HP has introduced the new HP EliteBook 705 series PCs and HP ProBook 645 G4. Designed for the modern professional on the go, the new HP EliteBook 705 series PCs offer enterprise-grade security and manageability, along with powerful collaboration features to keep business users connected. Powered by Windows 10 Pro and AMD Ryzen PRO Mobile Processors, users can stay productive all-day with long battery life and HP Fast Charge to charge 50 percent of your battery in just 30 minutes.

Do you remember AMD's TrueAudio Next technology? If not, you'd be forgiven; it's not gained as much traction as it could (should?) have, considering its open nature. As a quick reminder, this is AMD's GPU-accelerated audio pipeline, which adds "audio raytracing" capabilities to audio by delivering true spatial positioning and object interactions in a given scene - at much higher performance than the usual CPU-based solutions.

The 1.2 version is being hailed as a "coming of age" for True Audio Next, which includes "a number of notable performance and feature improvements, and it reflects the enhancements built into the version of TAN supported in Steam Audio." Efficiency has also been improved, with minimized "memory, buffer transfer and synchronization overhead". The remainder of the blog post by AMD's Fellow Design Engineer Carl Wakeland follows.

Today, AMD released the new Radeon Pro Software Enterprise Driver 18.Q2, continuing to protect the investment of IT professionals and buyers by providing significant performance improvements in leading professional applications, such as CATIA, Creo and Siemens NX, alongside enhanced security features and stability.

AMD today started the formal invitation procedure for the company's Computex 2018 presence, which should result in an updated state of affairs for the company as it aims to deliver its 2018 roadmap. You'd be forgiven to think AMD had exhausted its product portfolio for the year with its 12 nm Ryzen 2000 series, but the 2018 release schedule for AMD still counts some notable products.

Chief among these (for enthusiasts, at least) is the company's second generation Threadripper lineup, which will update the company's premium, many-core HEDT products to the current 12 nm process. However, the impact of AMD's Pro products shouldn't be underestimated - as tamer (in consumers' eyes - as they are compared to the screaming wildcat that is a 16-core CPU, these products usually carry higher margins for AMD - the company just also has to count on proper volume being there, which, if AMD's Zen architecture strength is anything to go by, really should keep gaining momentum. Of course, the real question on anyone's minds now regards AMD's RTG, and more precisely, what graphics technology advancements - and especially products - can be expected from the company. The 500 series (well, 400 series on steroids) is old in the tooth by now, and Vega is what it is. Here's hoping the Computex conference will bring some light to these matters. The Press Release follows.

The new MSI Optix AG32CQ probably sparks déjà vu because a monitor with a near-identical name and design was launched last October. That is, until you pay close attention to the "Q" in its name. The new Optix AG32CQ has a similar feature-set to the AG32C, but with increased resolution to 2560 x 1440 pixels, hence the "Q," denoting quad-HD. The 32-inch monitor with 1800R curvature still offers the goodness of a VA panel with 178°/178° viewing angles, 144 Hz refresh-rate (slightly lower than the 165 Hz of its Full HD predecessor), 1 ms (GTG) response-time, 3000:1 static contrast ratio, and support for AMD FreeSync technology. The company didn't reveal pricing.

HP Inc. today introduced a new class of thin clients that will enable the next generation of virtualized computing and cloud-first application adoption across industries. The latest HP Thin Client innovations set new standards for customers seeking modern design, robust security, ease of management and attractive value. Spending on Cloud IT infrastructure is expected to have double digit growth and surpass spending on non-cloud IT infrastructure by 2022, according to IDC.

"As the cloud continues to reshape the way information is created, maintained and shared, HP Thin Client devices are delivering modern workflows with superior security and low-touch maintenance," said Joanne Bugos, vice president and general manager, Thin Clients, HP Inc. "Our newest thin client solutions provide customers with a convenient and secure option to deploy both virtual and cloud-based computing environments while delivering a great user experience, stylish design, and the versatility needed to support today's workforce both in and out of the office."

