Microsoft's DirectX Raytracing (DXR) 1.2 announcement at GDC 2025 introduces two technical innovations that address fundamental ray tracing performance bottlenecks. Opacity micromaps (OMM) reduce the computational overhead in alpha-tested geometry by storing pre-computed opacity data, eliminating redundant ray-geometry intersection tests. Shader execution reordering (SER) tackles the inherent GPU inefficiency caused by incoherent ray behavior by dynamically grouping shader invocations with similar execution paths, minimizing thread divergence that has historically plagued ray tracing workloads. The real-world implications extend beyond Microsoft's claimed 2.3x OMM and 2x SER performance improvements. Both techniques are shifting development from brute-force computational approaches toward more intelligent resource management. Notably, both features require specific hardware support.

Hardware vendors' implementation timelines remain undefined despite NVIDIA's announced support across RTX GPUs, raising questions about broader ecosystem adoption rates. Microsoft's Shader Model 6.9 introduces cooperative vectors. This hardware acceleration architecture drastically improves matrix computation performance, enabling a 10x speedup in neural texture compression while reducing memory footprint by up to 75% compared to traditional methods. It bridges the gap between conventional rendering and neural rendering, with Intel, AMD, and NVIDIA already demonstrating implementations that combine path tracing with neural denoising algorithms, potentially making computationally intensive graphics accessible on mid-range consumer hardware by late 2025. While the technical merit of these advancements is clear, the April 2025 preview release timeline for the Agility SDK means developers face at least several months before these features can be meaningfully implemented in production environments.

The ominously named PowerColor Red Devil AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT looks to be getting the same treatment as the Hellhound Spectral White edition with an all-white Spectral Edition refresh. While the design has yet to be confirmed by PowerColor, it has seemingly leaked on Amazon ahead of the official announcement. While the page seems to have been taken down by the retail giant, VideoCardz managed to grab some images of the new white AMD RX 9070 XT GPU before it was removed.

Much like the Hellhound Spectral Edition, the Red Devil Spectral Edition has been completely drained of color. Even the hallmark Red Devil logo on the cooling fins in the backplate cutout and the illuminated Hellstone at the end of the RX 9070's shroud seems to have a clearer acrylic cover, as opposed to the smoky acrylic cover on the standard issue Red Devil card. Everything else on the Red Devil Spectral White edition seems to be identical to the regular Red Devil RX 9070 XT. Pricing also seems to be identical to the original, at $899 or €929. A launch date for the Spectral White RX 9070 XT Red Devil is unclear at the time of writing, but it will likely be soon, given its appearance on Amazon.

AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D processor with 16 cores, 32 threads, and 3D V-Cache is an exceptional content creation and gaming workload machine. However, MSI's proprietary BIOS features reportedly enable substantial performance headroom beyond stock settings. MSI's latest internal testing confirms that specific firmware configurations can deliver up to 14.5% performance improvements in demanding titles like Monster Hunter Wilds. The performance uplift hinges on firmware update, with MSI recommending the installation of chipset driver v7.01.08.129 or higher, which includes the critical AMD Application Compatibility Database driver. Users who update to BIOS versions featuring AGESA 1.2.0.3 or newer may encounter an "Unknown Device" in Device Manager, which can be resolved by installing the AMD Application Compatibility Database driver included in the latest chipset package. When paired with AGESA 1.2.0.3+ BIOS implementations, this configuration yields measurable framerate improvements of approximately 10% in Metro Exodus and 8% in Far Cry 6 at 1080p resolution compared to legacy firmware.

MSI's BIOS feature suite provides several optimization pathways. Memory Try It! delivers pre-configured memory timing profiles, while High-Efficiency Mode optimizes graduated memory bandwidth across four performance tiers. The X3D Gaming Mode modifies core and SMT configurations and provides additional gaming-specific enhancements, though potentially at the expense of multi-threaded application performance. Benchmark data from MSI demonstrates that implementing DDR5-8000 CL38 Memory Try It! profiles alongside "Tighter" High-Efficiency Mode settings and X3D Gaming Mode activation delivers a 14.5% performance uplift in Monster Hunter Wilds compared to baseline DDR5-4800 configurations, and approximately 8% over XMP DDR5-7200 settings. Titles like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Far Cry 6 both recorded approximately 6% performance gains under similar test conditions. MSI cautions that memory overclocking implementations may impact system stability, while X3D Gaming Mode's thread management modifications could reduce performance in heavily multi-threaded workloads. Performance benefits will necessarily vary based on GPU capabilities and system configuration.

