Intel in its 2021 Architecture Day presentation put out fine technical details of its Xe HPC Ponte Vecchio accelerator, including some [very] preliminary performance claims for its current A0-silicon-based prototype. The prototype operates at 1.37 GHz, but achieves out at least 45 TFLOPs of FP32 throughput. We calculated the clock speed based on simple math. Intel obtained the 45 TFLOPs number on a machine running a single Ponte Vecchio OAM (single MCM with two stacks), and a Xeon "Sapphire Rapids" CPU. 45 TFLOPs sees the processor already beat the advertised 19.5 TFLOPs of the NVIDIA "Ampere" A100 Tensor Core 40 GB processor. AMD isn't faring any better, with its production Instinct MI100 processor only offering 23.1 TFLOPs FP32.

AMD might fall behind Intel on PCI-Express Gen 5 support, say sources familiar with the recent GIGABYTE ransomware attack and ensuing leak of confidential documents. If you recall, AMD had extensively marketed the fact that it was first-to-market with PCI-Express Gen 4, over a year ahead of Intel's "Rocket Lake" processor. The platform block-diagram for Socket AM5 states that the AM5 SoC puts out a total of 28 PCI-Express Gen 4 lanes. 16 of these are allocated toward PCI-Express discrete graphics, 4 toward a CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slot, another 4 lanes toward a discrete USB4 controller, and the remaining 4 lanes as chipset-bus.

Socket AM5 SoCs appear to have an additional 4 lanes to spare than the outgoing "Matisse" and "Vermeer" SoCs, which on higher-end platforms are used up by the USB4 controller, but can be left unused for the purpose, and instead wired to an additional M.2 NVMe slot on lower-end motherboards. Thankfully, memory is one area where AMD will maintain parity with Intel, as Socket AM5 is being designed for dual-channel DDR5. The other SoC-integrated I/O, as well as I/O from the chipset, appear to be identical to "Vermeer," with minor exceptions such as support for 20 Gbps USB 3.2x2. The Socket has preparation for display I/O for APUs from the generation. Intel's upcoming "Alder Lake-S" processor implements PCI-Express Gen 5, but only for the 16-lane PEG port. The CPU-attached NVMe slot, as well as downstream PCIe connectivity, are limited to PCIe Gen 4.

EK, the European manufacturer of premium liquid cooling gear, and MSI, a world-leading gaming brand, have partnered up yet again, to launch an X570S-based motherboard that comes with a pre-installed Quantum design monoblock that offers unparalleled cooling for the VRM section and AMD Ryzen series CPUs. MSI's world-class engineering team and EK's industry-leading thermal engineers worked together to apply EK's technology and know-how to bring you the coolest AMD gaming motherboard. The EK-Quantum MSI MPG X570S CARBON EK X is a response to the market's desire for an out-of-the-box water-cooled motherboard for Ryzen CPUs. It allows maximum performance without the noisy environment that air coolers offer, providing countless hours of uninterrupted gameplay. As an added benefit, it looks as great as it performs.

The EK-Quantum monoblock design aesthetically blends in with the motherboard, giving it a unique look that sets it apart from the rest. The sleek, stealthy look accompanied by the carbon fiber pattern is there to remind all hard-core gamers that pushing the limit is what gaming is all about. A powerful 14+2 Duet Rail Power System with 75 A power stages provides stable power to the Ryzen CPU. The massive power delivery system allows for high overclocks and, by proxy, a great boost in performance. The only downside is increased heat generation. This is where the EK monoblock with an integrated flow indicator kicks in - to cool down not just the CPU, but the power delivery system as well.

