Over a year ago, EK Water Blocks introduced its first mainstream CPU water block, designed explicitly for delidded Intel CPUs. Since its debut, there has been a significant increase in users opting to delid their CPUs to enhance performance. Building on this trend, EK just recently released the market's first-ever All-In-One CPU cooler tailored for delidded Intel CPUs, a product that has received highly positive feedback and reception. EK, as the market leader in high-performance PC liquid cooling, is committed to constant innovation and bringing the best user experience on the market. They're reaffirming this commitment by announcing several upcoming products designed for direct die cooling. For those unfamiliar with delidding and direct die cooling, we recommend checking out EK's blog post on the topic.

First up is the highly anticipated EK Direct Die solution for Socket AM5 AMD Ryzen CPUs. Countless hours of engineering and testing were invested into these products to ensure consistent performance results and a user-friendly installation process. Unlike other solutions that require modifying an existing cold plate, this water block features a cold plate specifically designed for delidded AM5 Ryzen 7000 Series CPUs. The mounting mechanism differs from the Velocity² Direct Die water block, as it relies on standoffs at the four corners of the water block instead of the cold plate making contact with the die guard. The entire fin structure has been adjusted to direct 100% of the flow over the chiplets themselves, but more details on this topic will be available in the following days when these AMD-specific Direct Die CPU water blocks become available for order.

Akasa today introduced the ALUCIA H4A, a low-profile air-type CPU cooler for AMD sockets AM5 and AM4. With its fan in place, the cooler has a Z-height of just under 30 mm, which it achieves using a highly compacted fin-stack heatsink, and a thin form-factor fan. The cooler can deal with AMD Ryzen processors with TDP of up to 95 W, which should make it fit for the majority of processor- and APU models. Its design involves a nickel-plated copper base located between a factory-fitted retention-module. From this base, four 6 mm-thick copper heatpipes pass through, conveying heat to an aluminium fin-stack heatsink, which is ventilated by a 92 mm fan.

The Akasa ALUCIA H4A measures 94 mm x 94 mm x 29.5 mm (WxDxH), weighing 232 g. Its 92 mm ball-bearing fan is rated for 40,000 hours by its designers. It takes in 4-pin PWM input, and turns at speeds ranging between 800-3,600 RPM. It pushes a maximum of 40 CFM of airflow, at 2.2 mm H₂O static pressure, and noise ranging between 17-35.8 dBA. The company didn't reveal pricing, but mentioned that the cooler is backed by a 2-year warranty.

An alleged picture of an unreleased AMD Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processor, just hit the wires. "Granite Ridge" is codename for the desktop implementation of the "Zen 5" microarchitecture, it succeeds the current Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" that's powered by "Zen 4." From what we're hearing, the CPU core counts of "Granite Ridge" continue to top out at 16. These chips will be built in the existing AMD Socket AM5 package, and will be compatible with existing AMD 600-series chipset motherboards, although the company is working on a new motherboard chipset to go with the new chips.

The alleged AMD engineering sample pictured below has an OPN 100-000001290-11, which is unreleased. This OPN also showed up on an Einstein@Home online database, where the distributed computing platform read it as having 16 threads, making this possibly an 8-core/16-thread SKU. The "Zen 5" microarchitecture is expected to provide a generational IPC increase over "Zen 4," but more importantly, offer a significant performance increase for AVX-512 workloads due to an updated FPU. AMD is expected to unveil its Ryzen 9000 series "Zen 5" processors at the 2024 Computex.

Shipping manifests appear to be great sources of pre-release information—only a few hours ago, the existence of prototype AMD "Strix Point" and "Fire Range" mobile processors was highlighted by hardware sleuth harukaze5719. A related leak has appeared online fairly quickly after the discovery of laptop-oriented "Zen 5" chips. momomo_us joined in on the fun, with their exposure of speculated desktop silicon. Two brand-new AMD OPN codes have been linked to the upcoming "Granite Ridge" series of AM5 processors.

