Western Digital has released a new budget friendly SSD that got a serious jump in model number, since the company decided to call it the SN5000. Its predecessor is the SN580 launched just under a year ago and price wise, it's the better option of the two. The new SN5000 uses the same BiCS 5 TLC NAND as the SN580 on the 500 GB to the 2 TB SKU, but according to Anandtech, the 4 TB uses BiCS 6 QLC NAND. The SN5000 is still a PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe drive, but the overall performance has been significantly improved. If we use the 1 TB SKU for comparison, then the sequential read speeds have gone up by 1 GB/s from 4150 MB/s to 5150 MB/s. The sequential write speed is up 750 MB/s from 4150 MB/s to 4900 MB/s.

As for random performance, the read IOPS are up from 600K IOPS to 730K IOPS and the write IOPS are up slightly from 750K to 770K. The 4 TB QLC SKU is said to deliver even better performance with the exception of the random read IOPS. The 1 TB SKU is said to have a write endurance of 600 TBW, but the 4 TB SKU only offers 1200 TBW. That's 0.33 drive writes per day (DWPD) for the 1 TB SKU vs. 0.16 DWPD for the 4 TB SKU, showing the weakness of the QLC NAND. A new feature for the SN5000 series compared to previous WD Blue NVMe drives is support for TGC Pyrite 2.01 encryption. The WD SN5000-series starts at US$70 for the 500 GB model, going up to US$80 for 1 TB, US$140 for 2 TB and topping out at US$280 for the 4 TB model. WD only seems to have the 500 GB model in stock, with all the others being available in 3-4 weeks time. All SKUs come with a five year warranty.

A conglomerate of Japanese hardware outlets has tested Intel's latest batch of Raptor Lake Refresh desktop processors—their findings arrived in the form of a YouTube video (viewable below). The lowly Intel 300 CPU was sampled as part of PAD's lab tests—this 14th generation model serves as a natural successor to Team Blue's Pentium Gold G7400 processor. Pentium and Celeron brands were retired in the "essential product space" in 2022, along with the introduction of a replacement: simple "Intel Processor" in a light blue color scheme.

Expectations are not set very high for a two-core, 4-thread CPU in modern times—some news outlets believe that this an Alder Lake part (AKA a frequency tweaked Pentium Gold G7400), despite being launched alongside many Raptor Lake Refresh parts. The Intel 300 sports two Raptor Cove P-cores with hyper-threading capabilities—base performance is set at 3.9 GHz, with no provisions for boosting above that figure. The rest of its basic specs consist of a 46 W TDP and 6 MB of L3 cache (3 MB on each core). Team Blue's Core i3-14100 quad core CPU sits just above the 300 in the latest batch of 14th Gen—naturally, the former pulls ahead of the latter in synthetic benchmarks. PC Watch and Co. tests present a maximum 55% multi-core performance gap between the two lower end options, although the single-threaded difference was measured 13% (in Cinebench).

Sony Corporation was in a boastful mood back in March of this year—Hiroki Totoki, the firm's executive deputy president and CFO declared that a $5+ billion (JP¥700 billion) budget had to been allocated for strategic investments across several departments in 2023. At the time it was not made clear how much of that pot would be assigned to Sony Interactive Entertainment/PlayStation, but a new report published by Nikkei Asia's Business section has revealed that the Japanese multinational conglomerate is set to open up and reach deep into its "war chest."

