rate and Low Blue Light technology ensures that the YEYIAN 34" SIGURD 4000 2K can deliver superior gaming performance for hardcore gaming sessions and content creation.
Western Digital Corp. (Nasdaq: WDC) today reported fiscal second quarter 2023 financial results. "The Western Digital team delivered revenue at the high end of our guidance range, despite a challenging flash price environment and continued cloud inventory digestion," said David Goeckeler, Western Digital CEO. "We continue to take action to reset the business in response to the post-pandemic environment by optimizing our cost structure and strengthening our liquidity.
These actions, including strategically reducing our capital expenditures across both flash and HDD and our operating expenses, as well as amending our financial covenants and securing recent financings, will give us the financial flexibility and optionality to weather this cycle, while also positioning us to continue executing our product roadmap and furthering our technical leadership over the long term."
SK hynix Inc. (or "the company") reported today financial results for 2022 ended on December 31. The company recorded revenues of 44.648 trillion won, an operating profit of 7.007 trillion won and a net income of 2.439 trillion won. Operating and net profit margin for the full year was 16% and 5%, respectively. "Revenues continued to grow last year, but the operating profit decreased compared with a year earlier as the industry entered into a downturn from the second half," the company said. "With uncertainties still lingering, we will continue to reduce investments and costs, while trying to minimize the impact of the downturn by prioritizing markets with high growth potential."
In 2022, SK hynix increased high-capacity DRAM shipments for server/PC markets, while boosting sales of DDR5 and HBM - of which products that the company has a solid market leadership - to customers in the growing markets of AI, Big Data, and cloud computing. Particularly, revenues for the data center SSD more than quadrupled compared with a year earlier.
AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) today announced revenue for the fourth quarter of 2022 of $5.6 billion, gross margin of 43%, operating loss of $149 million, net income of $21 million and diluted earnings per share of $0.01. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 51%, operating income was $1.3 billion, net income was $1.1 billion and diluted earnings per share was $0.69.
For full year 2022, the company reported revenue of $23.6 billion, gross margin of 45%, operating income of $1.3 billion, net income of $1.3 billion and diluted earnings per share of $0.84. On a non-GAAP basis, gross margin was 52%, operating income was $6.3 billion, net income was $5.5 billion and diluted earnings per share was $3.50.