With AMD launching the latest Ryzen 5000 Series processors, MSI X570S motherboards will also hit the market in the coming days. The new series of MSI X570S motherboards have not only upgraded specifications but also included brand-new designs. The following are detailed introductions that you must not miss. The whole series of MSI X570S motherboards all support AMD's latest Ryzen 5000 Series processors. To unleash the impressive performance, MSI offers a comprehensive upgrade for the power phase. MEG X570S motherboards have direct 16+2 phases with 90 A SPS and MPG X570S motherboards have at least 12+2 Duet Rail Power System with 75 A SPS. Both the MAG X570S TORPEDO MAX and the MAG X570S TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI have Mirrored Power Arrangement 12+2 phases with 60 A SPS as well.

s for heatsink design, the major change is to remove fans on the chipsets, which helps reduce dust and noise. In order to dissipate heat effectively without fans, the area of the heatsink that covers the chipset is enlarged considerably. Also, all MSI X570S Series motherboards feature at least 1 M.2 Shield Frozr which prevents throttling by offering the best thermal protection to help maintain SSD maximum performance. For hard-core users, we have the MEG X570S ACE MAX with 4 Gen 4 M.2 slots covered with M.2 Shield Frozr and Double Side M.2 Thermal.

AMD is slowly preparing to launch its next-generation of graphics cards based on the RDNA3 architecture, and it could bring some new connectivity options as well. Currently, the graphics cards we are using today use DisplayPort 1.4 connector for their DP output. However, the more advanced DisplayPort 2.0 could land in RDNA3 GPUs, bringing much-needed improvements to the video output system. What DP 2.0 brings to the table is an upgrade to an Ultra High Bit Rate individual lane speed of 20 GB/s, totaling 80 GB/s with four of those. The DP 2.0 capable system would be able to output a 10K uncompressed resolution at 60 Hz, or two 4K 144 Hz monitors at the same time. With compression, that would be extended much further. We have to wait and see what AMD does and if the next-generation RDNA3 brings this new DisplayPort standard to the masses.

AMD's upcoming desktop processor Socket AM5 could retain cooler compatibility with the outgoing Socket AM4, according to a leaked technical document related to the socket. If true, this would be the first time that two fundamentally different sockets—one a PGA, and the other an LGA—are designed for cooler cross-compatibility. The document reveals that with a processor installed, Socket AM5 would align with the retention clip and mount-hole spacing identical to that of Socket AM4. This could mean you can carry over your expensive liquid-cooling setup or pricey AIO CLC over from your current Ryzen desktop build.

New renders of Socket AM5 also reveal that the socket locking mechanism is mostly similar to that of Intel sockets, such as the LGA1200, and isn't a downscale of TR4/sTRX4 as was feared in social media. The top retention brace swings along a hinge, and held in place by pressure from a lever that locks into a hook. Depending on the model, AMD Socket AM5 processors could come in TDP values of 45 W, 65 W, 95 W, 105 W, 125 W, and 170 W.

ASUS today introduced a trio of new motherboards based on AMD's X570 chipset, which join the latest ROG Crosshair VIII Extreme as the latest offerings from ASUS on the X570 platform.

The ROG Strix X570-E Gaming WiFi II pairs the latest tech with essential ROG DNA
Elite gamers and enthusiasts who prefer the finer things in life will want to take a look at the new ROG Strix X570-E Gaming WiFi II. Building on the legacy of the ROG Strix X570-E Gaming WiFi before it, this fresh new board distills high-end components, smart software, and passive chipset cooling into one luxurious board. This revision of the X570-E makes a splash with revised ROG graphics running across the I/O shroud and the chipset heatsink. The CPU VRM also gets a boost to a 12+4-phase design, fueled by ProCool II auxiliary connectors. No matter your choice of Ryzen CPU, the new Strix-E will handle it with aplomb.

We have recently seen the first high-resolution die shots of AMD's Ryzen 5 5600G Cezanne APU thanks to the work of Fritzchens Fritz. The photos show the internal layout of the processor with its Zen 3 CPU, Vega GPU, and corresponding components. To get these shots, the chip had to be delidded by removing the IHS which has been made harder with the move to a soldered design. The Ryzen 5 5600G is a 6 core, 12 thread part with 7 Vega GPU cores which can all be seen in the annotated diagram of the die created by Locuza. The diagram also shows the suspected locations of various PCIe 3.0, and memory controllers along with cache placements for the CPU and GPU. The processor is manufactured on TSMC's 7 nm process and features a total of 10.7 Billion transistors packed into the 180 mm² die.

