For those tired of Intel leaks, please look away now, as this is likely to be one of the last leaks before the official reveal later today. The final specifications, as well as pricing for the first six of Intel's 12th Gen Core CPUs has made an appearance online and the good news is that the official pricing isn't as bad as we've been led to believe, based on earlier leaks and it'll at least make up some of the cost increase of the Z690 motherboards over the Z590 models.

Spec wise, we're not looking at anything unexpected here, it simply verifies what has leaked so far, with one exception, maximum turbo power. Although the base TDP of all six CPUs is 125 W, it seems like Intel is using the maximum turbo power as yet another product differentiator, at least more so than it has previously. The Core i9 CPUs get a maximum turbo power of 241 W, whereas the Core i7's top out at 190 W and the Core i5's at 150 W. At least Intel is being open about it and the question is if it will have any affect on overclocking or not. Obviously having fewer CPUs cores would result in a lower power draw overall, but then the question is why the Core i5's have a base TDP of 125 W.

Intel's upcoming Alder Lake-S lineup of processors is shaping up to be a rather good generational improvement. With wonders of the Intel 7 process, previously called 10 nm Enhanced SuperFin (10ESF), the processor lineup will deliver new hybrid technology, mixing new big and small cores into one package. Today, some new CPU-Z validation tests have shown up for the Intel Core i5-12600K CPU, which directly replaces the previous Core i5-11600K Rocket Lake model. With six high-performance Golden Cove and four efficient Gracemont cores, the Core i5-12600K CPU is a ten-core design with 16 threads. And compared to the 6C/12T i5-12600K CPU, the performance is much higher.

According to CPU-Z scores, the new Alder Lake processor scored 7220 and 7156 points for a multi-threaded benchmark in two tests. Compare this to the previous-generation model, which scores 4731 points, and the new chip is almost 50% faster. According to CPU-Z, the new CPU achieved this while running at a boost frequency of 4.5 GHz to 4.7 GHz.

US computer component and electronics store Micro Center appears to have gotten ahead of things and listed the upcoming Intel Core i7-12700K and Core i9-12900K pricing on its website almost two weeks ahead of the official sale start. This should be MSRP pricing and if it's good or bad is a question of how you look at it, since both chips are significantly more expensive than their 11-series counterparts and much higher than the MSRP for those parts.

Intel's Core i7-11700K launched at US$399 and the new Core i7-12700K will beat that by $70, as it should launch at US$469.99, which seems like a large chunk of money to pay for the extra efficiency cores. The Core i9-11900K launched with a US$539 price point and the Core i9-12900K brings that up by US$130 to US$669.99. These prices are obviously not confirmed as yet, but Micro Center tends to be one of the cheapest places in the US to get CPUs, so we doubt there's any price gouging going on here.

Contract prices of NAND Flash products are expected to undergo a marginal drop of 0-5% QoQ in 4Q21 as demand slows, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Hence, the current cyclical upturn in NAND Flash prices will have lasted for only two consecutive quarters. Looking ahead, NAND Flash suppliers' capacity expansion plans will be affected by the outlook on future trends and the supply of other non-memory components. At the same time, attention will have to be paid to the demand projection. At the moment, NAND Flash suppliers appear likely to downsize their capacity expansion activities for 2022, resulting in a 31.8% YoY increase in NAND Flash bit supply next year. Annual bit demand, on the other hand, is projected to increase by 30.8% YoY. With demand being outpaced by supply and competition intensifying among suppliers for higher-layer products, the NAND Flash market will likely experience a cyclical downturn in prices in 2022.

With the x86 architecture, large hyperscale cloud providers have been experiencing all sorts of troubles, from high power consumption to the high pricing structure of these processors. Companies like Amazon Web Services (AWS) build their processors based on 3rd party instruction set architecture designs. Today, Alibaba, the Chinese giant, has announced the launch of two processors made in-house to serve everything from edge to central server processing. First in line is the RISC-V-based Xuantie series of processors, which can run anything from AliOS, FreeRTOS, RT-Thread, Linux, Android, etc., to other operating systems as well. These processors are open-source, capable of modest processing capabilities, and designed as IPs that anyone can use. You can check them out on T-Head GitHub repositories here.