A leading global motherboard and graphics card manufacturer, ASRock, announced entering the graphics card market with the Phantom Gaming range - a strong line up of AMD Radeon RX 500 series graphics card in April 2018. Initially, ASRock will roll out graphics card business in various regions based on internal planning. Regions with first priorities are APEC and Latin America. Then ASRock will gradually launch the business in other regions. Thanks for all media friends recently putting attention on our Phantom Gaming graphic card business and giving them massive coverages.

QNAP Systems, Inc. (QNAP ) today unveiled the TS-963X, a 9-bay NAS with an AMD quad-core 2.0 GHz processor, up to 8 GB RAM (upgradeable to 16 GB), and 10GBASE-T connectivity supporting five connection speeds (10G/5G/2.5G/1G/100M). The compact TS-963X is the size of a 5-bay NAS but accommodates five 3.5-inch HDD bays and four 2.5-inch SSDs bays that deliver high-performance, high-capacity storage potential including automatic file/data tiering based on access frequency (Qtier Technology). The TS-963X is ideal for small businesses and organizations to boost data access efficiency, network transmission speed and to meet demands of mission-critical tasks.

"The TS-963X is designed to enhance the everyday workflows of small businesses and organizations at a budget-friendly price," noted Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP. "The 10GBASE-T/NBASE-T port and four 2.5-inch bays for SSDs can all significantly improve performance, allowing the total cost of ownership to remain reasonable and affordable for most businesses," he added.

It looks like Intel is designing its discrete graphics processor at a breakneck pace, by a team put together by Raja Koduri. Its development is moving so fast, that the company could be ready with a working product to show the world by the 2019 International CES, held in early-January next year. Intel's development of a graphics processor is likely motivated by the company's survival instinct to not fall behind NVIDIA and AMD in making super-scalar architectures to cash in on two simultaneous tech-booms - AI and blockchain computing.

A blessing in disguise for gamers is the restoration of competition. NVIDIA has been ahead of AMD in PC graphics processor performance and efficiency since 2014, with the latter only playing catch-up in the PC gaming space. AMD's architectures have proven efficient in other areas, such as blockchain computing. NVIDIA, on the other hand, has invested heavily on AI, with specialized components on its chips called "tensor cores," which accelerate neural-net building and training.

It's been extensively reported that ASRock's primary motivation behind entering the graphics card market is the crypto-currency wave. The company stitched together a lineup of graphics cards based on AMD Radeon RX 500 series, with its fastest card being the RX 580 Phantom Gaming X. It's now being reported that AMD is preventing ASRock from selling its graphics cards in the EU. The reasons behind the move are unclear, but from what we can tell, ASRock hasn't been given a region-specific permission to sell its graphics cards in the EU. This probably indicates a swelling inventory of AMD Radeon graphics cards from other AIB (add-in board) partners, due to waning interesting in GPU-accelerated crypto-currency mining.

Bluechip computer, a German IT distribution company, has inadvertently spilled the beans on AMD and Intel's plans for the remainder of this year, shedding some more light on a number of products whose existence was still somewhat marred in fog. The information comes straight from a webinar Bluechip presented to its industry partners - a 30-minute presentation which made its way to YouTube.

The information gleaned is a confirmation, of sorts, of AMD's planned launch of their Z490 platform in June; the B450 chipset coming a little bit later, in July (an expected product, in every sense); and AMD's second-gen Threadripper, a known-quantity already, which should accompany a X399 platform refresh.

It looks like AMD's processor product launch cycle is on steroids, and keeping up (or even ahead) of Intel. After launching the first 12 nm processor architecture with "Zen+," the company is giving final touches to what it hopes to be the world's first 7 nanometer processor architecture, with "Zen 2." The company will reportedly begin sampling the chip within 2018, to enable volume production and market launch in 2019. Speaking at an investors conference call following the company's Q1-2018 Results release, AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su confirmed the 7 nm roll-out strategy of her company.

