Although we can't confirm it, the screenshot below is said to be of a retail version of the Intel Alder Lake Core i9-12900K that has been overclocked to 5.2 GHz on all P-cores, with the E-cores at stock clocks. It is said to be drawing a massive 330 Watts at these clock speeds, which is rather a lot for a consumer level CPU.

Sadly details such as the motherboard used and RAM clocks are absent. The E-cores are said to be locked at a maximum clock of 3.7 GHz, so there appears to be no overclocking potential in them. Yes, Intel does manage to edge out AMD's Ryzen 9 5950X at these clock speeds in the multithreaded test, which is no mean feat considering we're looking at eight threads less here, but Intel does so at over twice the power draw.Update: Updated due to a slight misunderstanding, the E-cores were apparently enabled, but running at stock clock.

After the long reign of the most popular water block on the market, the EK-Quantum Velocity, it's time to push the boundaries yet again and step into the future. Enter the next generation EK Quantum Line water block - the EK-Quantum Velocity². The water block showcases the EK-Matrix7 initiative, a standard where increments of 7 mm manage the height of products and the distance between ports. This product uses a socket-specific cooling engine to ensure the best performance and optimal flow with low restrictions on every platform. Three years after the original Velocity water block launch, EK is officially launching the Velocity² 1700, which is engineered for the Intel LGA 1700 socket and Alder Lake series desktop processors. Other Velocity² CPU water blocks will also follow shortly, tuned specifically for each CPU socket and IHS geometry on the market.

This new water block kept the name "Velocity" because it retained the ability to be responsive and agile in the world of liquid cooling. Embedded in the Velocity² is a next-generation EK CPU water block cooling engine that is socket-specific. A combination of mounting pressure and cold plate geometry, tailored for the IHS and die layout of Intel LGA 1700 socket processors, is used to achieve low hydraulic flow restriction and high performance. Thе lathe-turned cold plate is made with precision to cover the IHS effectively and put optimal pressure on the die area.

ARCTIC, one of the leading manufacturers of low-noise PC coolers and components, has added the powerful Liquid Freezer II 280 and Liquid Freezer 420 RGB and A-RGB models to its award-winning AIO range. The multi-compatible water coolers are also equipped for Intel's new Alder Lake CPUs with LGA1700 sockets. With the efficient PWM-controlled pump, featuring a VRM fan for additional cooling in the socket area, as well as the proven 140 mm P-fans, achieving high static pressure with very low noise, the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II series clearly sets itself apart from other AIOs and offers plenty of overclocking flexibility.

A maintenance-free water circuit and the integrated cable management, which hides the PWM and RGB cables in the hose sleeves, plus a six-year manufacturer's warranty underline the high quality and complete the attractive price-performance ratio of the Liquid Freezer II range. The color-capable, effective LED lighting of the fans makes these high-performance coolers the ideal choice for gaming PCs. Optionally, the Liquid Freezer II 280 RGB and Liquid Freezer 420 RGB are also available in a bundle with Arctic's software-controlled RGB controller.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 6.50 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Engineer 6.50 software, a professional diagnostic and benchmarking solution for corporate IT technicians and engineers; the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business 6.50 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Network Audit 6.50 software, a dedicated network audit toolset to collect and manage corporate network inventories.

The new AIDA64 update introduces support for Windows 11 and AMD 4700S processor, monitoring of sensor values on VoCore LCD displays, and supports the latest AMD and Intel CPU platforms as well as the new graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by both AMD and nVIDIA.

DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 Extreme v6.50

Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" desktop processors will be available from November 4, 2021, according to a leaked Intel channel document by Wccftech. It confirms that Intel will only debut unlocked "K" and "KF" SKUs and companion Z690 chipset in November, with the first wave being limited to the Core i9-12900K, i9-12900KF, i7-12700K, i7-12700KF, i5-12600K, and i5-12600KF. Pre-orders of these parts, along with product announcements, are set to go live on October 27. Reviews of these processors will be published on the same day as retail availability, on November 4. There's no word on when the "locked" non-K SKUs and more affordable chipsets, such as the B660, H670, and H610, come out, but older reports suggest an early-2022 launch for those. Given that memory isn't tied with these dates, DDR5 memory modules should be available any day now.

Users of Intel's upcoming 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors will potentially run into compatibility issues with some of the older games that use older versions of popular DRM middleware such as Denuvo, an Intel document targeted at developers, cautions. This is mainly due to the hybrid CPU core nature of "Alder Lake," which could confuse the middleware. Solutions such as Denuvo perform stringent hardware checks to ensure only a valid user in a given environment, with a set of hardware, gets to play the game. Our article on Denuvo performance impact has more details on how the solution works.