100-000001404-01 is likely an eight-core/ sixteen-thread "Zen 5" Ryzen CPU with a 170 W TDP—a stepping designation, B0, indicates engineering sample status. The other listing, 100-000001290-21, seems to be an A0-type engineering sample—leaked info suggests that this a six-core/twelve-thread (105 W TDP) next-gen mainstream desktop processor. AMD is likely nearing the finish line with its Ryzen 9000-series—a new generation of chipsets, including X870E, is reportedly in the pipeline. Additionally, VideoCardz posits that a refresh of 700-series boards could be on the cards. "Granite Range" CPUs are expected to retain the current-gen 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD), as sported by "Raphael" Ryzen 7000-series desktop processors.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, a leading brand in gaming PC components, gaming laptops, and Hi-fi audio products, proudly presents the CVN B650M GAMING FROZEN motherboard. This motherboard is our first AMD AM5 motherboard that supports the AMD Ryzen 7000 Series and the latest AMD Ryzen 8000 Series processors that feature the groundbreaking AMD Ryzen AI technology as well as support for AVX-512.

The CVN B650M GAMING FROZEN supports the latest AMD Ryzen 8000G Series APUs with AMD Ryzen AI technology. It also supports the AMD Ryzen 7000 and AMD Ryzen 7000 X3D Series processors with 3D V-Cache Technology, as well as support for the future AM5 processors. AMD Ryzen AI brings the power of personal computing closer to you on an AI PC, unlocking a whole new level of efficiencies for work, collaboration, and innovation so that you can stay connected better with the world around you.

Last week, the Professional Gamers League (PGL) announced an interesting overhaul of tournament hardware—new systems will be fitted with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 graphics cards, then hooked up to BenQ ZOWIE XL2566K 24.5" 360 Hz gaming monitors. Their previous generation machines were (initially) designed around AMD's Ryzen 9 5950X processor, but the organization is leaving AM4 platforms behind: "PGL is excited to announce that our team has fully optimized upgraded gaming PCs in partnership with Afromnazareth, and we are ready to deliver an unparalleled esports experience at the PGL CS2 Major Copenhagen 2024. At the heart of this cutting-edge setup is the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D processor, explicitly chosen for its exceptional performance capabilities and ability to handle the demands of CS2. This processor is renowned for its superior gaming performance, offering players the speed, power, and efficiency required to perform at the highest levels of competition."

The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is a more straightforward upgrade—as an easy drop-in for the PGL's older AM4 platform machines, but a leap into new ecosystems will grant a bit of future-proofing. Team Red is expected to support AM5 across a couple of processor generations. PGL did upgrade systems with 5800X3D CPUs, due to player feedback—according to Tom's Hardware: "there was some discontent among players with the previous configuration with the Ryzen 9 5950X because, while the chip sports 16 Zen 3 execution cores, Counter-Strike 2 doesn't exploit the processor's prowess. Some players criticized PGL's poor processor choice for previous events, claiming lousy frame rates." Performance connoisseurs will be pleased to hear about the tournament organizer's new push into modern platforms—Silviu Stroie, PGL CEO, stated: "we have meticulously optimized this bespoke gaming setup to ensure that every participant experiences CS2 in the highest fidelity without compromise. The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D CPU stands out as a game-changer in the esports arena, promising to elevate the competitive play of CS2 to new heights."

Noctua today expanded its chromax.black line with an all-black version of the award-winning low-height 120 mm CPU cooler NH-D12L: Staying true to the successful formula of the original model, the new chromax.black version with its black fans and black coated heatsink combines the same signature quiet cooling performance with a sleek stealth look.

"The NH-D12L has become a popular choice for compact, high performance builds in cases like the Lian Li O11 Dynamic or the DAN C4-SFX ", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "With the new chromax.black version, we're now giving customers the option to leverage the NH-D12L's renowned quiet cooling performance in all-black systems."