As its battle with Microsoft/Xbox heats up, Sony has designated a 300 billion yen (converting roughly to $2.13 billion) to research and development for its game division for the fiscal year ending in March 2024. This is reportedly 40% of its total R&D spending, which will exceed its investments in two other key interests—namely electronics and semiconductors. Nikkei notes that "earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) for the company's game business was about 337 billion yen ($2.4 billion) last fiscal year, up more than 60% from five years ago." Sony anticipates that the live service gaming market will hit a high of $19 billion in 2026, so it is shifting priorities from its traditional hardware-based model to an online system where customers are expected to buy add-ons for streamed content. Its $3.7 billion buyout of Bungie in 2022 formed a central pillar for this new strategy—the MMORPG-specialist studio is reportedly serving as a consultant on several live service projects in development at other SIE-owned outfits. The main goal seems to a targeted launch of 12 live service titles by the fiscal year ending March 2026.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. has announced the new Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 Mobile Platform, which has been creatively engineered to make incredible mobile experiences accessible to more consumers globally. Snapdragon 4 Gen 2 provides effortless, all-day use with fast CPU speeds, sharp photography and videography, plus speedy 5G and Wi-Fi for reliable connections.

"Snapdragon - at its core - is driving innovation while meeting the demands of OEMs and the broader industry," said Matthew Lopatka, director of product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "With this generational advancement in the Snapdragon 4-series, consumers will have greater access to the most popular and relevant mobile features and capabilities. We optimized every aspect of the platform in order to maximize the experiences for users."

Following the recent Q1 2023 financial report with declining revenue, Intel is restructuring its Client Computing Group (CCG) and Data Center Group (DCG). These two units were hit the hardest, with 38 and 39% downturns, respectively. According to Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis, and a statement from Tom's Hardware, we have information that Intel will be conducting budget cuts to CCG and DCG, with some layoffs. As Dylan Patel notes, Intel will cut CCG and DCG budgets by 10%, resulting in as much as a 20% reduction of the workforce inside those two groups. Additionally, this was supported by Intel's spokesperson, who issued a statement for Tom's Hardware stating the following:

Intel SpokespersonIntel is working to accelerate its strategy while navigating a challenging macro-economic environment. We are focused on identifying cost reductions and efficiency gains through multiple initiatives, including some business and function-specific workforce reductions in areas across the company.

We continue to invest in areas core to our business, including our U.S.-based manufacturing operations, to ensure we are well-positioned for long-term growth. These are difficult decisions, and we are committed to treating impacted employees with dignity and respect.

The US Government is considering new plans that will attempt to curb the after effects of cryptocurrency mining. The White House revealed details about its proposed "DAME Tax" scheme on Tuesday of this week - the Digital Asset Mining Energy excise tax is under consideration for this year's US Budget. The government wants to address the impact that cryptomining has on the US economy as well as the environment, alongside numerous other national challenges. Companies engaged in the extraction of cryptocurrencies could be charged extra for the running of computer equipment (starting in early 2024). A White House spokesperson states: "after a phase-in period, firms would face a tax equal to 30 percent of the cost of the electricity they use in cryptomining."

American crypto companies are facing a 10 percent taxation of their energy bill for 2024, that will then increase to 20 percent in 2025, and the maximum tax rate will hit a high of 30 percent in 2026. The White House number crunching team reckons that $3.5 billion could be generated by the proposed DAME excise tax. The new rules would represent a radical change for large scale cryptomining efforts: "Currently, cryptomining firms do not have to pay for the full cost they impose on others, in the form of local environmental pollution, higher energy prices, and the impacts of increased greenhouse gas emissions on the climate. The DAME tax encourages firms to start taking better account of the harms they impose on society," reads a White House statement." The government's investigation has determined that the domestic cryptomining industry is close to consuming more electricity than the entire nation's residential lighting system. US lawmakers last year calculated that some of the larger digital asset mining firms are capable of using more energy than nearly all of the residential population based in Houston, TX.

On Monday 27 March U.S. President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act in order to form a budget of $50 million, to be spent on domestic and Canadian production of printed circuit boards (aka PCBs). This move was deemed as important to matters of national defense, and technology has been cited as key part of North American security efforts. In a memo issued that day, Biden stated that without presidential action under the act: "United States industry cannot reasonably be expected to provide the capability for the needed industrial resource, material, or critical technology item in a timely manner."

