At CES 2024 in Las Vegas, case maker InWin displayed several innovative new models for custom PC builds. The company continues its reputation for eye-catching designs with the debut of the adjustable flatpack POC One case and highly modular Mini Mod-II and Mod-III chassis. The POC One features interlocking panels for easy snap-together assembly, an advancement over the original April-launched POC line. It includes repositionable top or side handles for portable or horizontal setups. Using a mix of aluminium, other metals, and acrylic, the POC One initially comes in black/orange or blue/silver styles. Despite its minimalist flatpack form, it fits full-size components like 335 mm long triple-slot GPUs, 140 mm tall CPU coolers, and standard ATX power supplies. Three PCIe slots and an included riser allow vertical graphics card mounting.

Lexar previewed part of their CES lineup late last week—we got a quick briefing that outlined various upcoming portable SSDs, M.2 NVMe SSDs, and professional CFExpress cards. TPU staffers spent some quality time at the storage specialist's booth in Las Vegas—they have reported back that emphasis has been placed on Lexar's portable SSD products. The headliner appears to be the prominently placed ARMOR 700 Portable SSD—this boasts an extra rugged design, thus providing the level of on-the-go protection that is required by modern professionals.

The ARMOR 700 will be available in three capacities: 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB. Maximum read and write speeds of 2000 MB/s are advertised on Lexar's wall-mounted exhibit, with support for 6K RAW video files. The rugged and durable housing has been certified at IP65, with drop-resistant properties. The already released SL660 BLAZE Gaming Portable SSD was showcased at CES, but it was joined by a similar looking (non-RGB equipped) sibling—the new SL600 is a more sober looking option, aimed at professional types. The SL500 Portable SSD sports credentials for a wide range of purposes: mobile devices, laptops, cameras as well as gaming on current generation games consoles. Lexar states that the SL500 is powered by Silicon Motion Technology portable SSD controllers—with speeds up to 2000 MB/s read and 1800 MB/s write. Capacities noted on the exhibit wall are 1 TB, 2 TB and 4 TB—this applies to the SL600 specification as well.

During the CES 2024 international show, Wacom, one of the leaders in the digital design space, unveiled the new Wacom Cintiq Pro and Wacom One tablets. The company also showcased its digital rights management software, Yuify, and introduced Wacom Bridge, a tool designed to enhance remote collaborative workflows for studios. The new Wacom Cintiq Pro line, including the Pro 27, 22, and 17, was developed in collaboration with professionals in virtual production, VFX, CG, and animation. The latest Wacom Cintiq Pro 27, with its precision and best-in-class color fidelity, is poised to take virtual production workflows to the next level. Color accuracy is crucial in virtual production workflows, and the Wacom Cintiq Pro 27 delivers 100% Rec. 709 and 98% DCI-P3 color accuracy. Its 4K display, with 10-bit color, offers high color performance and calibration options, reducing the traditional setup footprint without compromising performance.

The new Wacom Pro Pen 3, redesigned for ergonomic comfort and customization, complements the Cintiq Pro 27's eight Express Keys and multi-touch screen, offering a harmonious workflow. Wacom Bridge, developed in partnership with AWS NICE DCV and Splashtop, is a technology solution that enhances the use of Wacom products on supported remote desktop connections, catering to the needs of remote and hybrid work environments. The Wacom One line, first launched in 2019, has been redesigned and upgraded, offering more options and customization opportunities. The line includes the Wacom One 13 and 12 displays and the Wacom One Medium and Small pen tablets. Finally, Wacom's commitment to protecting artists' work is embodied in "Yuify", a service that allows artists to protect their artwork, manage usage rights, and establish legally binding license permissions. This digital rights management platform enables creators to conveniently manage their authorship records and sign licenses and contracts.

During the CES 2024 show, the ASUS booth had a wide variety of products on display. Among the more interesting solutions was the highly-anticipated ROG NUC. Initially, Intel sold the NUC design and manufacturing license to ASUS, and we were left wondering how ASUS would adapt its compact design. We had a booth tour and took pictures of the new design in person. The ASUS ROG NUC can be configured with Intel's flagship Meteor Lake-H Core Ultra 9 185H processor, a 16-core/22-thread CPU with a 115 W maximum turbo TDP that boosts up to 5.1 GHz. It features six performance cores, eight efficiency cores, and two low-power performance cores. The system can be equipped with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU for graphics.

