G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, is excited to announce the Trident Z5 Royal Neo series DDR5 memory, designed for AMD AM5 platforms. Trident Z5 Royal Neo memory comes with AMD EXPO (Extended Profiles for Overclocking) technology, and will be available up to DDR5-8000 CL38-48-48-127 extreme speed memory specification in 32 GB (2x16GB) and 48 GB (2x24GB) kit capacities. With a mirrored finish in gold or silver, this new memory series is the ideal DDR5 memory solution for enthusiasts and overclockers to build a stylish, high-performance AMD PC system.

Luxury-Class DDR5 with AMD EXPO
Following the luxury-class Trident Z5 Royal design with CNC-cut aluminum heatspreader in mirrored-finish gold or silver colors and a crystalline light bar for magnificent RGB lighting, the Trident Z5 Royal Neo is designed for AMD AM5 platforms with AMD EXPO profile. Customizable RGB lighting is supported through the G.SKILL Trident Z Lighting Control software or third-party motherboard lighting software.

ASUS has revealed its upcoming ExpertBook P5 laptop, set to debut alongside Intel's highly anticipated "Lunar Lake" processors. This ultrabook aims to boost AI-capable laptop market, featuring an unspecified Intel Lunar Lake "Core Ultra 200V" CPU at its core. The ExpertBook P5 boasts impressive AI processing capabilities, with over 45 TOPS from its Neural Processing Unit and a combined 100+ TOPS when factoring in the CPU and GPU. The NPU provides efficient processing, with additional power coming from Lunar Lake's GPU with XMX cores, featuring the Xe2 Battlemage architecture. This is more than enough for the Copilot+ certification from Microsoft, making the laptop debut as an "AI PC." The ExpertBook P5 offers up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory running at 8333 MT/s, up to 3 TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage with two drives, and Wi-Fi 7 support.

The 14-inch anti-glare display features a 2.5K resolution and a smooth 144 Hz refresh rate, ensuring a premium visual experience. Despite its powerful internals, the ExpertBook P5 maintains a solid profile weighing just 1.3 kg. The laptop is housed in an all-metal military-grade aluminium body with a 180-degree lay-flat hinge, making it both portable and versatile. ASUS has also prioritized cooling efficiency with innovative technology that optimizes thermal management, whether the laptop is open or closed. Security hasn't been overlooked either, with the ExpertBook P5 featuring a robust security ecosystem, including Windows 11 secured-core PC framework, NIST-155-ready Commercial-Grade BIOS protection, and biometric login options. While an exact release date hasn't been confirmed, ASUS is preparing ExpertBook P5 and other Lunar Lake-powered laptops to hit the market in the second half of 2024.

During Computex 2024, Intel announced the next-generation compute platform for the notebook segment in the form of the Core Ultra 200V series, codenamed Lunar Lake. Set for release in September 2024, these processors are generating excitement among tech enthusiasts and industry professionals alike. According to the latest leak by VideoCardz, Intel plans to unveil nine variants of Lunar Lake, including Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 5 models, with a single high-end Core Ultra 9 variant. While exact specifications remain under wraps, Intel's focus on artificial intelligence capabilities is clear. The company aims to secure a spot in Microsoft's Copilot+ lineup by integrating its fourth-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU), boasting up to 48 TOPS of performance. All Lunar Lake variants are expected to feature a hybrid architecture with four Lion Cove performance cores and four Skymont efficiency cores.