PCBs form the basis of vital components that are integrated into military-purpose missiles and radars, in addition to electronics utilized for energy distribution and the nation's healthcare. The President continues to outline the importance of the Defense Production Act: "I find that action to expand the domestic production capability for printed circuit boards and advanced packaging is necessary to avert an industrial resource or critical technology item shortfall that would severely impair national defense capability."

Another quarter, another record breaking earnings report by TSMC, but it seems like the company has released that things are set to slow down sooner than initially expected and the company is hitting the brakes on some of its expansion projects. The company saw a 79.7 percent increase in profits compared to last year, with a profit of US$8.8 billion and a revenue of somewhere between US$19.9 to US$ 20.7 billion for the third quarter, which is a 47.9 percent bump compared to last year. TSMC's 5 nm nodes were the source for 28 percent of the revenues, followed by 26 percent for 7 nm nodes, 12 percent for 16 nm and 10 percent for 28 nm, with remaining nodes at 40 nm and larger making up for the remainder of the revenue. By platform, smartphone chips made up 41 percent, followed by High Performance Computing at 39 percent, IoT at 10 percent and automotive at five percent.

TSMC said it will cut back its CAPEX budget by around US$4 billion, to US$36 billion, compared to the earlier stated US$40 billion budget the company had set aside for expanding its fabs. Part of the reason for this is that TSMC is already seeing weaker demand for products manufactured using its N7 and N6 nodes, as the N7 node was meant to be a key part of the new fab in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan. TSMC is expecting to start production on its first N3 node later this quarter and is expecting the capacity to be fully utilised for all of 2023. Supply is said to be exceeding demand, which TSMC said is partially to blame on tooling delivery issues. TSMC is expecting next year's revenue for its N3 node to be higher than its N5 node in 2020, although the revenue is said to be in the single digit percentage range. The N3E node is said to start production sometime in the second half of next year, or about a quarter earlier than expected. The N2 node isn't due to start production until 2025, but TSMC is already having very high customer engagement, so it doesn't look like TSMC is likely to suffer from a lack of business in the foreseeable future, as long as the company keeps delivering new nodes as planned.

Western Digital today introduced another addition to their PCIe 4.0 lineup - which previously consisted only on the WD Black 850, their enthusiast-level offering. Now, the Black 850 gets some entry-level company with the Black 750 SE, which makes use of a 4-channel DRAMless controller to keep the drive fed at some still respectable 3600 MB/s, Sequential Write, and 2830 MB/s Sequential Read speeds (WD isn't quoting the random read/write speeds just yet).

The new WD_Black SN750 SE will start at $49.99 for the 250 GB model. Pricing on the 500 GB and 1 TB capacities hasn't been announced at time of writing, nor is there a mention of a 2 TB model being a part of the current lineup plans. The WD_Black SN750 SE is available for preorder from WD now, and will land on store shelves this summer.

Lian Li is known at the higher-than-mainstream pricing bracket of the PC case world. The company made a name for itself with innovative-looking, angled motherboard brackets and well thought-out and engineered case layouts and materials, but has usually served the higher end of the spectrum. The company seems to be dipping its toes ever more slightly in the budget-friendly space with it's LANCOOL 215, though, which is bound to be releases this August.

The LANCOOL 215 will offer support for both standard and EATX motherboards, with the system being cooled by 2x 200 mm ARGB front fans that pull fresh (fresher in some places around the globe) air from outside the case through a perforated front panel. Hot air is then exhausted through a pre-installed rear 120 mm fan (non-RGB). A 360 mm radiator is supported in the front of the chassis, while the top supports a 280 mm one for added flexibility. But some would argue that having a good case for your PC hardware isn't enough unless you can showcase your PC hardware picks for your current build, so the LANCOOL 215 uses a tempered glass side panel for added "cool" factor. There's also an ARGB Lian Li logo on the bottom of the front fascia of the LANCOOL 215, and a PSU shroud which is practically standard these days. The best news? The LANCOOL 215 from Lian Li will be available for $69.99.