AMD today released the latest version of the AMD Software Adrenalin drivers. Version 25.3.2 Beta comes with optimization for "Assassin's Creed Shadows," and "The Last of Us Part II Remastered." The drivers also come with a number of important fixes. To begin with, a bug that causes incorrect gamma when playing "Counter Strike 2" with MSAA 8x on Radeon RX 9070 series graphics cards, has been fixed. An intermittent application crash seen in "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" with very high settings and path tracing enabled, has been fixed. The drivers come with fixes for the ADL SDK that ensure that the correct ROP count is displayed for third party tools.

Lower than expected performance noticed with "Assetto Corsa Competizione" on RX 9070 series graphics cards, has been fixed. An intermittent crash noticed when pressing Alt+Tab during gameplay on GPUs such as the RX 6000 series, has been fixed. A system or application crash noticed when running multiple high refresh rate monitors (> 120 Hz) with HDMI connectors, has been fixed. And lastly, a bug that causes Windows 11 to override the latest installed AMD-provided drivers with older ones on RX 9070 series, has been fixed.

DOWNLOAD: AMD Software Adrenalin 23.5.2 Beta

AMD's Radeon RX 9000 series of GPUs spent just a few days on the retail market, and they are already sold out. If you are wondering just how many have been sold, AMD has a number for you. According to the information shared at the AI PC Innovation Summit in Beijing, AMD claims that it has sold as many as 200,000 Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT graphics cards in the first wave. Current retail channels show severely constrained inventory for AMD's latest GPUs, though supply chain forecasts indicate normalization expected by early Q2. Board partners have implemented significant price premiums across their custom-designed variants, with RX 9070 XT models commanding up to $200 above AMD's reference pricing structure. While AMD has issued statements advocating for adherence to suggested retail figures, the company maintains a hands-off approach to partner pricing strategies, acknowledging the market dynamics of premium component allocation.

The initial allocation bottleneck should resolve as manufacturing capacity scales to meet demand, potentially stabilizing both availability and price points by mid-April. Yeston, one of AMD's longest-standing AIBs, has suggested that "now the supply is unstable, but we will restock every week. Please don't be frustrated if you didn't get it. The supply will become stable and continue to be available after April." However, we still don't understand how AMD is counting these sales. The company noted that the first wave has been sold, and that is likely their first shipment of Navi 48 SKU from TSMC. When TSMC ships more chips, AMD distributes them to its AIB partners for assembly. That could be the second wave. As these GPUs are ordered months in advance, AMD's AIBs are likely already shipping the next wave of GPUs to retail stores.

AMD's next-generation Zen 6-based "Medusa Point" mobile APUs will not feature RDNA 4 graphics as previously speculated, according to recent code discoveries in AMD GPUOpen Drivers on GitHub. The Device ID "GfxIp12" associated with RDNA 4 architecture has been reserved only for discrete GPUs, confirming that the current Radeon RX 9000 series will exclusively implement AMD's latest graphics architecture. Current technical documentation indicates AMD will instead extend RDNA 3.5 implementation beyond the Zen 5 portfolio while potentially positioning UDNA as the successor technology for integrated graphics.

The chiplet-based Medusa Point design will reportedly pair a single 12-core Zen 6 CCD manufactured on TSMC's 3 nm-class node with a mobile client I/O die likely built on N4P. This arrangement is significantly different from current monolithic mobile solutions. Earlier speculation indicates the Medusa Point platform may support 3D V-Cache variants, leveraging the same vertical stacking methodology employed in current Zen 5 implementations. The mobile processor's memory controllers and neural processing unit are expected to receive substantial updates. However, compatibility limitations with AMD's latest graphics features, like FSR 4 technology, remain a concern due to the absence of RDNA 4 silicon. The Zen 6-powered Medusa Point processor family is scheduled for release in 2026, targeting premium mobile computing applications with a performance profile that builds upon AMD's current Strix Halo positioning.

Large language models (LLMs) love large quantities of memory—so much so, in fact, that AI enthusiasts are turning to multi-GPU setups to make even more VRAM available for their AI apps. But since many current LLMs are extremely large, even this approach has its limits. At times, the GPU will decide to make use of CPU processing power for this data, and when it does, the performance of your CPU cache and DRAM comes into play. All this means that when it comes to the performance of AI applications, it's not just the GPU that matters, but the entire pathway that connects the GPU to the CPU to the I/O die to the DRAM modules. It stands to reason, then, that there are opportunities to boost AI performance by optimizing these elements.