AMD has hit its highest "PC processor" market share since 2006, according to the latest market analysis report by Mercury Research. The firm's PC processor metric only covers client-segment processors (excludes the strides AMD has made in the enterprise space with EPYC). According to the report, AMD now holds 16.9% of the market, its highest since 2006. This is a 0.8 percentage points increase sequentially, and 7.3 percentage points growth year-over-year.

When looking at the overall x86 processor market (which now includes enterprise chips), AMD holds 15.8 percent, which is a 0.7 percentage point sequential gain, and 4.1 percentage points gain YoY. AMD holds 11.6% of the server processor market. Market share only paints part of the picture. Guru3D notes that AMD is trading market share for margins, by reducing shipments of low-cost processors in favor of premium processors with higher margins.

While the server industry transitions to the latest generation of processors based on the x86 platform, the Intel Ice Lake and AMD Milan CPUs entered mass production earlier this year and were shipped to certain customers, such as North American CSPs and telecommunication companies, at a low volume in 1Q21, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. These processors are expected to begin seeing widespread adoption in the server market in 3Q21. TrendForce believes that Ice Lake represents a step-up in computing performance from the previous generation due to its higher scalability and support for more memory channels. On the other hand, the new normal that emerged in the post-pandemic era is expected to drive clients in the server sector to partially migrate to the Ice Lake platform, whose share in the server market is expected to surpass 30% in 4Q21.

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today announced availability of the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card, engineered to deliver exceptional high-framerate, high-fidelity 1080p gaming.

Built on breakthrough AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, the new BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card has everything a gamer needs and more. It offers 32 powerful compute units, 32 MB of high-performance AMD Infinity Cache, 8 GB of high-speed GDDR6 memory, and AMD Smart Access Memory, among many other advanced features for the next-level immersive gaming experience. With game clock speeds up to 2359 MHz and boost clock speeds up to 2589 MHz, the BIOSTAR AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card can easily handle the latest AAA games thrown at it.

MSI, a world leader in high-performance and innovative computing solutions, has announced the PRO DP20Z 5M Business & Productivity PC. It comes in both barebone and full system solutions. Featuring a powerful processor, exclusive software, and various IO ports, the PRO DP20Z 5M is designed with efficiency and productivity in mind.

Everything you need for business is already in the 2.6L sized business & productivity PC - PRO DP20Z 5M. Inspired by the natural bamboo and its perseverance, transformation & refinement, the design of PRO DP20Z represents durability, reliability, and stability. It would have sustained its life as it grew only when it develops a strong foundation. Its barebone and full system solution makes it more flexible for different users and enterprises. The full system solution featuring the latest AMD Ryzen 5000 Series APU will be coming soon. Featuring up to Ryzen 7 5700G APU and DDR4 3200 MHz 64 GB memory, it can help users experience a better and faster computing performance during data analyzing and when gaming amusement is needed. It can support up to three displays and 4K resolution at 60 Hz, allowing users to connect advertising board to display their products or use it as a powerful home theater PC. Its portable size and sufficient features fully meet the needs of various scenarios.

AMD today released the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin. Version 21.8.1 Beta comes with support for the Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics card (which we reviewed here). It also fixes an issue with "The Medium" that caused the game to crash while running FrameView. The company also identified a handful issues, some even specific to the RX 6600 XT, such as inaccurate point-lights in "Control," and driver timeouts observed in "Horizon Zero Dawn" with RX 6700 XT, and less specifically on RX 500 series products with simultaneous gaming+streaming. Grab the driver from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 21.8.1 Beta

PC components major GIGABYTE has reportedly been hacked, with the attacker group, which goes by the name RansomEXX, stealing 112 GB in data that contains confidential technical documents from Intel, AMD, and others; which are released to GIGABYTE under strict NDAs, to help it design motherboards, notebooks, desktops, servers, and graphics cards. The group also deployed ransomware to encrypt GIGABYTE's data, which includes these documents. The attack allegedly occurred in the week of August 2, and GIGABYTE was forced to shut down its systems in its Taiwan headquarters. This even caused some downtime for its websites.