"If your existing or upcoming game uses a DRM middleware, you might want to contact the middleware provider and confirm that it supports hybrid architectures in general, and the upcoming Intel ADL platform in particular. Due to the nature of modern DRM algorithms, it might use CPU detection, and should be aware of the upcoming hybrid platforms. Intel is working with leading DRM providers such as Denuvo to make sure their solutions support new platforms," reads the Intel Developer Guide. While this should be no probem for some of the newer (less than 3 years old) games that use Denuvo, which are still under support lifecycle from their developers, some of the older ones may require updates.

If the amount of upcoming Z690 was anything to go by, one could presume that the motherboard makers are backing Intel's upcoming platform to the max, as a leaked list of what should be close to every Z690 that will hit the market, counts a total of 98 boards. The list covers ASRock, ASUS, Biostar, NZXT, Gigabyte and MSI, but not EVGA and some other smaller players.

ASUS is apparently planning no less than 30 different models/SKUs, since some are clearly DDR4/DDR5 SKUs of the same model or SKUs with or without Wi-Fi, but even so, that's a massive launch lineup. Gigabyte isn't far behind with 27, followed by MSI at 24 and ASRock at 14, if we didn't count wrong. There isn't much news in terms of details of each of the boards here though, but it's clear that the high-end SKUs are mostly DDR5, while the mid-range and standard models are mostly using DDR4. The only slight surprise here is that only ASRock has more DDR4 than DDR5 models, with ASUS having exactly half of each, but Gigabyte and MSI are going with a preference for DDR5. ASRock, ASUS and Gigabyte appear to have liquid cooled SKUs, but it's not clear if MSI will offer such a SKU of its Godlike board.

Corsair's upcoming AIO coolers have recently been teased by the company in addition to renders of the devices being leaked by VideoCardz. The new coolers will all feature a circular LCD panel that can display information such as the pump speed or CPU temperature. They will also feature native support for Intel's Alder Lake processors and the LGA1700 socket, with images showing the cooler mounted on an ASUS PRIME Z690 motherboard running Corsair Vengeance DDR5 memory. The radiator comes in dual and triple fan configurations with ARGB lighting however we cannot tell if the included fans are an existing model or a new design. The pump features a single braided cable which presumably provides the USB and fan connections for the motherboard, Corsair is expected to announce further details on the new coolers next week.

Ahead of the rumored late-October debut of Intel's 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors, motherboard makers started teasing their compatible Socket LGA 1700 products. Older reports suggest that in 2021, Intel will only release unlocked "K" and "KF" SKUs, and motherboard partners will only launch boards based on the top Intel Z690 chipset. The lineup is expected to be joined by more affordable non-K SKUs in Q1-2022, along with lower chipset models such as the B660 and H670.

The MEG Z690 ACE appears to introduce a new design scheme with die-cast metal mesh rear I/O shrouds, and a gold+black trim. The I/O shroud design is interesting as it lets the VRM heatsink underneath breathe better. The silver-white MPG motherboard is possibly the MPG Z690 Force. MSI is probably trying to get this to rival the ROG Strix-A SKU by ASUS. The third teaser, of a brushed gunmetal shroud, is likely the MAG Z690 Tomahawk. Like most other brands, MSI appears to have an extensive lineup of Socket LGA 1700 motherboards with DDR4 memory slots, although boards with DDR4 are restricted to the MAG and entry-level PRO series. The mid-tier MPG and enthusiast-segment MEG series boards only come with DDR5.

The CapFrameX GPU benchmarking tool from ComputerBase has recently been updated to fully support Intel's 12th Generation hybrid desktop processors including the flagship Core i9-12900K. The latest beta will now correctly read and display the telemetry from the high-performance (Golden Cove) and high-efficiency (Grace Mont) cores using the processors CPUID and its EAX register. The software can also list information about the integrated Xe-LP graphics if it is enabled in addition to the usual suite of load, voltage, power consumption, and temperature readings from the CPU. The changelog and a link to download the latest 1.6.6 beta can be found below.

Acer today announced the expansion of its Predator gaming portfolio with new Predator Orion 7000 series desktops, featuring powerful performance in a stunning design, and two smart 4K gaming projectors. Further enhancing the gaming experience is the Predator gaming desk, which offers two practical surface options and a convenient storage rack.