"We have a 7nm GPU based on Vega that we'll sample later this year. We have a 7nm server CPU that we'll sample later this year. And then, obviously, we have a number of products that are planned for 2019 as well. So it's a very, very busy product season for us. But we're pleased with the sort of the execution on the product roadmap," Dr. Su said. Unlike Zen+, Zen 2 is a major update to the company's processor micro-architecture, and presents the company with opportunities to improve several silicon-level specifications, such as the number of cores per CCX, the IPC of each core, the core-count of the die, the cache hierarchy, and the overall energy-efficiency.

(UPDATE: This latest driver version apparently also adds support for 4K Netflix content on computers powered by AMD's graphics cards. This solution is akin to NVIDIA's, and has some specific hoops that users must go through in order to actually get Netflix's 4K content to render properly: the new PlayReady 3.0 DRM technology that's Microsoft's master plan to thwart piracy requires Microsoft Edge as a browser, a connection to the monitor via the HDCP 2.2 protocol, an existing h.265 decoder, and a Netflix Premium subscription.)

AMD today released the latest version of Radeon Software Adrenalin Edition. Version 18.4.1 Beta adds initial support for the April 2018 update of Windows 10 (build 1803), (formerly referred to as "Spring Creators Update"). The drivers also fix issues with a number of games, such as water textures not appearing correctly in "World of Final Fantasy;" an application hang noticed on game loading screens of "Stellaris," display corruption noticed on "Call of Duty: WWII" on some Radeon RX 400 series graphics cards, and flickering noticed in "Sea of Thieves." Grab the drivers from the link below.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 18.4.1

The change-log follows.

With the latest Radeon Vega Instinct reveal, it's becoming increasingly clear that "Vega 20" is an optical shrink of the "Vega 10" GPU die to the new 7 nm silicon fabrication process, which could significantly lower power-draw, enabling AMD to increase clock-speeds. A prototype graphics card based on "Vega 20," armed with a whopping 32 GB of HBM2 memory, was put through 3DMark 11, on a machine powered by a Ryzen 7 1700 processor, and compared with a Radeon Vega Frontier Edition.

The prototype had lower GPU clock-speeds than the Vega Frontier Edition, at 1.00 GHz, vs. up to 1.60 GHz of the Vega Frontier Edition. Its memory, however, was clocked higher, at 1250 MHz (640 GB/s) vs. 945 MHz (483 GB/s). Despite significantly lower GPU clocks, the supposed "Vega 20" prototype appears to score higher performance clock-for-clock, but loses out on overall performance, in all tests. This could mean "Vega 20" is not just an optical-shrink of "Vega 10," but also benefits from newer architecture features, besides faster memory.

Chris Hook, the head of marketing at AMD Radeon Technologies Group (RTG), who resigned from AMD a few weeks ago, joined Intel. Hook will hold the position of head of discrete graphics marketing, confirming rumors of Intel making heavy investments into the development of a discrete GPU that can double up as a super-scalar processor, enabling the company to compete with NVIDIA and AMD for slices of the AI and blockchain computing gold-rush, with PC gaming as a fallback market. Jim Keller, Raja Koduri, and Chris Hook make up key names from AMD to have joined Intel in recent times. Keller was the lead architect of AMD "Zen," who after a brief stint at Tesla, joined Intel earlier this month.

A few days ago, a Reddit user came onto one of AMD's support pages and found some pretty disturbing information regarding the use of aftermarket cooling solutions. According to the FAQ, users are voiding the warranty on their AMD processors if they don't use the included stock heatsink. Given the seriousness of the situation, the matter was immediately brought to AMD for clarification. In their defense, they have stated that the information in the FAQ is outdated, and the wording doesn't accurately describe the terms of the warranty with modern processors. Therefore, AMD got right on the task and has since updated the FAQ. To not make a short story long, users are free to use aftermarket CPU coolers as long as these heatsinks are capable of properly cooling the processor within AMD's TDP specifications.

EK Water Blocks, the Slovenia-based premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer is maintaining its market leadership by releasing one more X470 series monoblocks. This one is tailor-made for the GIGABYTE X470 AORUS GAMING 5 WIFI motherboard. The EK-FB GA X470 Gaming 5 RGB Monoblock has an integrated 4-pin RGB LED strip which makes it compatible with GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, thus offering a full lighting customization experience!