DeepCool, a leader in innovative cooling solutions, proudly presents the ASSASSIN 4S, its next evolution in an already proven award winning air cooler that redefines elegance, performance, and ease of installation in the PC building market. The ASSASSIN 4S is a testament to sophistication, blending substantial thermal dissipation and silent operation with a sleek aesthetic. Boasting a simple yet refined design, the ASSASSIN 4S features seven heat pipes intricately routed through dual, black-coated fin towers, complemented by an improved 140 mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) fan. This design not only enhances cooling performance but also ensures unobstructed RAM clearance, catering to the demands of modern high-powered processors.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, unveils the brand new A620MS motherboard, designed for business and casual use. The A620MS motherboard is a versatile solution that seamlessly bridges the gap between professional efficiency and home entertainment. It's designed to meet the needs of office users, home enthusiasts, and system integrators, whether it's enhancing productivity in the workplace, enjoying online movies and gaming at home, or managing complex business processes and client data. The A620MS is a benchmark for reliability and adaptability, catering to diverse computing environments.

Built on the advanced Socket AM5, the A620MS motherboard offers comprehensive support for the latest AMD Ryzen 7000 and 8000 series processors, ensuring compatibility with cutting-edge CPU technology. It harnesses the power of AMD's A620 single-chip architecture to provide a stable and efficient computing base. With support for up to 96 GB of DDR5 memory across two DIMM slots, it offers ample capacity and superior speed for demanding applications, making it a powerhouse for both current and future computing tasks. Furthermore, It supports PCIe 4.0 M.2 (64 Gb/s) for advanced, high-speed storage solutions, ensuring a streamlined and efficient computing experience.

ASUS today announced BIOS updates that enable support for up to 256 GB of memory on its Intel 700 and 600 series motherboards that use DDR5 modules. Such models with four DIMM slots can now support up to 256 GB of memory, while such models with two DIMM slots can now support up to 128 GB. These enhancements significantly improve multitasking potential, ensuring smooth and seamless computing. AMD AM5 motherboards from ASUS do not require a BIOS update to enable support for up to 256 GB of DDR5 memory modules.

The BIOS updates can be accessed on the ASUS support pages for the models listed below.

GAMDIAS, a leading brand of premium PC gaming hardware and peripherals, has announced the launch of the BOREAS M2-51D Series and BOREAS E2-41D Series CPU air coolers. Every model features advanced copper heat pipes with direct contact technology, a thick base plate and one 120 mm high-performance hydraulic bearing PWM fan, and finished with a crystal-clear digital screen to integrate top cooling performance and display the temperature of your system's in real time.

The CPU cooler is made with upgraded heat pipes and fins as well a thick base plate to provide powerful and efficient cooling performance. Moreover, with the design of an all-black coating (BOREAS M2-51D and BOREAS E2-41D)/ all-white coating (BOREAS M2-51D WH and BOREAS E2-410 WH) and crowned with an LCD display top cover, it is a perfect choice for those who value aesthetics, performance and functionality.

BIOSTAR introduced the A620MH Aurora, a Socket AM5 Micro-ATX motherboard based on the AMD A620A chipset. In case you're wondering, the A620A is a revision of the A620 that's based on the same physical chip as the ASMedia Promontory driving AMD B550 chipset, according to this user on the AnandTech forums. First party documentation from AMD is sparse. The A620 (without the "A" suffix) is based on the newer Promontory 21 silicon, and is essentially a B650 with a few features disabled. The A620A, on the other hand, is practically a B550 on the Socket AM5 platform. Why this matters is that the chipset bus for the A620A (aka B550) is PCI-Express 3.0 x4; whereas the A620 uses PCI-Express 4.0 x4. The A620A appears to have the same downstream connectivity as the A620, and since even the A620 has PCIe Gen 3 for its chipset-attached M.2 NVMe slot(s), for the most part the performance difference will be negligible, unless there are other bandwidth-hungry devices connected to the chipset. On both the A620 and A620A, motherboard designers are allowed to wire out one CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slot capped at PCI-Express 4.0 x4.