"Predator Orion 7000-series desktops are premium, powerful rigs for serious players who demand incredible performance from even the most demanding titles," said Jeff Lee, General Manager, Stationary Computing, IT Product Business, Acer Inc. "In order to offer that next-level performance, we're excited to be among the first companies bringing the new 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs to our product portfolio."

Microsoft on October 12 put out the first Cumulative Updates for the new Windows 11 operating system, since its October 5 release. The company's monthly update packages for Windows are unofficially dubbed "patch Tuesday" updates, as they're scheduled to come out on the second Tuesday of each month. Shortly after Windows 11 launch, AMD and Microsoft jointly discovered that Windows 11 is poorly optimized for AMD Ryzen processors, which see significantly increased L3 cache latency, and the UEFI-CPPC2 (preferred cores mechanism) rendered not working. In our own testing, a Ryzen 7 2700X "Pinnacle Ridge" processor, which typically posts an L3 cache latency of 10 ns, was tested to show a latency of 17 ns. This was made much worse with the October 12 "patch Tuesday" update, driving up the latency to 31.9 ns.

AMD put out a statement on social media, which surfaced on Reddit. The company stated that patches for the two issues have been developed, and specified dates on which they'll be released. The patch for the Preferred Cores (UEFI-CPPC2) bug will be released on October 21. Customers can request the patch even earlier. By "customers," AMD is probably referring to big enterprise customers running mission-critical applications on Threadripper or EPYC-powered workstations. The L3 cache latency bug will be fixed through the Windows Update channel, its release is scheduled for October 19.

AMD today celebrated 5 Years of Ryzen, with a special video presentation by John Taylor, AMD Chief Marketing Officer, and Robert Hallock, Director of Technical Marketing. The company confirmed that its next Ryzen processors will come out only in Q1-2022. These processors will feature updated CPU core complex dies (CCDs) that combine the existing "Zen 3" microarchitecture with 64 MB of additional 3D Vertical Cache memory. AMD claims that this change improves performance by anywhere between 4% to 25% for games, amounting to the kind of performance uplifts you'd expect from a new processor generation.

AMD did not reveal whether the updated processors will be branded within the existing Ryzen 5000 series, or newer Ryzen 6000 series. If you remember, the "Zen+" microarchitecture enabled AMD to come up with a whole new generation, the Ryzen 2000 series, despite modest 4% IPC uplifts, albeit significant improvements to the boosting behavior, resulting in improved multi-threaded performance. What remains unclear is whether the updated "Zen 3" chips with 3DV Cache will herald a new platform, or whether these chips will be built on the existing Socket AM4 with DDR4 memory and PCI-Express Gen 4.

AMD disrupted a decade of $350 quad-core from Intel with its path-breaking Ryzen processor and the "Zen" microarchitecture, which enters 5th year in the market (5 years since tapeout). AMD went into the Ryzen processor launch as a company that had been written off in the CPU space by PC enthusiasts, and "Zen" was at best expected to give AMD another round of processors to sell around $250. Boy was everyone wrong. The Ryzen 7 1800X eight-core processor brought HEDT-levels of performance to the mainstream desktop form-factor, and its HEDT counterpart, the Threadripper, dominated Intel's Core X series ever since.

Intel's first response to the 1800X was a 50% increase in CPU core counts calculating that AMD would only see marginal IPC increases going forward, and the superior IPC of "Skylake" cores, along with a 6-core/12-thread setup in the Core i7-8700K would see things through. This is roughly when Intel faced severe supply shortages that spiraled prices out of control, giving AMD space to come out with the Ryzen 7 2700X with a 4% IPC increase, and improved multi-threaded performance, but more importantly, predictable pricing at around $330. Months later, Intel refreshed its lineup with the 9th Gen, and finally attained parity with AMD in core counts, with the Core i9-9900K.

Client-segment DDR5 memory is on the anvil, with Intel 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop processors that support them. It should come as little surprise then, that some of the first DDR5 memory kits will be outrageously pricey. One such product, a GeIL Polaris RGB DDR5-4800 2x 16 GB kit, saw an early listing on Newegg for $350. DDR5-4800 can be considered an entry-level memory speed (similar to DDR4-2400, when the DDR4 standard was new). DDR5 heralds 16 GB as the new mainstream module density, with "single rank" (two individual ranks for each of the two 40-bit channels per DIMM) being standard. 32 GB per DIMM will be the new premium density (four ranks, two each for the 40-bit channels per DIMM).