While it's conceivable that a company of GIGABYTE's scale would maintain timely cold backups of its data, and can recover almost everything RansomEXX encrypted, there's another aspect to this attack, and it's the data the attackers stole. They threaten to leak the data if a ransom isn't paid in time. This would put a large amount of confidential documents, including motherboard designs, UEFI/BIOS/TPM data/keys, etc., out in the public domain. GIGABYTE didn't comment on the issue beyond stating that it has isolated the affected servers from the rest of its network and notified law enforcement.

Aya Neo announced an updated model of it's AMD-based handheld console by the same name at Chinajoy 2021. The Aya Neo 2021 Pro and Aya Neo 2021 Pro Retro Power will both feature 1 TB of storage as standard with a 2 TB model also offered. The Pro models feature an upgraded Ryzen 7 4800U processor with 8 cores and 16 threads up from the 6 core 12 thread Ryzen 5 4500U found in the regular model. This upgrade also increases the Vega graphics compute unit count to 8 and should provide a noticeable performance improvement. The Aya Neo 2021 Pro Retro Power features a NES-inspired color scheme and includes a special docking station for 100 USD more. Aya will also sell a GaN 108 W charger and mechanical keyboard with the same retro design. These new models are priced at almost double the 649 USD price of the 512 GB Steam Deck and are expected to start shipping in September.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the popular graphics subsystem, information, monitoring, and diagnostic utility. The latest Version 2.41.0 comes with support for the Windows 11 operating system (ongoing pre-release builds), including the ability to tell if the graphics driver conforms to WDDM 3.0 standard. Support is also added for current and upcoming GPUs, including Radeon RX 6600 XT, Radeon PRO W6800, W6600; NVIDIA CMP 90HX, 50HX, 40HX, 30H; and RTX 3050 Laptop GPUs based on GA107-B.

TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.41.0 also improves on several fronts. We've improved the TMU count estimation algorithm for unknown (upcoming) NVIDIA GPUs, as well as clock speed detection on AMD RDNA2-based Radeon PRO GPUs. The GPU-Z installer now adds version number of the installed GPU-Z to the Control Panel Add/Remove Programs list, to better work with Winget, the new Microsoft package manager. AMD "Navi" rated clocks will now always be shown in Advanced Panel, even if the reported clocks are 0. A "BIOS reading not supported" error with certain laptops that have NVIDIA discrete GPUs, has been fixed. The ASUS ROG-branded GPU-Z has some UI touch-ups. Die-size and transistor counts of AMD "Cezanne" APU and certain older AMD GPUs, have been fixed. Grab GPU-Z from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.41.0The change-log follows.

German online retailer Mindfactory may not be as big as Amazon, but it puts out its sales figures of PC hardware components, that often get picked up by the tech-press as a sample size. While using its data as a yardstick for AMD outselling Intel in the DIY market is debatable, sales of individual AMD or Intel products provide valuable insights to what consumers are after these days. Apparently, the recently launched Ryzen 7 5700G and Ryzen 5 5600G APUs are already outselling the Ryzen 7 5800X and Ryzen 5 5600X, respectively, for the week of 2nd August running.

AMD designed the Ryzen 7 5700G to succeed the popular Ryzen 7 3700X, and the 5600G to succeed the best-selling Ryzen 5 3600, which explains the absence of "Ryzen 7 5700X" or "Ryzen 5 5600," at least in the DIY market. It's little surprise then, that just as the 3700X outsold the 3800X, Mindfactory bagged orders for 820 units of 5700G, as opposed to 610 units of the 5800X; and 900 units of the 5600G, compared to 680 units of the 5600X. It's interesting to note that the 5700G even outsold the 5600X. The 5700G and 5600G are based on the 7 nm "Cezanne" silicon, which packs up to 8 "Zen 3" cores, and an iGPU with up to 512 stream processors. Unlike "Vermeer," Cezanne is a monolithic die.