EK-FB GA X470 Gaming 5 RGB Monoblock
This is a complete all-in-one (CPU and motherboard) liquid cooling solution for the X470 AORUS GAMING 5 WIFI socket AM4 motherboard that supports the second generation of AMD Ryzen and 7th Generation A-series/Athlon processors.

AMD has announced via its Twitter feed that the Vega die shrink from current 14 nm down to 7 nm has actually coalesced into a hardware product that can be tested and vetted at their labs. Via a teaser image, the company said that "7nm @RadeonInstinct product for machine learning is running in our labs."

Of course, working silicon is only half the battle - considerations such as yields, leakage, and others are all demons that must be worked out for actual production silicon, which may thus be some months off. Only AMD and TSMC themselves themselves know how the actual production run went - and the performance and power efficiency that can be expected from this design (remember that AMD's CEO Lisa SU herself said they'd partner with both TSMC and Globalfoundries for the 7 nm push, though it seems TSMC may be pulling ahead in that field). Considering AMD's timeline for the die-shrunk Vega to 7 nm - with predicted product launch for 2H 2018 - the fact that there is working silicon being sampled right now is definitely good news.

AMD (NASDAQ:AMD) today announced revenue for the first quarter of 2018 of $1.65 billion, operating income of $120 million, net income of $81 million, and diluted earnings per share of $0.08. On a non-GAAP basis, operating income was $152 million, net income was $121 million, and diluted earnings per share was $0.11.

"The first quarter was an outstanding start to 2018 with 40 percent year-over-year revenue growth," said Dr. Lisa Su, AMD president and CEO. "PC, gaming and datacenter adoption of our new, high-performance products continues to accelerate. We are excited about our long-term roadmaps and focused on delivering sustained revenue growth and profitability."

BIOSTAR presents an essential computing and home entertainment micro-ATX motherboard - the BIOSTAR A320MH. Based on the AMD A320 chipset, the BIOSTAR A320MH runs the latest 2nd generation AMD Ryzen CPUs and is easy to setup on Windows 7 and Windows 10. The BIOSTAR A320MH features exclusive 6+ experience with Speed+: USB 3.1 Gen 1, Smart Speed LAN, Audio+: HD Audio with 7.1-channel, Video+: HDMI4K2K, DirectX 12, Durable+: Moistureproof PCB, Low RdsOn P-Pak MOS, Protection+: ESD Protection, USB Polyswitch, OC, OV, OT Protection, DIY+: HeaderZone. The micro-ATX form factor design allows users to have enough space and flexibility for office, home entertainment and graphic design needs. It also includes free download of Smart Speed LAN software (Windows 7 only).

AMD A320 Chipset: Essential Computing for Office/Home with Media Playback
The BIOSTAR A320MH features the AMD A320 chipset for use with AM4 processors in a micro-ATX form factor. It offers essential features and performance to meet needs for daily computing with its dual DIMM slots supporting up to 32GB of 2667MHz DDR4 memory, one PCI-E 3.0 x16 slot and two PCI-E 1.0 x16 slots. As for connectivity, the BIOSTAR A320MH packs a Realtek RTL8111G controller for up to 100MB/s Ethernet connectivity along with two USB 3.1 Gen1 ports, one USB 3.1 Gen1 header, four USB 2.0 Ports and two USB 2.0 headers for lots of expansion possibilities.

Jim Keller, the VLSI guru who led the team behind AMD's spectacular comeback in the x86 processor market with "Zen," has reportedly quit his job at Tesla to join AMD's bête noire, Intel. Following his work on "Zen," Keller had joined Tesla to work on self-driving car hardware. Keller joins Raja Koduri at Intel, the other big former-AMD name, who led Radeon Technologies Group (RTG).

PC Perspective comments that big names like Keller and Koduri joining Intel could provide clues as to Intel's current state and the direction it's heading in. The company appears to be in a state of shake-up from a decade of complacency and lethargy in its core business. Koduri could be putting together a team of people familiar to him for a new clean-slate project. The last time Intel had a clean slate was ten years ago, with "Nehalem."