The A620MH Aurora from BIOSTAR clearly mentions the A620A chipset on the box, and so you're making an informed buying decision. The board is built in the Micro-ATX form-factor, and draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors. You can only install Ryzen 7000 and 8000G series processors that have a TDP of 65 W. The processor is wired to two DDR5 DIMM slots for a maximum of 96 GB of memory capacity; one M.2 NVMe slot with PCI-Express 4.0 x4 wiring; and a PCI-Express 4.0 x16 slot. There are two PCI-Express 3.0 x1 slots from the A620A FCH. Storage connectivity besides the M.2 Gen 4 slot includes four SATA 6 Gbps ports. USB connectivity includes six USB 3.2 Gen 1 (including two from a header), and a handful of USB 2.0 ports.

By the end of 2023, MSI unveiled its groundbreaking support for memory capacities of up to 256 GB. Now, both MSI Intel and AMD motherboards official support these capacities, with 4 DIMMs enabling 256 GB and 2 DIMMs supporting 128 GB. This advancement enhances multitasking capabilities and ensures seamless computing operations.

Intel Motherboard - 700 & 600 Series Platform, BIOS Rolling Out
The supported platforms for this memory capacity enhancement include Intel 700 and 600 series DDR5 motherboards. Gamers looking to benefit from these enhancements will need to upgrade to the own dedicated BIOS. MSI is currently diligently working on releasing the BIOS, with the first batch already available below. The rest of the models will be released in late February and March.

DeepCool introduced the AK620 Zero Dark Zoria, a themed variant of its popular AK620 dual fin-stack CPU cooler that it originally launched in September 2021. The cooler is themed after the fantasy RPG "Zoria: Age of Shattering" that was released in 2023. It is an official co-branding between DeepCool and Tiny Trinket Games. It features artwork from the game on the two top-plates of the fin-stacks. The rest of the trim includes a two-tone black+yellow color scheme, with yellow taking up the frames of the top-plates, and the impellers of the two included 120 mm fans; while matte black dominates the aluminium fin-stacks, much of the base, and the cooler's six 6 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heatpipes. There are no changes in the specs sheet of the cooler from the 2021 original, besides these aesthetic changes. CPU socket types supported include LGA1700, AM5, AM4, and LGA1200. The company didn't reveal pricing.

EK, the global leader in premium PC water cooling, is proud to introduce extraordinary EK-Quantum Velocity² Edge Special Edition CPU water blocks for the AM5 socket. After the successful launch of their LGA 1700-based counterpart earlier this year, these Special Edition Edge water blocks confirm EK's commitment to aesthetic excellence. The top cover is at the forefront of this design revolution, featuring a striking assembly of irregular tetrahedrons that transform each water block into a modern artwork. These tetrahedrons create a captivating interplay of light and shadow, adding a dynamic and sophisticated visual appeal to the water block.

Explicitly designed for platforms based on the AMD Socket AM5, they fit Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. The cold plate, precisely machined of the highest-grade 99.99% pure electrolytic copper, ensures unparalleled heat transfer. The top cover of the EK-Quantum Velocity² Edge D-RGB - AM5 Special Edition is available in Black and Silver. These color options allow enthusiasts to choose a style that best complements their PC build, transforming these water blocks from mere components for efficient cooling into central elements of a PC's aesthetic identity. The top cover is CNC-milled out of a 30 mm thick aluminium sheet, separated from the coolant with a layer of acrylic to ensure no mixing of metals.

AMD's small but fledgling Ryzen 8000 line of Socket AM5 desktop APUs is about to grow, with the addition of four new low-power SKUs, under the Ryzen 8000GE line. These chips come with a TDP of 35 W compared to the 65 W of the regular 8000G APUs, and a lowered PPT (package power tracking) value, making them energy-efficient variants. To be clear, these are not AMD's 8000-series APUs meant for the commercial desktop market, for that the company has the Ryzen PRO 8000 series and Ryzen PRO 7000 series.