A more affordable option pairs the Core Ultra 7 155H processor with an RTX 4060 Laptop GPU. Other key specifications include support for up to 32 GB of DDR5 memory across two SO-DIMM slots, three M.2 PCIe Gen 4 x4 SSD slots, Intel Killer WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3, 2.5G LAN, Thunderbolt 4, as much as six USB ports, HDMI and DisplayPort outputs, and a choice of Windows 11 Home 64-bit, Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, or no pre-installed OS. The 2.5-liter chassis shows that miniature size can equal big performance and can easily provide great gaming and productivity results.

Last month, we celebrated a major milestone: the release of over 500 #RTXON games and creative applications! Barely a week goes by without blockbuster games and amazing indie releases integrating NVIDIA DLSS, NVIDIA Reflex, and advanced ray-traced effects to deliver the definitive PC experience for GeForce RTX gamers. As we begin 2024, RTX adoption shows no signs of slowing down; at CES 2024 we've announced that another 14 games are receiving RTX upgrades.

Dragon's Dogma 2, Gray Zone Warfare, Half-Life 2 RTX, Horizon Forbidden West, Layers of Fear, Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, NAKWON: LAST PARADISE, Pax Dei, Starminer, and THRONE AND LIBERTY will all launch with or upgrade to DLSS 3 this year, giving GeForce RTX 40 Series gamers unprecedented performance, and the highest levels of image quality. Dragon's Dogma 2, Gray Zone Warfare, Half-Life 2 RTX, and Starminer will also launch with ray traced effects, which run best on GeForce RTX GPUs thanks to their dedicated hardware RT Cores, and Diablo IV's ray tracing upgrade is coming in March. And later this month, Enshrouded and TEKKEN 8 launch with day-one support for DLSS 2.

TrendForce reports that the DRAM contract prices are estimated to increase by approximately 13-18% in 1Q24 with mobile DRAM leading the surge. It appears that due to the unclear demand outlook for the entire year of 2024, manufacturers believe that sustained production cuts are necessary to maintain the supply-demand balance in the memory industry.

PC DRAM: The market is buzzing with unfilled DDR5 orders, while savvy buyers brace for a continued surge in DDR4 prices, keeping procurement engines running. This trend, however, is shadowed by a gradual industry pivot toward DDR5, casting uncertainty over the expansion of DDR4 bit procurement volumes. Despite this, both DDR4 and DDR5 prices have yet to hit the target set by manufacturers, and buyers seem ready to ride the wave of price hikes into 1Q24. This sets the stage for an estimated 10-15% in PC DRAM contract prices, with DDR5 poised to take the lead over DDR4 in this pricing rally.

Happy 2024! We hope your new year's celebration was full of fun and games and that you have even more in store in the days to come. To help with that, let's add some more games to your "to be played" list!

Available Today
Close to the Sun (Cloud, Console, and PC)—Deep in international waters, Tesla's Helios stands still. An unbound utopia for scientific research, Rose Archer steps aboard in search of her sister, quickly to discover not all is as it seems. Use your wits to guide Rose on her journey to find her sister Ada, overcome dangers unknown to understand the fate of the Helios and its inhabitants in this narrative driven steampunk adventure.

Global semiconductor capacity is expected to increase 6.4% in 2024 to top the 30 million *wafers per month (wpm) mark for the first time after rising 5.5% to 29.6 wpm in 2023, SEMI announced today in its latest quarterly World Fab Forecast report.

The 2024 growth will be driven by capacity increases in leading-edge logic and foundry, applications including generative AI and high-performance computing (HPC), and the recovery in end-demand for chips. The capacity expansion slowed in 2023 due to softening semiconductor market demand and the resulting inventory correction.

From all of us here at TechPowerUp, we wish you and your loved ones a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous 2024! 2023 really blew by as civilization and society fully returned to normal with renewed spirits and determination. We hope and pray that this holds, and that together we make 2024 even better for everyone! It's been an equally eventful year for technology, hardware, and gaming, and we can't wait to tell you all about it, in our upcoming Holiday feature looking back into the year in tech!