AMD on its YouTube channel shared a video where their Technical Marketing Manager, Robert Hallock, explains some of the new, fine-tuned technologies behind the new Ryzen 2000 series processors. We've already found in our very own reviews that AMD has done a great job with extracting maximum performance from their chips, almost invalidating the need for fine-tuning overclock - at least, when it comes to the processors' frequency (remember that AMD's Zen always improves the most when it comes to tweaking the system RAM speeds and timings).

XFR2 and Precision Boost 2 are the sort of technologies that almost make the point of an unlocked processor moot for the average user, but here's to AMD for keeping that option open - there's always LN2. And even if there isn't, there's something to be gained from going from a small, anemic, airflow-restricted case to an actual monstrosity packed with water cooling systems. AMD has made sure of that. You can check the AMD video after the break.

In his latest Youtube video, famous overclocker der8auer has delidded his AMD Ryzen 5 2600 processor for the sole purpose of evaluating whether the benefits justify the risk. Since the IHS in the new Pinnacle Ridge processors is soldered directly to the die with Indium, delidding the processors is a tricky but not impossible task. Everything melts when it gets warm enough, and indium starts melting around 156.60 °C. Therefore, der8auer had to use a modified version of his popular Delid Die Mate 2 tool by replacing the acrylic pieces with aluminum while also removing the rubber washer. After baking his Ryzen 5 2600 chip in the oven between 170 °C to 180 °C, Der8auer removed the IHS easily with his delidding tool. For his testing, he replaced the indium solder with Thermal Grizzly liquid metal thermal compound. As expected, the results weren't very impressive. With the Ryzen 5 2600 overclocked to 4.1 GHz with 1.35V, the difference was a mere 4 °C under load. So, there you have it. Don't delid your Pinnacle Ridge processor. It's not worth the effort.

EK Water Blocks, the premium liquid cooling manufacturer, is proving its market leadership once again by releasing its first X470 series monoblock that is tailor-made for the ASUS ROG STRIX X470-F GAMING motherboard. The EK-FB ASUS Strix X470 RGB Monoblock has an integrated 4-pin RGB LED strip which makes it compatible with ASUS Aura Sync, thus offering a full lighting customization experience. This is a complete all-in-one (CPU and motherboard) liquid cooling solution for the new AMD X470 Chipset AM4 socket based ASUS ROG STRIX X470-F GAMING motherboard that supports the second generation of AMD Ryzen and 7th Generation A-series/Athlon processors.

Designed and engineered in cooperation with ASUS , this monoblock uses award-winning EK-Supremacy EVO cooling engine to ensure best possible CPU cooling. This water block directly cools AMD AM4 socket type CPU, as well as the power regulation (MOSFET) module. Liquid flows directly over all critical areas, providing the enthusiasts with a great solution for high and stable overclocks. Like with most EK monoblocks, the EK-FB ASUS Strix X470 features high flow design and it can be easily used with the system using a weaker water pump or lower pump speed settings as well.

Photographs of Intel's Crimson Canyon NUC have finally surfaced. WinFuture managed to get their hands on one that's powered by an Intel Core i3-8121U dual-core processor based on the Cannon Lake architecture. The NUCs come with 4 GB or 8 GB of memory, a 2.5-inch hard drive, built-in Wi-Fi 802.11ac, and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity. The Crimson Canyon NUC also features a discrete AMD Radeon graphics card. The "Radeon 500-series" reference in one of the screenshots along with the "2GB of GDDR5" on the packaging takes us to the conclusion that Intel is most likely integrating a Polaris-based graphics card into the Crimson Canyon NUC. It's highly unlikely that we will find the CPU and GPU on the same chip like the one in the Hades Canyon NUC. Instead, the GPU will probably be soldered directly to the motherboard itself. The Intel Core i3-8121U models (NUC8I3CYSM2 and NUC8I3CYSM3) start around 450 euros, which roughly translates to $550. There was no mention when they will be available though.