The Ryzen 8000GE series are meant to square off against Intel's 14th Gen Core T-series SKUs that have processor base power values of 35 W, and significantly lower maximum turbo power values than the regular processor models. To carve out these chips, AMD has lowered the clock speeds and TDP compared to the regular 8000G series. Since the underlying 4 nm "Hawk Point" silicon achieves fairly good clocks in its 35 W HS-segment notebook processors, one can expect reasonably good boost residency with the 8000GE desktop chips.

Thermalright today introduced the Peerless Assassin 120 MINI series of medium-sized dual fin-stack CPU coolers, which come in two trims—all black and all white. As its name suggests, this is a compacted variant of the Peerless Assassin 120 cooler from 2021. Its design involves not just a smaller heatsink, but also a single fan configuration, with a single 120 mm fan located between the two fin-stacks, pulling air from one of the stacks, and pushing it through the next. With its fan in place, the Peerless Assassin 120 MINI measures 125 mm x 110 mm x 145 mm (WxDxH), with 135 mm height without the fan. For comparison, original Peerless Assassin 120 measures 125 mm x 135 mm x 157 mm, and has a dual 120 mm push-pull fan setup. Including the fan, the Peerless Assassin 120 MINI weighs 820 g.

The design of the Peerless Assassin 120 MINI involves a nickel plated C1100 copper base, through which six 6 mm-thick copper heatpipes pass, with the two aluminium fin-stacks along their two ends. The included Thermalright TL-D12B fan features a fluid dynamic bearing, turns at speeds of up to 1,500 RPM, pushing up to 66.87 CFM of airflow, at 1.53 mm H₂O static pressure, and 25.6 dBA maximum noise. Among the CPU socket types supported by the cooler are LGA1700, AM5, AM4, and LGA1200. The company didn't reveal pricing.

AMD's upcoming family of Ryzen 9000 series of processors on the AM5 platform will carry a new silicon SKU under the hood—Zen 5. The latest revision of AMD's x86-64 microarchitecture will feature a few interesting improvements over its current Zen 4 that it is replacing, targeting the rumored 10-15% IPC improvement. Thanks to the latest set of patches for GNU Compiler Collection (GCC), we have the patch set that proposes changes taking place with "znver5" enablement. One of the most interesting additions to the Zen 5 over the previous Zen 4 is the expansion of the AVX instruction set, mainly new AVX and AVX-512 instructions: AVX-VNNI, MOVDIRI, MOVDIR64B, AVX512VP2INTERSECT, and PREFETCHI.

AVX-VNNI is a 256-bit vector version of the AVX-512 VNNI instruction set that accelerates neural network inferencing workloads. AVX-VNNI delivers the same VNNI instruction set for CPUs that support 256-bit vectors but lack full 512-bit AVX-512 capabilities. AVX-VNNI effectively extends useful VNNI instructions for AI acceleration down to 256-bit vectors, making the technology more efficient. While narrow in scope (no opmasking and extra vector register access compared to AVX-512 VNNI), AVX-VNNI is crucial in spreading VNNI inferencing speedups to real-world CPUs and applications. The new AVX-512 VP2INTERSECT instruction is also making it in Zen 5, as noted above, which has been present only in Intel Tiger Lake processor generation, and is now considered deprecated for Intel SKUs. We don't know the rationale behind this inclusion, but AMD sure had a use case for it.

SilverStone today introduced its premium air based CPU cooler, the Hydrogon D140 ARGB (model: SST-HYD140-ARGB). As its name might suggest, this is a D-type (dual fin-stack) cooler that uses fans as large as 140 mm for ventilation, and hence fits into the large+heavyweight category of air coolers, targeting the segment of the market that really wants to avoid AIO coolers. The cooler uses a mirror-finish nickel-plated copper base, through which six 6 mm-thick heatpipes pass, which skewer the two fin-stacks on either of their ends. The two fin-stacks are capped off by a top-plate.