Senior Technology Fellow Yuzo Fukuzaki shed light on the elusive new CPU technology AMD unveiled at its Computex 2021 keynote, 3D Vertical Cache (3DV Cache). The company had then detailed it as an additional 64 MB last-level cache stacked on top of a CCD (CPU core complex die), which significantly improves performance, including a claimed 15% average gain in gaming performance, which accounts for a generational performance gain over "Zen 3." The prototype AMD unveiled in its keynote was based on a Socket AM4 processor with "Zen 3" CCDs that have the 3DV Cache components in place. With two such CCDs, a 16-core processor would end up with 192 MB of L3 cache.

Yuzo Fukuzaki's theory sheds light on the most plausible position of 3DV Cache in the processor's cache hierarchy. Apparently, it expands the CCD's L3 cache, and doesn't serve as an "L4" victim cache to the L3. This way, the cache setup remains transparent to the OS, which sees it as a contiguous 96 MB block of L3 cache (per CCD). The 3DV Cache die is an SRAM chip fabricated on the same 7 nm process as the "Zen 3" CCD. It measures 6 mm x 6 mm (36 mm²), and is located above the region of the CCD that typically has the 32 MB L3 SRAM. Fukuzaki estimates that roughly 23,000 TSVs (through-silicon vias), each about 17 µm in size, connect the 3DV Cache die to the main CCD.

The leading global motherboard, graphics card, and small form factor PC manufacturer, ASRock, has released the latest BIOS that support AMD Ryzen 5000 G-Series Desktop Processors with Radeon Graphics and AMD Ryzen 5000 Series Desktop Processors with PRO Technologies.

AMD Ryzen 5000 G-Series Desktop Processors with Radeon Graphics are the newest generation processors come with industry-leading 7nm technology, elevating processing performance to the next level. And now, ASRock 500-Series, B450 AMD Ryzen motherboards and X300 Mini PC are able to support both of them by updating the latest BIOS.

AMD's 7 nm "Navi 21" silicon powers the company's Radeon RX 6800 series and flagship RX 6900 XT graphics cards. It's a big chip, competitive with NVIDIA's fastest GeForce RTX 30-series products, and AMD set 16 GB as the standard memory amount for all products based on this chip, despite its 256-bit wide GDDR6 memory interface. Komachi Ensaka spotted a curious-looking Navi 21 product with 8 GB of memory, on the UserBenchmark database. The card is slower than the desktop RX 6800, but found trading blows with the RX 6700 XT. Speculation is rife as to what it could be.

The most plausible theory is that it could be a prototype, with its user testing out UserBenchmark. The GeForce RTX 3070 Ti has a shaky performance equation with the similarly-priced RX 6800, and any attempt to close the gap between the RX 6700 XT and the RX 6800 would cannibalize the latter, unless that's exactly what AMD wants—a product competitive with the RTX 3070 Ti, but with a leaner bill of materials than the RX 6800 on account of the 8 GB memory.

Nostalgia is perhaps the most present feeling among many gamers across the globe, and someone is seemingly playing with ours as there is a Twitter account claiming the return of a company that has been dead for 20 years. 3dfx Interactive, once a giant in the graphics card industry, is allegedly returning after 20 years to give gamers a new choice of a graphics card. According to a Twitter account that claims that 3dfx Interactive is returning, we are seeing a massive amount of hype being built around the seemingly fake and bad attempt of playing with our nostalgia.

3dfx went bankrupt in 2000 and was acquired by NVIDIA, who took over the rights to trademarks and everything involved with the brand. In the latest tweet, the alleged resurrected company is claiming a return after 20 years. It says that Jansen Products, also an alleged investment firm, that we couldn't find in any database of registered firms, is now the owner of 3dfx Interactive brand and its trademarks. A simple Google search points towards a Belgian building firm, not an alleged San Francisco investment company.. Together, this is making the alleged return seem just like a joke, as someone must be playing with many gamers that used 3dfx's famous Voodoo lineup of graphics cards.