This design targets low-power mobile devices, striking a balance between performance and energy efficiency. For graphics, Intel is incorporating its next-generation Arc technology, dubbed Battlemage GPU, which utilizes the Xe2-LPG architecture. The leaked information suggests that Lunar Lake processors will come with either 16 GB or 32 GB of non-upgradable LPDDR5-8533 memory. Graphics configurations are expected to include seven or eight Xe2 GPU cores, depending on the model. At the entry level, the Core Ultra 5 226V is rumored to offer a 17 W base power and 30 W maximum turbo power, with performance cores clocking up to 4.5 GHz. The top-tier Core Ultra 9 288V is expected to push the envelope with a 30 W base power, performance cores boosting to 5.1 GHz, and an NPU capable of 48 TOPS. You can check out the rest of the SKUs in the table below.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today launched the cutting-edge AMD Radeon PRO W7000 series workstation graphics cards, including the flagship GIGABYTE Radeon PRO W7900 Dual Slot AI TOP 48G as well as the GIGABYTE Radeon PRO W7800 AI TOP 32G. Powered by AMD RDNA 3 architecture, these graphics cards offer a massive 48 GB and 32 GB of GDDR6 memory, respectively, delivering cutting-edge performance and exceptional experiences for workstation professionals, creators and AI developers.⁠⁠

GIGABYTE stands as the AMD professional graphics partner in the market, with a proven ability to design and manufacture the entire Radeon PRO series. Our dedication to quality products, unwavering business commitment, and comprehensive customer service empower us to deliver professional-grade GPU solutions, expanding user's choices in workstation and AI computing.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the latest version of its critically acclaimed Zephyrus G16 gaming laptop, now featuring an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. With a built-in NPU for AI-accelerated tasks and a dedicated NVIDIA GPU, the latest Zephyrus G16 stands ready for any scenario, from gaming to productivity and more—all in an ultra-sleek thin-and-light package.

Zephyrus enters the era of AI computing
We're entering a new era of computing, with artificial intelligence at its center—and ROG is charging ahead with the new Zephyrus G16, now a true AI PC thanks to its AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. With 12 cores, 24 threads, a built-in AMD Ryzen AI XDNA 2 NPU capable of 50 TOPS of AI performance, along with 31 TOPS from the CPU and its integrated Radeon 890M graphics, the new Zephyrus G16 stands ready for enhancing productivity in AI-enabled applications, including powerful Windows Copilot tools.

Acer today announced a new range of AI-enhanced TravelMate business laptops. Powered with the latest generation of processors with built-in NPUs, the new laptops offer professionals and executives next-level performance, productivity, and mobility, in addition to enhanced security and connectivity features.

Optimized to deliver new AI-powered capabilities and user experiences, all of the new business laptops come with Acer TravelMateSense for quick access to device management settings and customizations, a new Acer Experience Zone for the collection of the devices' AI features, and Copilot accessible through a dedicated hotkey. Each model also offers advanced security and administration features to streamline device deployment and management for business, ensuring data are safeguarded with discrete Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0, biometric security, and a camera privacy shutter.

ASUS today announced a new generation of AI-powered computing at its online-only Next Level. AI Incredible. launch event, dedicated to the launch of the ASUS Vivobook S 15 (S5507). Powered by the Snapdragon X Elite, the device is the company's first Copilot+ PC, with Windows AI features and a collection of exclusive ASUS AI apps that aim to improve the user's work and play.

"As ASUS embarks on this journey, marked by the launch of our first AI PC, we stand at the beginning of a new era of personal computing." ASUS Co-CEO S.Y. Hsu said, speaking at the event, "The launch of our first Copilot+ PC powered by Snapdragon X Elite is an important milestone for us, and we believe that these devices are the future of consumer PCs and will drastically change the way we will work, study, create, and play."

Acer today launched its first Copilot+ PC with the Swift 14 AI laptop, in collaboration with Microsoft and Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., ushering in a new AI era with brand new user experiences and AI capabilities on Windows 11. The Swift 14 AI has multiple device models, powered by Snapdragon X Elite and Snapdragon X Plus platforms, and both feature one of the world's fastest NPUs for laptops to enable on-device AI processing. Users can streamline everyday tasks with smarter PC functions and tackle complex workloads more effectively.