That's exactly what we've found as we've spent time in our R&D labs with the latest AMD Ryzen CPUs. AMD just launched two new Ryzen CPUs with AMD 3D V-Cache Technology, the AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and Ryzen 9 9900X3D, pushing the series into new performance territory. After testing a wide range of optimizations in a variety of workloads, we uncovered a range of settings that offer tangible benefits for AI enthusiasts. Now, we're ready to share these optimizations with you through a new BIOS feature: AI Cache Boost. Available through an ASUS AMD 800 Series motherboard and our most recent firmware update, AI Cache Boost can accelerate performance up to 12.75% when you're working with massive LLMs.

BOXX Technologies, the leading innovator of high-performance computers, rendering systems, and servers, announced that as a supplier of NVIDIA-Certified Systems, BOXX workstations will feature the new NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition and NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Max-Q Workstation Edition GPUs. Designed for creative professionals, these NVIDIA Blackwell architecture GPUs combine breakthrough AI inference, ray tracing, and neural rendering technology with major performance and memory improvements to drive demanding creative, design, and engineering workflows. BOXX will be among the first computer hardware manufacturers offering the new GPUs inside multiple workstation form factors.

"From our desk side APEXX workstations to our FLEXX and RAXX data center platforms, BOXX is taking our record-setting performance to new heights with NVIDIA RTX PRO 6000 Blackwell Workstation Edition GPUs," said BOXX CEO Kirk Schell. "Our systems equipped with these groundbreaking GPUs are purpose-built for creative professionals who demand the best, so whether its architects, engineers, and content creators, or data scientists and large scale enterprise deployments, BOXX accelerates mission critical work while maintaining unparalleled performance, reliability, and support."

At its annual Amplify Conference, HP Inc. today announced new products and services designed to shape the future of work, empowering people and businesses to create and manage their own way of working. The company unveiled more than 80 PCs, AI-powered print tools for SMBs, and Workforce Experience Platform enhancements all built to drive company growth and professional fulfillment.

"HP is translating AI into meaningful experiences that drive growth and fulfillment," said Enrique Lores, President and CEO at HP Inc. "We are shaping the future of work with game-changing AI innovations that seamlessly adapt to how people want to work."

Coverage of Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 launch batches has mainly focused on Western market conditions, with little insight into goings-on in China. AMD and board partners held a special RDNA 4 kick-off event in Beijing at the end of February, roughly twelve hours in advance of their international presentation. According to VideoCardz, initial supplies of Yeston's Sakura and Sakura Atlantis graphics cards were snapped up quickly by regional customers. The Chinese AIB specializes in brightly-hued shroud and backplate designs, often decorated with "waifu" illustrations and miscellaneous cute graphics. Unfortunately, interested parties from abroad are limited to importing from local retail platforms.

Yeston's social media accounts have alerted potential customers to re-stocks and connected developments—their latest bulletin hints about an improved situation, following another swift depletion of refreshed stock: "hello everyone! Thank you for the support! We have received a lot of messages and would love to inform you now the supply is unstable, but we will restock every week. Please don't be frustrated if you didn't get it. The supply will become stable and continue to be available after April." Interestingly, this morning's message did not touch upon the controversial topic of price hikes. At launch, Yeston's latest Navi 48 GPU-based offerings conformed or floated just above Team Red baseline MSRP (including VAT)—4999 RMB (~$686 USD) for XT, 4499 RMB (~$617 USD) for non-XT—likely boosting demand around that time. Last week, AMD board partners in Japan expressed concerns about current supply constraints—GPU market share in that region had climbed to ~45%, due to the popularity of RX 9070 Series graphics cards. Team Red could lose ground if GPU allocation limitations continue.

Last week, we got a leaked picture of AMD's reference/OEM/Made by AMD (MBA) design of the Radeon RX 9070 XT in China. However, we have a non-XT card on the menu today, with the reference design also pictured in China. We already know that AMD is not releasing any MBA reference designs of its latest Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs based on the RDNA 4. However, the Chinese black market is the place to be when it comes to finding these MBA cards, probably manufactured in high double-digit or low tripe-digits of units. AMD usually has one of its AIB partners manufacture these for OEM integrated system distribution or partner testing/software optimization.