Phison Electronics Corp., a global leader in NAND flash controller and storage solutions, today announced the company's predictions for 2024 trends in NAND flash infrastructure deployment. The company predicts that rapid proliferation of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies will continue apace, with PCIe 5.0-based infrastructure providing high-performance, sustainable support for AI workload consistency as adoption rapidly expands. PCIe 5.0 NAND flash solutions will be at the core of a well-balanced hardware ecosystem, with private AI deployments such as on-premise large language models (LLMs) driving significant growth in both everyday AI and the infrastructure required to support it.

"We are moving past initial excitement over AI toward wider everyday deployment of the technology. In these configurations, high-quality AI output must be achieved by infrastructure designed to be secure, while also being affordable. The organizations that leverage AI to boost productivity will be incredibly successful," said Sebastien Jean, CTO, Phison US. "Building on the widespread proliferation of AI applications, infrastructure providers will be responsible for making certain that AI models do not run up against the limitations of memory - and NAND flash will become central to how we configure data center architectures to support today's developing AI market while laying the foundation for success in our fast-evolving digital future."

Taiwanese power supply manufacturer FSP showcased upcoming products for 2023 and 2024. This included new power supply lineups with updated naming schemes - the entry-level VITA series, mid-range ADVAN series, and high-end MEGA and DAGGER series. The simplified naming clarifies the differentiation between affordable, mainstream, and premium offerings across wattages and efficiency certifications. Specific new PSU models include 1500+ Watts beasts for maxed-out systems, redundant server-class units ensuring uptime, and 80+ Titanium efficiency ratings for eco-conscious builds. Star of the show is FSP's flagship unit, which boasts a staggering 2500 Watts, 100% modular cabling, and cutting-edge 12V-2x6 PCIe Gen 5 graphics card power connectors.

Called the Cannon Pro, the 2500-watt power supply has four 12V-2x6 PCIe Gen 5 connectors to feed even the highest power-rated GPUs and the three 6+2-pin connectors. This new PSU is also rated for ATX 3.1 specifications, 80+ Platinum Specification, and the upgraded version of the 12VHPWR PCIe Gen 5 connector, supposedly overcoming all the issues, in the form of a 12V-2x6 PCIe Gen 5 connector. The PSU should be able to power four NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 GPUs simultaneously with its high capacity. Pricing and availability aren't specified, so we must wait for FSP to launch these products in 2024.

Today at the "AI Everywhere" event, Intel launched its 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors (code-named Emerald Rapids) that deliver increased performance per watt and lower total cost of ownership (TCO) across critical workloads for artificial intelligence, high performance computing (HPC), networking, storage, database and security. This launch marks the second Xeon family upgrade in less than a year, offering customers more compute and faster memory at the same power envelope as the previous generation. The processors are software- and platform-compatible with 4th Gen Intel Xeon processors, allowing customers to upgrade and maximize the longevity of infrastructure investments while reducing costs and carbon emissions.

"Designed for AI, our 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors provide greater performance to customers deploying AI capabilities across cloud, network and edge use cases. As a result of our long-standing work with customers, partners and the developer ecosystem, we're launching 5th Gen Intel Xeon on a proven foundation that will enable rapid adoption and scale at lower TCO." -Sandra Rivera, Intel executive vice president and general manager of Data Center and AI Group.

During the 69th annual IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), Intel demonstrated some of its latest transistor design and manufacturing advancements. The first one in line is the 3D integration of transistors. According to Intel, the company has successfully stacked complementary field effect transistors (CFET) at a scaled gate pitch down to 60 nm. With CFETs promising thinner gate channels, the 3D stacked CFET would allow for higher density by going vertically and horizontally. Intel's 7 node has a 54 nm gate pitch, meaning CFETs are already close to matching production-ready nodes. With more time and development, we expect to see 3D stacked CFETs in the production runs in the coming years.

Next, Intel has demonstrated RibbonFET technology, a novel approach that is the first new transistor architecture since the introduction of FinFET in 2012. Using ribbon-shaped channels surrounded by the gate, these transistors allow for better control and higher drive current at all voltage levels. This allows faster transistor switching speeds, which later lead to higher frequency and performance. The width of these nanoribbon channels can be modulated depending on the application, where low-power mobile applications use less current, making the channels thinner, and high-performance applications require more current, making the channels wider. One stack of nanoribbons can achieve the same drive current as multiple fins found in FinFET but at a smaller footprint.