"Engineered for AI from the inside out, the Swift 14 AI is the first among many Acer Copilot+ PCs to come," said Jerry Kao, COO, Acer Inc. "These next-generation AI PCs see significant leaps in AI processing power, unlocking brand new experiences that we know users will love."

Courtesy of ASUS Vietnam (via @rquandt on X/Twitter), we now have an idea of what ASUS' first Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite notebook will look like, but also what the main specifications are. It will share the Vivobook S 15 OLED branding with other notebooks from ASUS, although the leaked model carries the model number S5507QA-MA089WS. At its core is a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 SoC which is the base model from Qualcomm. The SoC consists of 12 Oryon cores, of which eight are performance cores and four are energy efficient cores. A peak, multi-threaded clock speed of 3.4 GHz and 42 MB of cache, as well as a 75 TOPs AI engine rounds off the SoC specs. The SoC is also home to a Qualcomm Adreno GPU, but so far Qualcomm hasn't released any useful specs about the GPU in the Snapdragon X Elite series of chips.

ASUS has paired the SoC with 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory of an unknown clock speed, although Qualcomm officially supports speed of up to 8,448 MT/s in a to PC users unusual configuration of eight channels at 16-bit wide, for a bandwidth of up to 135 GB/s. For comparison, Intel's latest Core Ultra processors max out at LPDDR5X 7,467 MT/s and up to 120 GB/s memory bandwidth. Other features include a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, a glossy 15.6-inch 2,880 x 1,620 resolution, 120 Hz OLED display with 600 nits peak brightness and a 70 WHr battery. It's unclear what connectivity options will be on offer, but judging by the screenshot below, we can at least expect an HDMI out as well as a pair of USB Type-C ports, a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack. As far as pricing goes, Roland Quandt is suggesting a €1,500 base price on X/Twitter, but we'll have to wait for the official launch to find out what these Arm based laptops will retail for. ASUS Vietnam has already removed the page from its website.

Intel has prepared the Core Ultra 5-238V, a Lunar Lake-MX CPU that integrates 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory into the CPU package. This new design represents a significant departure from the traditional approach of using separate memory modules, promising enhanced performance and efficiency, similar to what Apple is doing with its M series of processors. The Core Ultra 5-238V is the first of its kind for Intel to hit mass consumers. Previous attempt was with Lakefield, which didn't take off, but had advanced 3D stacked Foveros packaging. With 32 GB of high-bandwidth, low-power LPDDR5X memory directly integrated into the CPU package, the Core Ultra 5-238V eliminates the need for separate memory modules, reducing latency and improving overall system responsiveness. This seamless integration results in faster data transfer rates and lower power consumption with LPDDR5X memory running at 8533 MT.

Applications that demand intensive memory usage, such as video editing, 3D rendering, and high-end gaming, will be the first to experience performance gains. Users can expect smoother multitasking, quicker load times, and more efficient handling of memory-intensive tasks. The Core Ultra 5-238V is equipped with four big Lion Cove and four little Skymont cores, in combination with seven Xe2-LPG cores based on Battlemage GPU microarchitecture. The bigger siblings to Core Ultra 5, the Core Ultra 7 series, will feature eight Xe2-LPG cores instead of seven, with the same CPU core count, while all of them will run the fourth generation NPU.

Patriot Memory, a renowned name in performance memory and storage solutions, has teamed up with MSI, an innovator in gaming hardware, to unleash the Viper Xtreme 5 RGB DDR5 MPOWER Series - an extreme-speed DDR5 memory kit crafted for gamers, overclockers, and power users. This cutting-edge collaboration between the two brands combines blistering data rates up to 8000MT/s with massive 32 GB (16 GB x2) or 48 GB (24 GB x2) capacities. The Viper Xtreme 5 RGB DDR5 MPOWER series unleashes a torrent of memory bandwidth, turbocharging gaming rigs, content creation workstations, and other high-intensity applications demanding extreme responsiveness and throughput.