Pictured below is the Radeon RX 9070 non-XT GPU with an all-black shroud. Unlike official renders, this design is much more toned down. The official render shows a black/gray color combination with an LED-illuminated Radeon logo. However, the official version appears with only a simple aesthetic, without a hint of LED illumination. The card wasn't pictured running, but we assume that there is no LED illumination. Below, you can compare the pictured/leaked Radeon RX 9070 GPU with the official render.

GMKtec has launched the EVO-X2 mini PC, personally autographed by AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su. As the world's first AI mini PC equipped with the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, it delivers exceptional performance. This processor features 16 cores and 32 threads, with a maximum frequency of 5.1 GHz and 80 MB cache, ensuring rapid data processing. The integrated Radeon 8060S iGPU excels in graphics handling, while the XDNA2 architecture NPU offers 50 TOPS of AI computing power, significantly outperforming competitors. In AI inference tasks involving 70-billion-parameter local models, it even surpasses the NV 5090D.

GMKtec EVO-X2: A New Era in AI Mini PCs
GMKtec has officially unveiled the EVO-X2, a groundbreaking mini PC that marks a significant milestone in AI computing. This compact device is the world's first to feature the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor, a testament to GMKtec's commitment to innovation and performance.

AMD's latest flagship APU, the Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 "Strix Halo," demonstrates some impressive performance advantages over Intel's "Lunar Lake" processors in large language model (LLM) inference workloads, according to recent benchmarks on AMD's blog. Featuring 16 Zen 5 CPU cores, 40 RDNA 3.5 compute units, and over 50 AI TOPS via its XDNA 2 NPU, the processor achieves up to 12.2x faster response times than Intel's Core Ultra 258V in specific LLM scenarios. Notably, Intel's Lunar Lake has four E-cores and four P-cores, which in total is half of the Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 CPU core count, but the performance difference is much more pronounced than the 2x core gap. The performance delta becomes even more notable with model complexity, particularly with 14-billion parameter models approaching the limit of what standard 32 GB laptops can handle.

In LM Studio benchmarks using an ASUS ROG Flow Z13 with 64 GB unified memory, the integrated Radeon 8060S GPU delivered 2.2x higher token throughput than Intel's Arc 140V across various model architectures. Time-to-first-token metrics revealed a 4x advantage in smaller models like Llama 3.2 3B Instruct, expanding to 9.1x with 7-8B parameter models such as DeepSeek R1 Distill variants. AMD's architecture particularly excels in multimodal vision tasks, where the Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 processed complex visual inputs up to 7x faster in IBM Granite Vision 3.2 3B and 6x faster in Google Gemma 3 12B compared to Intel's offering. The platform's support for AMD Variable Graphics Memory allows allocating up to 96 GB as VRAM from systems equipped with 128 GB unified memory, enabling the deployment of state-of-the-art models like Google Gemma 3 27B Vision. The processor's performance advantages extend to practical AI applications, including medical image analysis and coding assistance via higher-precision 6-bit quantization in the DeepSeek R1 Distill Qwen 32B model.

AMD's Radeon GPU lineup has achieved a remarkable 45% market share in Japan, representing the brand's strongest position in the competitive graphics card market, according to AMD Japan executive Sato during a recent industry roundtable. This significant market penetration marks a turning point for Team Red in a region historically dominated by NVIDIA. The announcement came during a multi-vendor panel featuring representatives from ASRock, ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, PowerColor, and Sapphire at an AMD-focused event in Akihabara. While celebrating the milestone, industry partners pushed for more ambitious targets, with ASRock's Haraguchi challenging AMD to aim for a 70% market share. ASUS executive Ichikawa humorously noted the brand's historical underdog status, remarking, "We've never been the ruling party!"

The event also featured insights on AMD's latest hardware from prominent tech influencers. "Sir Gradeon" praised the Radeon RX 9070 series for its overclocking headroom and substantial VRAM capacity, highlighting that the GPUs don't require power supply upgrades. Fellow influencer "Shurarara!!" emphasized the RX 9070 XT's price-to-performance ratio, noting its ability to run demanding titles like Monster Hunter Wilds at 4K resolution with appropriate settings. Supply constraints emerged as a significant concern during the roundtable, with AIB partners expressing frustration over GPU allocation limitations despite strong demand. The candid admission from AMD's representative about the company "not being used to selling graphics cards" at this volume sparked laughter among attendees, showing the unexpected nature of AMD's market surge. The event attracted substantial attention, with long lines forming before doors opened. Attendees participated in the X-Walk Post Campaign across Akihabara's electronics district, with early purchasers of AMD products receiving exclusive promotional items.