Here's a sight for sore eyes if you're Mana fan - we're excited to announce an entirely new entry in the series coming in 2024: Visions of Mana! This beautiful new game is the first mainline instalment in the Mana series in over 15 years and returns to its action-RPG roots for an expansive, vibrant adventure across a semi-open field. You can get a look at what to expect in the new trailer or read on and we'll tell you all about this exciting and vibrant new adventure!

What is Visions of Mana?
You take the role of Val - a curious and carefree young man who lives in the Fire Village of Tianeea. Once every four years, the Faerie visits regions of the world to choose alms - people who are fated to travel to the Tree of Mana, which presides over the world's vital flow of mana. Val invites his childhood friend to a festival to welcome the visitor, but as the night falls, the sky lights up with sparkling lights and the Faerie chooses her as the alm. With the blessings of his village, Val sets out on a journey to accompany his friend to the Tree of Mana as her soul guard.

NVIDIA is preparing to launch the GeForce RTX 4090 D, or "Dragon" edition, designed explicitly for China. Circumventing the US export rules of GPUs that could potentially be used for AI acceleration, the GeForce RTX 4090 D is reportedly cutting back on overclocking as a feature. According to BenchLife, the AD102-250 GPU used in the RTX 4090 D will be a stranger to overclocking, as the card will not support it, possibly being disabled by firmware and/or physically in the die. The information from @Zed__Wang suggests that the Dragon version will be running at 2280 MHz base frequency, higher than the 2235 MHz of AD102-300 found in the regular RTX 4090, and 2520 MHz boost, matching the regular version.

Interestingly, the RTX 4090 D for China will also feature a slightly lower Total Graphics Power (TGP) of 425 Watts, down from the 450 Watts of the regular model. With memory configuration appearing to be the same, this new China-specific model will most likely perform within a few percent of the original design. Higher base frequency probably indicates a lack of a few CUDA cores to comply with the US export regulation policy and serve the Chinese GPU market. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090 D is scheduled for rollout in January 2024 in China, which is just a few weeks away.

According to the latest Canalys forecasts, worldwide PC shipments are on the verge of recovery following seven consecutive quarters of decline. The market is expected to return to growth of 5% in Q4 2023, boosted by a strong holiday season and an improving macroeconomic environment. Looking ahead, full-year 2024 shipments are forecast to hit 267 million units, landing 8% higher than in 2023, helped by tailwinds including the Windows refresh cycle and emergence of AI-capable and Arm-based devices.

"The global PC market is on a recovery path and set to return to 2019 shipment levels by next year," said Canalys Analyst Ben Yeh. "The impact of AI on the PC industry will be profound, with leading players across OEMs, processor manufacturers, and operating system providers focused on delivering new AI-capable models in 2024. These initiatives will bolster refresh demand, particularly in the commercial sector. The total shipment share of AI-capable PCs is expected to be about 19% in 2024. This accounts for all M-series Mac products alongside the nascent offerings expected in the Windows ecosystem. However, as more compelling use-cases emerge and AI functionality becomes an expected feature, Canalys anticipates a fast ramp up in the development and adoption of AI-capable PCs."

International Data Corporation (IDC) has upgraded its Semiconductor Market Outlook by calling a bottom and return to growth that accelerates next year. IDC raised its September 2023 revenue outlook from $518.8 billion to $526.5 billion in a new forecast. Revenue expectations for 2024 were also raised from $625.9 billion to $632.8 billion as IDC believes the U.S. market will remain resilient from a demand standpoint and China will begin recovering by the second half of 2024 (2H24).

IDC sees better semiconductor growth visibility as the long inventory correction subsides in two of the largest market segments: PCs and smartphones. Automotive and Industrials elevated inventory levels are expected to return to normal levels in 2H24 as electrification continues to drive semiconductor content over the next decade. Technology and large flagship product introductions will drive more semiconductor content and value across market segments in 2024 through 2026, including the introduction of AI PCs and AI Smartphones next year and a much-needed improvement in memory ASPs and DRAM bit volume.