Optimized for Maximum Overclocking Potential
Intel XMP 3.0 certified for seamless plug-and-play overclocking on the latest Intel platforms, the Xtreme 5 RGB DDR5 MPOWER kit also integrates with MSI's user-friendly EZ Dashboard utility. This enables granular control over advanced timings and voltages to extract every last drop of performance.

Radxa is a Chinese manufacturer of various Arm based devices and something of a minor competitor to the Raspberry Pi Foundation. The company has just launched its latest product which is called the ROCK 5 ITX. As the name implies, it's a Mini-ITX form factor motherboard, which in itself is rather unusual for Arm based hardware to start with. However, Radxa has designed the ROCK 5 ITX to be a NAS motherboard and this is the first time we've come across such a product, as most Arm based boards are either intended for hobby projects, software development or routers. This makes the ROCK 5 ITX quite unique, at least based on its form factor, as it'll be compatible with standard Mini-ITX chassis.

The SoC on the board is a Rockchip RK3588 which sports four Cortex-A76 cores at up to 2.4 GHz and four Cortex-A55 cores at 1.8 GHz. This is not exactly cutting edge, but should be plenty fast enough for a SATA drive based NAS. The board offers four SATA 6 Gbps connectors via an ASMedia ASM1164 controller, each with an individual power connector next to it. However, Radxa seems to have chosen to use fan-header type power connectors, which means it'll be hard to get replacement power cables. The board also has a PCIe 3.0 x2 M.2 slot for an NVMe drive. The OS boots from eMMC and Radxa supports its own Roobi OS which is Debian Linux based.

Thermaltake USA, the leading PC Case, Cooling, Power, and memory solutions, proudly announces the launch of twelve innovative models in the LCGS (Liquid Cooled Gaming System) Reactor series, available exclusively at Best Buy. This launch marks a significant milestone for Thermaltake, introducing the next generation of gaming PCs, meticulously designed with the newly unveiled The Tower 300 Micro Tower Chassis. These gaming powerhouses are equipped with the latest high-performance components, including the cutting-edge Intel Core 14th Gen i9/i7 processors, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Super Series/4090 graphics cards, 32 GB of DDR5 5600 MT/s memory, and expansive 2 TB NVMe M.2 SSD storage.

Each system in the LCGS Reactor series boasts a 360 mm radiator liquid cooling solution, ensuring exceptional cooling performance and stability during intense gaming sessions. The addition of vibrant color options such as Snow, Black, Hydrangea Blue, and Turquoise adds a personalized touch to these systems, catering to gamers' and content creators' diverse tastes and styles. Tailored for the most demanding gamers and creative professionals, these pre-built gaming desktop PCs are assembled and rigorously tested by Thermaltake's skilled engineers in the USA, ensuring unparalleled build quality and reliability.

The first CPU-Z test results of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7 8700G were sniffed out by serial leaker @momomo_us on X/Twitter and the new APU is looking very promising performance wise. It ends up being neck and neck with yours truly own Ryzen 7 7800X3D with a small lead to the CPU over the APU in single-threaded performance, but in the multi-threaded test the APU manages to stay ahead of the CPU, if only just. Both AMD chips are still somewhat behind Intel's Core i7-12700KF, but it has an extra four threads, even though those threads are slower due to them being on the E-cores.

The Ryzen 7 8700G test system was using an ASRock B650 Pro RS motherboard and the APU was paired with 32 GB of DDR5-6400 memory with reasonably tight timings of 32-39-39-102. The tester relied on the integrated Radeon 780M graphics in the APU and the Windows 11 operating system was installed on a 500 GB Seagate BarraCuda 510 SSD. In the single-threaded test the Ryzen 7 8700G scores 675 points vs 683 for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and in the multi-threaded tests it came in at 7318 vs 7301. Not bad for a 65 W TDP APU vs a 120 W TDP CPU. For comparison, the average for Intel's Core i7-12700KF is 7754 in the mutli-threaded test. Although CPU-Z is far from an exhaustive test, it does at least give us a first glimpse of what to expect from the new Zen 4 APUs from AMD in terms of performance and it looks like it's in line with its best Zen 4 CPUs.