AMD today announced availability of the new AMD Radeon PRO W6000X series GPUs for Mac Pro. The new GPU product line delivers exceptional performance and incredible visual fidelity to power a wide variety of demanding professional applications and workloads, including 3D rendering, 8K video compositing, color correction and more.

Built on groundbreaking AMD RDNA 2 architecture, AMD Infinity Cache and other advanced technologies, the new workstation graphics line-up includes the AMD Radeon PRO W6900X and AMD Radeon PRO W6800X GPUs. Mac Pro users also have the option of choosing the AMD Radeon PRO W6800X Duo graphics card, a dual-GPU configuration that leverages high-speed AMD Infinity Fabric interconnect technology to deliver outstanding levels of compute performance.

ASRock, the leading global motherboard, graphics card and mini PC manufacturer, today launched new Phantom Gaming and Challenger series products based on AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT GPUs. The new ASRock graphics cards are built on the 7 nm manufacturing process and AMD RDNA 2 gaming architecture, and include support for the DirectX 12 Ultimate API, hardware-accelerated raytracing, HDMI 2.1, and PCI Express 4.0. In addition, with high-speed 8 GB GDDR6 memory plus a wealth of exclusive features, the ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT series graphics cards can provide the ultimate 1080p gaming performance.

The high-end ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D 8 GB OC graphics card features the triple-fan Phantom Gaming 3X cooling system for excellent cooling performance, as well as a unique Striped Axial Fan, Air Deflecting Fin and Ultra-fit Heatpipe to greatly increase cooling efficiency. The stylish metal backplate strengthens the structure and prevents damage to the board. With the addition of an ARGB fan, ARGB LED board, and Polychrome SYNC lighting control software, users can fully customize and control their own lighting system. The cool black and red appearance and the ultimate factory-preset overclocking settings make ASRock AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT Phantom Gaming D 8 GB OC graphics card ideal for hardcore gamers.

The stay-at-home economy remains robust due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so the sales of gaming products such as game consoles and the demand for related components are being kept at a decent level, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. However, the values of cryptocurrencies have plummeted in the past two months because of active interventions from many governments, with the graphics DRAM market entering into a bearish turn in 3Q21 as a result. While graphics DRAM prices in the spot market will likely show the most severe fluctuations, contract prices of graphics DRAM are expected to increase by 10-15% QoQ in 3Q21 since DRAM suppliers still prioritize the production of server DRAM over other product categories, and the vast majority of graphics DRAM supply is still cornered by major purchasers.

It should be pointed out that, given the highly volatile nature of the graphics DRAM market, it is relatively normal for graphics DRAM prices to reverse course or undergo a more drastic fluctuation compared with other mainstream DRAM products. As such, should the cryptocurrency market remain bearish, and manufacturers of smartphones or PCs reduce their upcoming production volumes in light of the ongoing pandemic and component supply issues, graphics DRAM prices are unlikely to experience further increase in 4Q21. Instead, TrendForce expects prices in 4Q21 to largely hold flat compared to the third quarter.

Sapphire introduced a nifty lineup of new AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT graphics cards, with the value-ended RX 6600 XT Pulse, and the premium RX 6600 XT NITRO+. Both are strictly two slots-thick designs that are compact, and use dual-fan cooling solutions. The NITRO+ features a higher factory OC, a heavier heatsink, and premium bits that include wave-edged aluminium fins in the cooler, fans with webbed impellers, dual-BIOS, a silvery metal backplate, an addressable-RGB LED illuminated Sapphire logo, and a 3-pin ARGB header so you can sync your lighting to the card's.

The RX 6600 XT Pulse, on the other hand, features a simpler design without the shiny dual-tone finish of the NITRO+. There are no illuminated logos, additional RGB headers, or dual-BIOS to be had. You still get a similar combination of wave-edge fin-stack, and webbed impellers, as well as a metal back-plate. The card has a lower state of factory OC than the NITRO+, and is expected to be priced closer to the baseline price. The company didn't reveal engine game/boost frequencies of either cards, but both feature 16 Gbps GDDR6 memory, and take in power from single 8-pin PCIe power connectors.