There are two fans involved in ventilating the heatsink, meant to be installed in a push-pull configuration. The "push" fan is a 120 mm, while the "pull" fan, located between the two fin-stacks, is a larger 140 mm spinner. Both fans come with addressable RGB LED illumination, and feature hydraulic bearings. The 120 mm fan turns at speeds ranging between 500 to 2,200 RPM, pushing up to 83.68 CFM of airflow at up to 4.01 mm H₂O static pressure, and up to 35.5 dBA of noise. The 140 mm fan, on the other hand, turns between 400 to 1,750 RPM, pushing up to 93 CFM of airflow at 2.24 mm H₂O static pressure, and up to 30.8 dBA of noise. With its fans in place, the cooler measures 140 mm x 160 mm x 136 mm (WxHxD), weighing 1.22 kg. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1700, AM5, LGA1200, AM4, and LGA2066. The company didn't reveal pricing.

AMD is readying the new 800-series motherboard chipset to launch alongside its next-generation Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processors that implement the "Zen 5" microarchitecture. The chipset family will be led by the AMD X870E, a successor to the current X670E. Since AMD isn't changing the CPU socket, and this is very much the same Socket AM5, the 800-series chipset will support not just "Granite Ridge" at launch, but also the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael," and Ryzen 8000 series "Hawk Point." Moore's Law is Dead goes into the details of what sets the X870E apart from the current X670E, and it all has to do with USB4.

Apparently, motherboard manufacturers will be mandated to include 40 Gbps USB4 connectivity with AMD X870E, which essentially makes the chipset a 3-chip solution—two Promontory 21 bridge chips, and a discrete ASMedia ASM4242 USB4 host controller; although it's possible that AMD's QVL will allow other brands of USB4 controllers as they become available. The Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" are chiplet based processors just like the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," and while the 4 nm "Zen 5" CCDs are new, the 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) is largely carried over from "Raphael," with a few updates to its memory controller. DDR5-6400 will be the new AMD-recommended "sweetspot" speed; although AMD might get its motherboard vendors to support DDR5-8000 EXPO profiles with an FCLK of 2400 MHz, and a divider.

Scythe unveiled the 6th generation of its Mugen line of premium air CPU coolers. These include the Mugen 6, and Mugen 6 Black Edition. The Mugen 6 features chrome finished aluiminium fins and nickel-plated copper heatpipes; while the Mugen 6 Black Edition is a more premium variant, with all-black fins, heatpipes, and two included fans for push-pull ventilation, instead of just one in the Mugen 6.

Both coolers feature a large aluminium fin-stack, to which heat drawn from a nickel-plated copper base is conveyed by six 6 mm-thick heatpipes. This is ventilated by a 120 mm Scythe Wonder Tornado 120 PWM fan that features a fluid-dynamic bearings, turns at speeds of up to 2,000 RPM, pushing up to 60.29 CFM of airflow, with up to 2.45 mm H₂O static pressure, and up to 26.88 dBA noise output. The Black Edition includes two of these. With the fan(s) in place, the Mugen 6 measures 132 mm x 106 mm x 154.5 mm (WxDxH), weighing 1.01 kg; while the Mugen 6 Black Edition measures 132 mm x 132 mm x 154.5 mm, weighing 1.2 kg. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1700, AM5, LGA1200, and AM4. The company didn't release pricing information.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solution innovator, today introduced the TS-h3077AFU, a highly reliable 30-bay SATA 6 Gb/s all-flash SSD NAS with a ZFS-based operating system, cutting-edge AMD Ryzen Embedded 7000 Series processors and integrated AMD Radeon Graphics. With up to 1.6M/1.2M iSCSI 4K random read/write IOPS, DDR5 RAM, built-in dual-port 10/2.5 GbE, upgradability to 100 GbE, PCIe Gen 4 expandability, and scalability to petabyte-scale storage, the TS-h3077AFU meets uncompromising performance demands in 4K/8K video workflows, storage centers, and virtualization. The QuTS hero operating system also features ZFS data reduction and SSD optimization, ensuring the utmost performance, lifespan, and efficiency from all-flash investments.