According to sources close to Seoul Economy, and reported by DigiTimes, Intel has reportedly chosen Samsung as a supplier for its next-generation Lunar Lake processors, set to debut later this year. The report notes that Samsung will provide LPDDR5X memory devices for integration into Intel's processors. This collaboration could be a substantial win for Samsung, given Intel's projection to distribute millions of Lunar Lake CPUs in the coming years. However, it's important to note that this information is based on a leak and has not been officially confirmed. Designed for ultra-portable laptops, the Lunar Lake-MX platform is expected to feature 16 GB or 32 GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory directly on the processor package. This on-package memory approach aims to minimize the platform's physical size while enhancing performance over traditional memory configurations. With Lunar Lake's exclusive support for on-package memory, Samsung's LPDDR5X-8533 products could significantly boost sales.

While Samsung is currently in the spotlight, it remains unclear if it will be the sole LPDDR5X memory provider for Lunar Lake. Intel's strategy involves selling processors with pre-validated memory, leaving the door open for potential validation of similar memory products from competitors like Micron and SK Hynix. Thanks to a new microarchitecture, Intel has promoted its Lunar Lake processors as a revolutionary leap in performance-per-watt efficiency. The processors are expected to utilize a multi-chipset design with Foveros technology, combining CPU and GPU chipsets, a system-on-chip tile, and dual memory packages. The CPU component is anticipated to include up to eight cores, a mix of four high-performance Lion Cove and four energy-efficient Skymont cores, alongside advanced graphics, cache, and AI acceleration capabilities. Apple's use of on-package memory in its M-series chips has set a precedent in the industry, and with Intel's Lunar Lake MX, this trend could extend across the thin-and-light laptop market. However, systems requiring more flexibility in terms of configuration, repair, and upgrades will likely continue to employ standard memory solutions like SODIMMs and/or the new CAMM2 modules that offer a balance of high performance and energy efficiency.

GPD has disclosed to ITHome that a specification refresh of its Win Max 2 handheld/mini-laptop gaming PC is incoming—this model debuted last year with Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix" APUs sitting in the driver's seat. A company representative provided a sneak peek of an upgraded device that sports a Team Red Ryzen 8040 series "Hawk Point" mobile processor, and a larger pool of system memory (32 GB versus the 2023 model's 16 GB). The refreshed GPD Win Max 2's Ryzen 7 8840U APU was compared to the predecessor's Ryzen 7 7840U in CPU-Z benchmarks (standard and AX-512)—the results demonstrate a very slight difference in performance between generations.

The 8040 and 7040 APUs share the same "Phoenix" basic CPU design (8-cores + 16-threads) based on the prevalent "Zen 4" microarchitecture, plus an integration of AMD's Radeon 780M GPU. The former's main upgrade lies in its AI-crunching capabilities—a deployment of Team Red's XDNA AI engine. Ryzen 8040's: "NPU performance has been increased to 16 TOPS, compared to 10 TOPS of the NPU on the 'Phoenix' silicon. AMD is taking a whole-of-silicon approach to AI acceleration, which includes not just the NPU, but also the 'Zen 4' CPU cores that support the AVX-512 VNNI instruction set that's relevant to AI; and the iGPU based on the RDNA 3 graphics architecture, with each of its compute unit featuring two AI accelerators, components that make the SIMD cores crunch matrix math. The whole-of-silicon performance figures for "Phoenix" is 33 TOPS; while 'Hawk Point' boasts of 39 TOPS. In benchmarks by AMD, 'Hawk Point' is shown delivering a 40% improvement in vision models, and Llama 2, over the Ryzen 7040 "Phoenix" series."