Throughout the early months of 2025, PowerColor's new product strategy seemed to signal the retirement of their entry-level "Fighter" graphics card series. A natural replacement—dubbed "Reaper"—was debuted in an official capacity at CES 2025, with AMD's introduction of the new-gen Radeon RX 9070 Series. With the delay of Team Red's RDNA 4 global market release to March 6, the Taiwanese manufacturer proceeded with a launch of custom Radeon RX 7650 GRE Reaper models in China around late February. According to a past weekend VideoCardz news report, PowerColor is expanding its RDNA 3 portfolio once again. Their investigation has unearthed a new Radeon RX 7600 "Fighter V2" model—confusingly, this variant seems to borrow the recently introduced dual-fan Reaper cooling solution.

According to leaked information, PowerColor is expected to launch its "V2" Fighter model to a global buying audience. The AIB's Radeon RX 7650 GRE Reaper cards (in black or white) will continue to serve as Chinese market exclusives. The leaked "RX7600 8G-F/V2" product identifier indicates that PowerColor is keeping its "Fighter" family alive for a little bit longer, perhaps with a designation of cards that utilize older generation architecture. Insiders propose that the incoming PowerColor RX 7600 Fighter V2 model is configured with reference specifications; mirroring version 1.0's credentials. VideoCardz has mocked up speculative packaging (see below); they reckon that a black variant is lined up for an imminent release—the aforementioned product code has cropped up across retail databases.

LG Electronics USA (LG) today announced preorder availability for its highly anticipated 45-inch LG UltraGear GX9 (45GX950A-B)—the world's first 5K2K (5120x2160) OLED gaming monitor. Engineered for the most demanding gamers, this groundbreaking display sets a new standard for immersive visuals and ultra-fast refresh rates. The LG UltraGear GX9 retails for $1,999 and is available now for preorder through March 30, 2025 on LG.com and purchasable later at LG-authorized retailers.

The GX9 redefines gaming displays with its 45-inch OLED panel and 800R curvature, delivering a 5K2K Wide Ultra High Definition (WUHD) resolution for an unparalleled immersive experience. Dual-mode refresh rate technology allows gamers to choose between 5K2K at 165 Hz or Wide Full HD (WFHD) at 330 Hz, paired with an ultra-fast 0.03 ms response time for ultimate speed and precision.

Acer today unveiled its latest Predator BiFrost and Acer Nitro graphics cards, powered by the next-generation AMD Radeon RX 9000 Series GPUs. This cutting-edge line-up includes six models designed to elevate gaming and creative experiences with next-level performance and visual fidelity. The models include the Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 9070 XT OC 16GB, Predator BiFrost Radeon RX 9070 OC 16GB, and four Nitro graphics cards: Acer Nitro Radeon RX 9070 XT OC 16GB, Acer Nitro Radeon RX 9070 OC 16GB, and standard versions of the Acer Nitro Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB and Acer Nitro Radeon RX 9070 16GB.

The new GPUs are engineered for ultra-fast gaming and demanding tasks, leveraging AMD RDNA 4 compute units and up to 16 GB of memory to deliver immersive 8K visuals. The advanced cooling technology, featuring three FrostBlade 4.0 fans, and reinforced designs ensures systems can be pushed to their limits while maintaining peak performance. DIY gamers will appreciate new software features such as Acer Intelligence Space, which offers intuitive AI system detection, and Acer Game Assistance's adaptive aim system to give players a competitive edge.

TrendForce reveals that the combined revenue of the world's top 10 IC design houses reached approximately US$249.8 billion in 2024, marking a 49% YoY increase. The booming AI industry has fueled growth across the semiconductor sector, with NVIDIA leading the charge, posting an astonishing 125% revenue growth, widening its lead over competitors, and solidifying its dominance in the IC industry.

Looking ahead to 2025, advancements in semiconductor manufacturing will further enhance AI computing power, with LLMs continuing to emerge. Open-source models like DeepSeek could lower AI adoption costs, accelerating AI penetration from servers to personal devices. This shift positions edge AI devices as the next major growth driver for the semiconductor industry.