Good evening Kindred, today we shared some very exciting news on our Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 news stream! We were joined by Sean Greaney (EVP of Darkness) and Ian Thomas (Narrative Director at TCR), who discussed some of the game's features relating to both narrative and roleplaying. In case you missed it, you can find it below. In the stream, we were introduced to the protagonist of Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2; Phyre, an Elder vampire at odds with the voice in her head, who confronts Seattle's powerful elites at war over the City's fate.

Players choose Phyre's clan and gender and begin exploring a re-imagined Seattle filled with compelling characters while maneuvering through complex relationships. Choices and conversations (even outfits!) shape how the environment and characters react to Phyre, changing how the story unfolds.

Jung-Bae Lee, President and Head of Memory Business of Samsung Electronics, the world's largest NAND memory supplier, has noted in the blog post that Samsung plans to develop its 9th Generation V-NAND memory with over 300 layers, aiming for mass production in 2024. Samsung's V-NAND uses a double-stack structure and is expected to have more active layers than its competitors' 3D NAND memory, such as SK Hynix's forthcoming 321-layer memory. The increase in layers allows Samsung to enhance storage density and performance in its future 3D NAND devices, focusing on input/output (I/O) speed. While the specific performance details of Samsung's 9th Generation V-NAND remain undisclosed, the memory is expected to be used in next-generation PCIe SSDs with the PCIe 5.0 standard.

Jung-Bae Lee has noted: "New structural and material innovations will be critical in the upcoming era of sub-10-nanometer (nm) DRAM and 1,000-layer vertical V-NAND. As such, we are developing 3D stacked structures and new materials for DRAM while increasing layer count, decreasing height, and minimizing cell interference for V-NAND." The 9th installment of V-NAND, scheduled for 2024, is utilizing 11 nm-class DRAM. Additionally, the blog post reassures the commitment to CXL Memory Modules (CMM), which will enable the composable infrastructure of next-generation systems, especially with high-capacity SSDs powered by V-NAND.

Paradox Interactive (Paradox) and Harebrained Schemes (HBS)—developers of the Shadowrun trilogy, BATTLETECH and The Lamplighters League—have decided to part ways on 1 January 2024. The separation is the result of a mutual agreement, stemming from each party's strategic and creative priorities. Paradox will retain ownership of The Lamplighters League and other games developed by the studio. HBS will seek new publishing, partnership, and investment opportunities.

"Paradox has refocused its strategy towards its core niches within strategy and management games with endless qualities," said Charlotta Nilsson, COO of Paradox. "We and HBS' leadership have been discussing what would happen after the release of The Lamplighters League, but a new project or sequel in the same genre was not in line with our portfolio plans. Hence, we believe that a separation would be the best way forward. We're very happy that this talented, gifted studio has the chance to continue and can't wait to see what they will make next."

The downward spiral for PC shipments continued during the third quarter of 2023 (3Q23) as global volumes declined 7.6% year over year with 68.2 million PCs shipped, according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. Though demand and the global economy remain subdued, PC shipments have increased in each of the last two quarters, slowing the rate of annual decline and indicating that the market has moved past the bottom of the trough.

PC inventory has also become leaner in the past few months and is near healthy levels in most channels. However, downward pressure on pricing persists and will likely remain an issue within the consumer and business sectors. While most of the top 5 vendors experienced double-digit declines during the quarter, Apple's outsized decline was the result of unfavorable year-over-year comparisons as the company recovered from a COVID-related halt in production during 3Q22. Meanwhile, HP's growth was largely due to the normalizing of inventory.

TrendForce reports that the second quarter revealed notebook inventory channels displaying healthy levels. Both North America and Asia-Pacific regions are demonstrating a healthy appetite for mid and low-tier consumer models. This isn't just a race to restock; it's a strategic move to gear up for the anticipated back-to-school wave in the third quarter. And here's the zinger—just as Google prepped to roll out its licensing fees, Chromebook shipments hit a peak. This surge propelled Q2 notebook shipments to 42.52 million units, marking a 21.6% quarterly leap. However, a look at the overall picture reveals a total of 77.5 million units shipped in the first half of the year—down 23.5% YoY.

TrendForce further points out that for 2H23, growth momentum is anchored in the purchasing power of end consumers. However, with the economic outlook of the two major notebook markets—the US and Europe—shrouded in uncertainty, the typical seasonal purchasing demand is muted. What's more, some of this demand was already met in Q2. As a result, Q3 notebook shipments are forecast to witness a moderate growth of 3.8%, tallying up to 44.13 million units. Annual notebook shipments are projected to hit 163 million units, marking a YoY decline of 12.2%.