Acer unleashes a series of powerhouse gaming laptops, headlined by the refreshed models of the Predator Helios 18 and Predator Helios 16. Acer also announced the new Predator Helios Neo 18 gaming laptop and major updates to the Predator Helios Neo 16, all outfitted with the latest Intel Core 14th gen processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPUs with DLSS 3.5 technology and NVIDIA Advanced Optimus. NVIDIA RTX Laptop GPUs are packed with specialized AI Tensor Cores enabling unmatched AI performance and accelerations in creative apps, ultra-efficient productivity, blistering fast gaming, and more. The Predator laptops feature Microsoft's Copilot in Windows 11 and a dedicated Copilot key for quick access to AI-powered task assistance. They also come with one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, giving gamers access to hundreds of high-quality PC games.

Gamers seeking a competitive edge will be thrilled with the Predator Helios 18 and Predator Helios 16 laptops as they come with options for captivating Mini LED panels, MagKey 3.0 swappable mechanical switch for shorter key travel and response time, and lightning-fast network speeds with Wi-Fi 7 compatibility.

Ugreen, a leading brand in consumer electronics.They'll be unveiling their rendition of NAS devices along with vehicle accessories to complement their portable power station, aptly titled the PowerRoam series, at CES 2024 (booth No.22733), running from January 9-12, 2024 in Las Vegas.

At the forefront of Ugreen NAS product line is the flagship product: NASync DX480T Plus. The DX480T Plus is the smallest in the NAS line at 7.0 x 5.6 x 2.0 inches and developed with an emphasis on high-performance and portability. SSD storage spaces allow for up to 16 TB of fast, all-flash storage space. An expandable RAM drive provides up to 32 GB of memory for high-speed processing, and powering the homemade Ugreen OS Pro (UGOS Pro) is Intel's very own 12th gen Core i5 10 Core processor. Boosting data and media transfer speeds are two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports providing up to 40 Gb/s of transfer speeds, making it one of the smallest, fastest NAS devices around.

Acer expanded its Swift family of thin and light laptops with new Intel Core Ultra processors featuring Intel's first neural processing unit (NPU) and integrated AI acceleration capabilities. Now even more performance-minded, capable, and intuitive for content creation, schoolwork, productivity, and play, the new Swift laptops' powerful processing and AI-supported features further the laptop's usability.

"After unveiling our first Intel Core Ultra laptops last month, we're debuting even more products in our Swift line to help a wider range of customers take advantage of premium laptop experiences and AI-supported technology for more exciting and effective PC use," said James Lin, General Manager, Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer. "Plus, these laptops feature impressive updates that help customers do more - and do them even better."

Acer today announced the extension of its SpatialLabs stereoscopic 3D lineup to the Aspire line of laptops and Predator gaming monitors.

The new Aspire 3D 15 SpatialLabs Edition laptop delivers captivating 3D content for entertainment and creation on its 15.6-inch UHD display; It also comes with a suite of AI-powered SpatialLabs applications for 3D viewing and content creation, without the need for specialized glasses, delighting users when watching their favorite content and empowering developers to see their designs in their real 3D forms. With Microsoft Copilot in Windows 11, users can experience upscaled creativity and productivity with AI-powered task assistance, while Acer's suite of AI-supported solutions in Acer PurifiedView and PurifiedVoice elevate conference calls on the 3D laptop.

TerraMaster, a professional brand focused on providing innovative storage products for homes and businesses, recently introduced the 424 series, a new upgrade of 423 series. It is equipped with an Intel Core i3 CPU and up to 32 GB DDR5 memory, catering to the needs of individuals and business users who demand higher performance. The 424 series will come with TOS 5.1 operating system and can be smoothly upgraded to the TerraMaster TOS 6 in the future.

Peak Performance 4-Bay NAS
Intel Core i3 8-core 8-thread CPU at 3.8 GHz (turbo), integrated UHD GPU at 1.25 GHz, 32 GB DDR5, dual 2.5G Ethernet ports, and dual M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching.