Giga Computing, a subsidiary of GIGABYTE, a global leader in IT technology solutions, is thrilled to announce its participation at CloudFest 2025, the world's premier cloud, hosting, and internet infrastructure event. As a key exhibitor, Giga Computing will highlight its latest innovations in AI, cloud computing, and edge solutions at the GIGABYTE booth. In line with its commitment to shaping the future of AI development and deployment, the GIGABYTE booth will showcase its industry-leading hardware and platforms optimized for AI workloads, cloud applications, and edge computing. As cloud adoption continues to accelerate, Giga Computing solutions are designed to empower businesses with unparalleled performance, scalability, and efficiency.

At CloudFest 2025, Giga Computing invites attendees to visit booth #E03 to experience firsthand its cutting-edge cloud computing solutions. From state-of-the-art hardware to innovative total solutions, a comprehensive suite of products and services designed to meet the evolving needs of the cloud industry are being showcased.

XFX found itself in hot water over false marketing of its Radeon RX 9070 XT Mercury non-OC edition (part number: RX-97TMERCB9). This particular SKU is a slightly toned down version of the RX 9070 XT Mercury OC Gaming Edition (RX-97TRGBBB9), with a few obvious differences such as the lack of a factory overclock, and a fixed white LED lighting strip replacing RGB; but it turns out that XFX didn't highlight a few crucial differences in the product page and marketing materials of the non-OC card. Apparently, this card lacks the vapor chamber baseplate that the Mercury OC Gaming Edition card has. That's not all, while the OC version comes with a triple 8-pin PCIe power input configuration, the non-OC card has just two 8-pin PCIe power inputs. These two specs were part of the marketing and packaging materials of the card. The RX 9070 XT on its own is within the power spec of dual 8-pin + slot power (375 W), but the third 8-pin connector is found on many overclocked custom design cards by AMD board partners, increasing overclocking headroom of these cards.

XFX responded to angry owners of the non-OC cards on Reddit. In its first response, it admitted its mistake of advertising the card as coming with three 8-pin power inputs when it only came with two. In its next response, it admitted that the card comes with a vapor chamber-based cooling solution, and mentioned that the card instead has a solid nickel-plated copper baseplate for its cooler, paired with Honeywell PTM7950 thermal interface material—something that's very popular with AMD board partners. Besides the apology, XFX presented customers with a recourse—that they could reach out to the company's distributor NRInfo for help.

MSI has officially confirmed that it will not manufacture graphics cards based on AMD's latest RDNA 4 architecture, effectively bypassing the entire Radeon RX 9000 series lineup. In a statement to Tom's Hardware, an MSI representative briefly noted the company "is not manufacturing AMD GPUs this generation," pausing its AMD partnership while leaving the door open for future collaborations. Data compiled by Tom's Hardware shows MSI produced 45 distinct models during the RDNA 2 generation (RX 6000-series), but dramatically scaled back to just four custom designs for RDNA 3 (RX 7000-series)—representing a 91% reduction in AMD SKU diversity. Those limited RDNA 3 offerings, including the flagship RX 7900 XTX, notably reused cooling solutions from previous-generation AMD cards, indicating reduced R&D allocation compared to the company's NVIDIA lineup.

MSI's withdrawal from offering AMD-based solutions is due to several factors. NVIDIA's dominance in market share (83%, according to Steam hardware surveys) provides partners with stronger return-on-investment potential, while EVGA's 2022 exit from the GPU market created an opportunity for MSI to strengthen its position as a premier NVIDIA partner. There were reportedly delays in finalizing the MSRP for the RX 9000 series, which complicated manufacturers' calculations, production planning, and shipments. The vacuum left by MSI creates potential opportunities for other emerging players like Acer, which has been slowly expanding its AMD graphics card presence. However, MSI's decision—likely finalized during earlier strategic planning cycles—could potentially push away AMD enthusiasts despite strong projected demand for the Radeon RX 9070 series. Whether this represents a permanent strategic realignment or a temporary market response, we are yet to find out. AMD plans to return to the high-end GPU segment with its UDNA generation, so we have to wait and see if MSI makes a comeback here. For AIBs, partnerships with GPU makers are essential to get R&D resources behind a new product. Once partnerships pause, it is hard to get that wheel going again.