In a recent report by CNBC, news that Google plans to slash its marketing budget in half for H2 2020 were revealed, this comes as COVID-19 wreaks havoc on the economy and shows that not even Google is immune to the effects. Google is also halting most hiring of full-time and contract employees particularly in Marketing long with reducing employee skills training as part of the company "recalibrating".

This news comes after Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai announced that Google would be scaling back its investments for the remainder of the year. At the time Sundar only said it would recalibrate "non-business essential marketing" and "significantly slow down" hiring. Action this drastic seemed unlikely at the time, Alphabet shares dropped nearly 2% after hours following the news.

Cooler Master today announces two mATX ARGB Towers: the MasterBox MB311L ARGB (Mesh Front Panel) and MasterBox MB320L ARGB (Acrylic Front Panel). Following in the principles of the award-winning MB Series, versatility is paired with presentation to ensure that any gaming system built inside the MB300 series looks as good as it performs.

MasterBox MB3LL ARGB: Mesh Front Panel
The MasterBox MB311L ARGB is a Micro-ATX airflow PC case pre-installed with two ARGB fans and made to be built with the latest gaming hardware. The front panel's façade is made entirely of Fine Mesh, placed between two honeycomb vents on either side to maximize airflow.

MasterBox MB320L ARGB: DarkMirror Acrylic Front Panel
The MasterBox MB320L ARGB is a Micro-ATX PC case with two pre-installed ARGB fans and honeycomb mesh ventilation on either side of the DarkMirror front panel. The DarkMirror acrylic front panel is smoked a shade darker to sharpen the contrast of the ARGB fans pre-installed behind it, highlighting its best features.

MSI, the world's No.1 gaming brand, has just announced its latest Alpha 15 gaming laptop. Armed with the new AMD Radeon RX 5500M graphics, the Alpha 15 is the first gaming laptop to feature 7 nm technology, bringing cutting-edge hardware to the mainstream. MSI even created a dedicated category and a new logo for the unique yet innovative segment. The new logo takes form of a thunderbird with rising wings, representing strength, innovation and prosperity. Being the first and dominant of its kind, MSI has presented the new beast with the name "Alpha".

As typical MSI gaming tradition, the laptop also packs ample gaming features from powerful cooling system, per-key RGB keyboard, Giant Speaker, High-Res audio, and more. Gamers who purchase the Alpha 15 via selected channels will also be eligible for a complimentary copy of either Borderlands 3 or Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Breakpoint."

Kolink have become a brand which works to bring quality, comprehensive case solutions, at an affordable price. The Levante is no exception - it offers quality design, fantastic value and pre-installed RGB fans/controller, featuring a double tempered glass panel design, full mesh front, PSU shroud, four pre-installed RGB Fans, an RGB controller and remote for just £72.95.

The case was designed with double glass panel design to show off RGB internals, but with the full mesh front and 12 small vents located in the top to provide that much needed airflow for high performance gaming builds.

Expectations of a budget Microsoft Surface tablet that would bring the company's reach to mainstream pricing ranges have been doing the rounds for years now. The company, however, has preferred to build on its product design chops on a higher margin market, going after Apple's usual product language. It now seems those days are over, as rumors and leaks have somewhat coalesced into an actual, impending product launch - if insiders are correct, this product should materialize this Friday, July 13th.

The new Surface tablet will launch starting from $399 under Microsoft's Education program, but configuration options should bring options up to the $829 mark. The screen is expected to be a 10" affair, with an 1800x1200 resolution. CPU options should start with Intel's "Gemini Lake" Pentium Silver N5000, a quad-core SoC with a 1.1 GHz base clock and up to 2.7 GHz boost. The more expensive versions will likely feature the Intel Pentium Gold 4410Y and the Intel Pentium Gold 4415Y, both based on the "Kaby Lake" architecture. Base configurations should carry 4 GB of DDR4 memory (configurable up to 8 GB), and 64 GB of storage (up to 256 GB), on a 562 g body and USB Type-C. A special-purpose Type cover and mouse will be made available as well.