V-COLOR Technology Inc. is proud to unveil the Manta XFinity Series, our newest product tailored for PC enthusiasts and end users in pursuit of high performance. Engineered for extreme speeds and dependability, this series places a strong emphasis on facilitating high overclocking with straightforward compatibility and enhanced heat dissipation. The module has been tested on systems utilizing 14th generation CPUs, including the Gigabyte Z790 AORUS TACHYON X and ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX Motherboards. The XFinity Series has undergone extensive testing on motherboards from reliable manufacturers to guarantee smooth integration with a range of systems in configuration.

Neuchips, a leading AI Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC) solutions provider, will demo its revolutionary Raptor Gen AI accelerator chip (previously named N3000) and Evo PCIe accelerator card LLM solutions at CES 2024. Raptor, the new chip solution, enables enterprises to deploy large language models (LLMs) inference at a fraction of the cost of existing solutions.

"We are thrilled to unveil our Raptor chip and Evo card to the industry at CES 2024," said Ken Lau, CEO of Neuchips. "Neuchips' solutions represent a massive leap in price to performance for natural language processing. With Neuchips, any organisation can now access the power of LLMs for a wide range of AI applications."

Chinese company Sipeed has introduced the Lichee Pocket 4A, one of the first handheld gaming devices based on the RISC-V open-source instruction set architecture (ISA). Sipeed positions the device as a retro gaming platform capable of running simple titles via software rendering or GPU acceleration. At its core is Alibaba's T-Head TH1520 processor featuring four 2.50 GHz Xuantie C910 RISC-V general-purpose CPU cores and an unnamed Imagination GPU. The chip was originally aimed at laptop designs. Memory options include 8 GB or 16 GB LPDDR4X RAM and 32 GB or 128 GB of storage. The Lichee Pocket 4A has a 7-inch 1280x800 LCD touchscreen, Wi-Fi/Bluetooth connectivity, and an array of wired ports like USB and Ethernet. It weighs under 500 grams. The device can run Android or Linux distributions like Debian, Ubuntu, and others.

As an early RISC-V gaming entrant, performance expectations should be modest—the focus is retro gaming and small indie titles, not modern AAA games. Specific gaming capabilities remain to be fully tested. However, the release helps showcase RISC-V's potential for consumer electronics and competitive positioning against proprietary ISAs like ARM. Pricing is still undefined, but another Sipeed handheld console retails for around $250 currently. Reception from enthusiasts and developers will demonstrate whether there's a viable market for RISC-V gaming devices. Success could encourage additional hardware experimentation efforts across emerging open architectures. With a 6000 mAh battery, battery life should be decent. Other specifications can be seen in the table below, and the pre-order link is here.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, and storage solutions innovator, today unveiled the new high-capacity TS-hx77AXU-RP ZFS NAS series, including 12-bay TS-h1277AXU-RP and 16-bay TS-h1677AXU-RP rackmount models powered by AMD Ryzen 7000 Series processors based on the cutting-edge AMD Socket AM5 platform. By integrating robust hardware and diverse I/O including DDR5 RAM, M.2 PCIe Gen 5, PCIe Gen 4 slots, and redundant power supplies, the TS-hx77AXU-RP series unleashes enterprise-level performance and delivers ultra-high bandwidth, futureproof expandability, and trusted reliability for performance-demanding Tier 2 storage, virtualization, 4K video editing, and PB-level storage applications.

"The whole new TS-hx77AXU-RP series ZFS NAS provides enterprises with superb performance and large storage capacity to tackle business-critical workloads and storage-demanding applications. The AMD Ryzen 7000 Series multi-core processors further unlocks the key performance of DDR5 and M.2 PCIe Gen 5," said Alex Shih, Product Manager of QNAP, adding "Paired with the ZFS file system that's most suited for business applications, the TS-hx77AXU-RP series stands out as the top choice for storage solutions that require uncompromising data integrity."