Given these, it's conceivable that the first DDR5 memory kits targeting gamers and PC enthusiasts will come with a heavy early-adopter premium. Luckily, the 12th Gen Core processors support both DDR5 and DDR4 memory standards, and there appears to have been a major attempt by Intel to get its motherboard partners to launch motherboards with DDR4 slots across a wide range of price-points, so people can keep using their existing memory, or buy the relatively more affordable memory kits out there. It remains to be seen just how much of a performance penalty using DDR4 attracts on the new processors.

Intel's upcoming Core i5-12400 "Alder Lake-S" processor could be an interesting piece of silicon. Apparently, not all 12th Gen Core i5 desktop chips have the same core-configuration. While the top Core i5-12600K is expected to have six "Golden Cove" P cores and four "Gracemont" E-cores, some of the lower variants, such as the i5-12400, will lack E cores, and be pure P core chips. In this case, the chip is 6-core/12-thread with just P cores; 1.25 MB of dedicated L2 cache per core, and 18 MB of shared L3 cache. You'll probably get all the next-gen I/O, including PCI-Express Gen 5 (PEG slot), a PCI-Express Gen 4 CPU-attached NVMe slot, and DDR5+DDR4 memory.

Given that the Core i5-11400 is a $190 part, even with a 10-15% price hike, the i5-12400 is expected to be under $220. The only drawbacks here are expected to be locked BClk multiplier, and rather low clock speeds of 4.00 GHz. A user on Chinese social media posted alleged Cinebench R20 results of the i5-12400. It scores 659 points in the single-threaded test, and 4784 points in the multi-threaded test. Wccftech tabulated this against known performance numbers of popular chips, and found that the i5-12400 might end up slightly ahead of the Ryzen 5 5600X, a currently-$300 part. The table also puts out leaked i9-12900K numbers, which indicate why AMD is rushing with "Zen 3+" with 3D Vertical Cache, instead of next-gen "Zen 4."

We have recently seen yet another performance benchmark leak for Intel's upcoming 12th Generation Alder Lake processors this time for the Core i7-12700K. The 12-core hybrid processor features 8 high-performance cores and 4 high-efficiency cores along with 20 threads running at 125 W TDP. The i7-12700K scored 800 points in the single thread CPU-Z benchmark which is just below the 825 points the flagship i9-12900K scored in the same test. The processor also achieved a multi-thread score of 9423 points which would put it just behind the Ryzen 9 5900X at ~9500 points. Intel is expected to announce the first Alder Lake desktop processors on October 28th with shipments beginning November 4th.

If you're looking at getting your hands on some DDR5 memory for your new Alder Lake build once it launches, a leak of validated RAM has popped up on Twitter, that should give you an idea of what to expect. The list is only a couple of weeks old and it's not what we'd call a long list, as it only covers five companies, out of which three are actual DRAM manufacturers and one is a subsidiary of one of those companies, there are no real surprises here.

All the DDR5 modules tested are rated at 4800 MHz and are either 8, 16 or 32 GB in size, with all modules using 16 Gbit chips. All modules were tested with timings of 40-39-39 at 1.1 V. Kingston is the only outlier here, since they're not a DRAM manufacturer, unlike SK hynix, Samsung and Micron/Crucial. Intel is listing all the modules as non ECC, which should put an end to the claims of all DDR5 being ECC memory.

Intel's recently appointed CEO wasn't mincing words in a recent interview with CRN, where he claimed that Intel not only "have the best product" but also that "this period of time when people could say, "Hey, [AMD] is leading," that's over." We'd say them are fighting words, regardless of what various leaks have suggested, since Intel still has a lot to prove with its upcoming Alder Lake CPUs.

Gelsinger continues with "We have 80 percent market share. We have the best software assets that are available in the industry. We do the best job supporting our partners and our OEMs with it. We have an incredible brand that our channel partners, customers want and trust. Wow, that's a lot of assets in that. If the channel partner doesn't see value in that, I want to talk to him." It's pretty clear from this that Intel believes that they're doing a bang up job and if their customers don't see it, then they need a talking to.