Today, Google announced its next generation of Chromebook devices, called the Chromebook Plus, said to improve upon the legacy set by Chromebooks over a decade ago. Starting at an enticing price point of $399, this new breed of Chromebooks integrates powerful AI capabilities and a range of built-in Google apps. Notably, it features tools like the Google Photos Magic Eraser and web-based Adobe Photoshop, positioning itself as a dynamic tool for productivity and creative exploration. In collaboration with hardware manufacturers such as Acer, ASUS, HP, and Lenovo, Google is launching a lineup of eight Chromebook Plus devices on the launch date, with more possibly coming in the future.

Each model boasts improved hardware configurations over the regular Chromebook, including processors like the Intel Core i3 12th Gen or the AMD Ryzen 3 7000 series, a minimum of 8 GB RAM, and 128 GB storage. Users are also in for a visual treat with a 1080p IPS display, ensuring crisp visuals for entertainment and work. And for the modern remote workforce, video conferencing gets a substantial upgrade. Every Chromebook Plus comes equipped with a 1080p camera and utilizes AI enhancements to elevate video call clarity, with compatibility spanning various platforms, including Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams. Set to be available from October 8, 2023, in the US and October 9 in Canada and Europe, the Chromebook Plus is positioning itself as the go-to device for many users. On the other hand, the AI features are slated for arrival in 2024, when companies ensure their software is compatible.Below you can see the upcoming models.

The latest Canalys data reveals that PC shipments (desktops, notebooks and workstations) in the US declined just 6% year-on-year to 18.2 million units in Q2 2023, marking a significant improvement compared to earlier quarters this year. Notebook (including mobile workstations) shipments were down 4% to 15.2 million units, bolstered by the return of Chromebook demand in the education sector. Desktops (including desktop workstations) suffered a steeper decline, with shipments falling 12% to 3.0 million units. The US tablet market faced a similarly modest decline, with shipments down 5% to 10.3 million units.

"Despite undergoing another year-on-year decline, the US PC market showed promising signs of improvement in the second quarter," said Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys. "With the buildup of channel inventories now largely cleared, pockets of demand strength are now being reflected in vendors' sell-in shipment performance. A key area that helped drive volumes was the return of demand from education institutions, backed by the latest wave of federal funding, ahead of a licensing cost increase for ChromeOS. This helped propel Chromebook shipments to 4.7 million units, the highest level since peak deployments during the first half of 2021."

PC World's senior editor, Mark Hachman, managed to corner an important Team Blue staffer during this week's Innovation 2023 event, where Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" processors were presented in an official manner. This CPU family is set to arrive on December 14, but starting out only in mobile form—past leaks have yoyo-ed between rumored plans for desktop variants being alive or getting canned entirely. Michelle Johnston Holthaus—executive vice president and general manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel Corporation—confirmed to PC World in a video interview that Meteor Lake desktop SKUs are scheduled for launch next year. She elaborated on this slightly surprising declaration: "I want one processor family top to bottom for both segments, doesn't everybody?"

Exact details regarding release timings were not disclosed, but previous leaks have indicated that the rest of Intel's 14th Gen Core/Raptor Lake Refresh desktop lineup is due in early 2024—a product launch of 65 W TDP-rated SKUs could coincide with CES 2024. A "Meteor Lake-S" desktop CPU series is speculated to be placed mid-year, while the Arrow Lake generation is believed to be slated for late 2024. Reports have suggested that Meteor Lake has been delayed numerous times due to developmental setbacks—a leaked presentation slide seemed to show MTL-S SKUs (on socket LGA1851) being limited to 35 and 65 W TDPs, thus restricting the range to Core i3 and i5 product lines. Intel's new naming scheme—for the Meteor Lake generation—will assign "Core Ultra 5" instead of "Core i5" if new models land in the "Premium" processor bracket. We are not entirely sure where the future equivalent to "Core i3" will stick in the lower-end hierarchy, but the revised naming system suggests that it will only exist within Intel's "Mainstream" tier—so just a plain "Core 3," without any mention of Ultra performance or feature set.