Get ready, anime fans! Starforge Systems, the Austin-based PC manufacturer known for their highly customized pre-built gaming systems, is suiting up for their latest anime-inspired Limited Edition PC based on the ultra-popular series, Kaiju No. 8. Ahead of the second season slated to debut later this year, this monstrous rig includes Kaiju No. 8 themed plate light inserts, a high-quality desk mat and striking wall art showcasing characters and scenes widely celebrated in the series.

The Kaiju No. 8 PC from Starforge Systems is a Honju sized gaming machine. Equipped with a 9070 XT from AMD and an Intel Core i5-14600K, this machine is sleek and deadly as a monster can be. Built in an embossed Lian Li O11 Evo RGB the details on this case light up and glow from the custom Starforge Plate Light that serves as this kaiju's core.

We dedicated a lot of our launch presentation of Framework Desktop to the Ryzen AI Max processor it uses, and for a good reason. These truly unique, ultra-high-performance parts are the culmination of decades of technology and architecture investments that AMD has made, going all the way back to their acquisition of ATI in 2006. For our first technical deep dive on Framework Desktop, we're going to go even deeper into Ryzen AI Max and what makes it a killer processor for gaming, workstation, and AI workloads.

What makes Ryzen AI Max special is a combination of three elements: full desktop-class Zen 5 CPU cores, a massive 40-CU Radeon RDNA 3.5 GPU, and a giant 256-bit LPDDR5x memory bus to feed the two, supporting up to 128 GB of memory. Chips and Cheese did an excellent technical overview of the processor with AMD that goes even deeper on this, and we'll pull out some of the highlights along with our own insights. We'll start with the CPUs. Ryzen AI Max supports up to 16 CPU cores split across two 4 nm FinFET dies that AMD calls CCDs. These dies are connected together using an extremely wide, low power, low latency bus across the package substrate. The CPUs are full Zen 5 cores with 512-bit FPUs and support for AVX-512, a vector processing instruction set otherwise only available on Intel's top end server CPUs. We're excited for you to see the multicore performance numbers these CPUs can do in our upcoming press review cycle!

ASUS today announced its showcase of comprehensive AI infrastructure solutions at CloudFest 2025, bringing together cutting-edge hardware powered by Intel Xeon 6 processors, NVIDIA GPUs and AMD EPYC processors. The company will also highlight its integrated software platforms, reinforcing its position as a total AI solution provider for enterprises seeking seamless AI deployments from edge to cloud.

Intel Xeon 6-based AI solutions and Gaudi 3 Acceleration for generative AI inferencing and fine tuning training
ASUS Intel Xeon 6-based servers leverage the Data Center Modular Hardware System (DC-MHS) architecture, providing unparalleled scalability, cost-efficiency and simplified maintenance. ASUS will showcase a comprehensive Intel Xeon 6 family of processors at CloudFest 2025, including the RS700-E12, RS720Q-E12. and ESC8000-E12P-series servers. The ESC800-E12P-series servers will debut the Intel Gaudi 3 AI accelerator PCIe card. This lineup underscores the ASUS commitment to delivering comprehensive AI solutions that integrate cutting-edge hardware with enterprise-grade software platforms for seamless, scalable AI deployments, highlighting Intel's latest innovations for high-performance AI training, inference, and cloud-native workloads.

AMD is not releasing any "Made by AMD" (MBA) reference designs of its latest Radeon RX 9070 XT GPUs based on the RDNA 4 IP. However, leakers in China managed to get ahold of what appears to be an MBA Radeon RX 9070 XT design, assumingly being used as a prototype. While there are custom designs by AMD's AIB partners, AMD itself hasn't released the reference design to the public. The latest leak from Chinese forums confirms that this GPU actually exists beyond the standard press renders/mockups, meaning that someone can get their hands on it. The seller is offering a brand-new reference edition of the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT with a warranty for one year, with the second year requiring self-paid repairs. They specify no disassembly and no damage to the unit.

The standard price is set at 5000 RMB, with a preference for local pickup. For buyers outside the city, shipping via SF Express is available with insurance, requiring a payment of at least 5800 RMB. The physical card matches the previously leaked render with its three-fan design, though with a notable color difference. Instead of the expected gray finish, the actual unit features a complete black design. Currently sealed in an antistatic bag, the card appears unused. The asking price of approximately $800 initially seems high but aligns with current market rates for custom versions. The listing has already disappeared, suggesting someone has already snagged this rare prototype. With serial codes visible, AMD can potentially trace the person who put it up for sales, so its not a good outlook for anyone that wanted to sell it.