Intel is set to launch their 12th Generation Alder Lake desktop processors on November 4th alongside the new Z690 chipset supporting DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. We have recently seen the first of these new Z690 motherboards from ASUS being listed for sale by PC Canada. The listings include TUF, ROG Maximus, ROG Strix, and Prime motherboards but we don't see any mention of Apex or Extreme boards so they may not be available at launch. The models all appear to retail for less than their Z590 counterparts except for some of the Prime series models which will come as a pleasant surprise to many. We are also aware that the VRM design for these boards will receive various upgrades according to a recent report from @Komachi. The Z690 Hero is set to feature a 20+1 phase design with 90 A Power Stages while the lower-end boards will get a 14+1 design.

Intel is expected to announce their desktop Alder Lake processors later this month on October 28th and it would appear that laptop processors could enter production as early as November. These revelations come from a leaked roadmap published by Wccftech that lists the Alder Lake-P and Alder Lake-M processor families for launch in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 respectively. The production window for Alder Lake-P opens November 8th and closes March 13th while for Alder Lake-M that period is from January 17th to April 17th.

The roadmap lists Alder Lake-P processors as featuring a TDP between 12 W to 45 W and Alder Lake-M covering 7 W to 15 W. The two platforms will both feature up to 96 Xe graphics Execution units along with Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6E connectivity. Alder Lake-P will include PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support with no mention of DDR4 compatibility while Alder Lake-M will get PCIe 4.0 and LPDDR4X/LPDDR5. The mobile lineup is divided into 3 groups of which the flagship H55 was not mentioned in the roadmap indicating a post Q1 2022 release.

Ahead of its launch, Amazon in The Netherlands started listing some of the first 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" desktop processors, with the top Core i9-12900K getting listed at an exorbitant 847€ (including 21% cumulative tax). The Core i7-12700K is listed at 642€, making it a nearly 200€ cheaper. The mid-tier Core i5-12600K is listed at 324€, a price-point commanded by top Core i7 parts of the old.

Intel is expected to debut the 12th Gen Core processor family these three, along with their "-KF" variants that lack integrated graphics, which are expected to be priced anywhere between 30€ to 15€ less than their "K" counterparts. For those with discrete graphics who don't intend to use any of the media-acceleration features of the iGPU, "KF" variants could be a nice way to save a little.

We have seen numerous leaks for the upcoming Intel 12th Generation Core series of processes which are expected to launch on November 4th. The packaging for the flagship Core i9-12900K along with the i9/i7/i5 skews have now been leaked revealing the designs. The i9-12900K will receive a unique packaging design featuring a small wafer as a promotional display item to help differentiate the product on store shelves. The rest of the lineup will feature a uniform design reminiscent of previous generations with the same standard size packaging. The design for any potential i3 processors has not been revealed but we would expect it to be in line with the others. Intel is expected to announce the processors at an Innovation event on October 28th with shipments beginning November 4th.

Videocardz today reported on one of the fundamental questions regarding Intel's upcoming Alder Lake: its release date. According to the publication, and citing industry sources, Intel is planning to launch Alder Lake-S come November 4th, 2021. The 12th Gen family of Intel core processors can not come soon enough for the blue giant, who sees itself embattled against the David-like rise of AMD via its Zen architecture. Especially if they do materialize with a 27% single-thread performance improvement over Zen 3.

The release date was first originally referenced by an MSI press release regarding the availability of an upgrade kit for its MAG Coreliquid K and MPG Coreliquid X - both AIO solutions will require new mounting mechanisms for Alder Lake's LGA 1700 socket, and their release is pegged to November 4th as well - this prompted the industry insider sources to confirm the release date. According to WCCFTech, the actual release timeline for the announcement and pre-orders is set for October 27th, whilst the actual product launch and review embargo lifts on November 4th, which is the market availability date.

The complete lineup of Intel's Alder Lake T-Series processors has recently been revealed by FanlessTech showing seven models ranging from the quad-core i3-12100T to the 16-core i9-12900T. These new processors are the low-power desktop variants of the upcoming 12th Generation Alder Lake hybrid family and are primarily designed for use in small form factor and fanless devices. Alder Lake introduces several advancements including PCIe 5.0, and DDR5 support in addition to a new hybrid design with a mix of high-performance and high-efficiency cores.

The 35 W TDP is a significant reduction from the 125 W and 65 W power budgets for the unlocked and normal variants of the processors and has resulted in a reduction in boost clocks. The flagship i9-12900T features eight high-performance and eight high-efficiency cores with a maximum boost-clock of 4.9 GHz paired with 20 MB of L3 cache. We also see that all the i3 and i5 models only feature high-performance cores with only the i7 and i9 getting additional high-efficiency cores. FanlessTech reports that these new processors should be available to purchase in early 2022, the complete lineup can be viewed below.