"The TS-h3077AFU redefines the landscape of storage solutions, offering not just capacity but also efficiency and performance for the most demanding business environments. Its capabilities in graphics processing, connectivity, and reliability, provided by the powerful AMD Ryzen Embedded 7000 Series Processor, position it as a game-changer in the industry," said Meiji Chang, General Manager of QNAP.

AMD is looking to debut its Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processors based on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture some time around May-June 2024, according to High Yield YT, a reliable source with AMD leaks. These processors will be built in the existing Socket AM5 package, and be compatible with all existing AMD 600 series chipset motherboards. It remains to be seen if AMD debuts a new line of motherboard chipsets. Almost all Socket AM5 motherboards come with the USB BIOS flashback feature, which means motherboards from even the earliest production batches that are in the retail channel, should be able to easily support the new processors.

AMD is giving its next-gen desktop processors the Ryzen 9000 series processor model numbering, as it used the Ryzen 8000 series for its recently announced Socket AM5 desktop APUs based on the "Hawk Point" monolithic silicon. "Granite Ridge" will be a chiplet-based processor, much like the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael." In fact, it will even retain the same 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) as "Raphael," with some possible revisions made to increase its native DDR5 memory frequency (up from the current DDR5-5200), and improve its memory overclocking capabilities. It's being reported that DDR5-6400 could be the new "sweetspot" memory speed for these processors, up from the current DDR5-6000.

CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gear and systems for gamers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts, today announced the launch of the A115 High-Performance Tower CPU Air Cooler, the latest addition to its CPU cooling lineup. Meticulously engineered to tame the high temperatures generated by the latest Intel and AMD processors, the A115 is the most powerful and efficient air cooler that CORSAIR has ever produced - with innovative features that make installation and adjustment incredibly easy.

At the heart of the A115 are six 6 mm heat pipes and a high-efficiency copper cold plate, capable of handling CPUs with up to 270 W TDP. The slightly convex shape of the cold plate optimizes contact with the CPU, ensuring maximum thermal transfer and stability. After absorbing heat, 90 nickel-plated cooling fins provide a substantial 1.69 m² surface area for rapid heat dissipation.

ZALMAN today introduced the CNPS14X Duo Black, its new high-end air-type CPU cooler, designed for thermal loads of up to 270 W, or comparable to typical 240 mm AIO liquid coolers. It does so in an imposing size of 126 mm x 135 mm x 159 mm (DxWxH), weighing 1.16 kg. It features a traditional dual fin-stack (D-type) heatsink, with a ZALMAN patented reverse direct-touch heatpipe base. Rather than have a the heatpipes make direct contact with the CPU, or even indirect contact through a base-plate, were only portions of the heatpipes make contact with the base; the reverse direct-touch mechanism has them enclosed and surrounded by the base-plate, so it makes contact with the entire surface area of the heatpipes. The heatsink features six 6 mm-thick copper heatpipes, with their ends passing through the two aluminium fin-stacks. The two stacks are capped by ABS top-plates.

The cooler includes two ZALMAN AF120 fans, you can use both of them in a push-pull configuration, where the cooler yields 44 mm of clearance for the memory; or single fan mode, clearing out 52 mm for the memory. Each of the two fans turns at speeds between 600 to 2,000 RPM, pushing up to 69.12 CFM of airflow, at a maximum static pressure of 2.01 mm H₂O, and 29.7 dBA maximum noise output. Their hydro dynamic bearings are rated for 40,000 hours. Among the CPU socket types supported by the ZALMAN CNPS14X Duo Black are Intel LGA1700, LGA1200; AMD AM5, and AM4. A sachet of ZALMAN ZM-STC8 thermal compound comes included with the cooler, which is rated for thermal conductivity of 8.3 W/mK. The company didn't reveal pricing.