The other thing that Alibaba announced is the development of a 128-core custom processor based on the Arm architecture. Called Yitian 710 server SoC, TSMC manufactures it on the company on 5 nm semiconductor node. So far, Alibaba didn't reveal any details about the SoC and what Arm cores are used. However, this signifies that the company seeks technology independence from outside sources and wants to take it all in-house. With custom RISC-V processors for lower-power tasks and custom Arm server CPUs, the whole infrastructure is covered. It is just a matter of time before Alibaba starts to replace x86 makers in full. However, given the significant number of chips that the company needs, it may not happen at any sooner date.

Apple today announced M1 Pro and M1 Max, the next breakthrough chips for the Mac. Scaling up M1's transformational architecture, M1 Pro offers amazing performance with industry-leading power efficiency, while M1 Max takes these capabilities to new heights. The CPU in M1 Pro and M1 Max delivers up to 70 percent faster CPU performance than M1, so tasks like compiling projects in Xcode are faster than ever. The GPU in M1 Pro is up to 2x faster than M1, while M1 Max is up to an astonishing 4x faster than M1, allowing pro users to fly through the most demanding graphics workflows.

M1 Pro and M1 Max introduce a system-on-a-chip (SoC) architecture to pro systems for the first time. The chips feature fast unified memory, industry-leading performance per watt, and incredible power efficiency, along with increased memory bandwidth and capacity. M1 Pro offers up to 200 GB/s of memory bandwidth with support for up to 32 GB of unified memory. M1 Max delivers up to 400 GB/s of memory bandwidth—2x that of M1 Pro and nearly 6x that of M1—and support for up to 64 GB of unified memory. And while the latest PC laptops top out at 16 GB of graphics memory, having this huge amount of memory enables graphics-intensive workflows previously unimaginable on a notebook. The efficient architecture of M1 Pro and M1 Max means they deliver the same level of performance whether MacBook Pro is plugged in or using the battery. M1 Pro and M1 Max also feature enhanced media engines with dedicated ProRes accelerators specifically for pro video processing. M1 Pro and M1 Max are by far the most powerful chips Apple has ever built.

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.

As growing vaccination rates worldwide starting in July lead to a gradual easing of lockdowns, the overall demand for notebook computers has also experienced a corresponding slowdown, with Chromebook demand dropping by as much as 50%, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. However, factors such as a wave of replacement demand for commercial notebooks in Europe and North America due to the return to physical workplaces, as well as brands' aggressive efforts to rush out their 4Q21 shipments ahead of time due to global port congestions, became the primary drivers of notebook demand in 3Q21. Hence, annual notebook shipment for 2021 will likely reach 240 million units, a 16.4% YoY increase.

TrendForce further indicates that 4Q21 will welcome both the gradual release of new models equipped with Intel's next-gen CPUs and a wave of replacement demand for notebooks featuring Windows 11. Even so, overall notebook shipment in 4Q21 will depend on the status of the COVID-19 pandemic and the demand for commercial notebooks. As vaccinations become even more widespread in 2022, pandemic-related spending is expected to decline as a result. TrendForce therefore expects global notebook shipment to decline by 7-8% YoY next year and reach approximately 220 million units, although this still represents a growth of 60 million units over the shipment volume for 2019, prior to the emergence of the pandemic.

AAEON, an industry leader in embedded solutions, introduces the BOXER-6643-TGU compact industrial system. With rugged construction, the system delivers the performance and innovative technologies of the 11th Generation Intel Core U processors (formerly Tiger Lake) to applications in tough environments, providing wide operating temperature range and 5G support, to power embedded controller and Industrial IoT (IIoT) gateway applications.

The BOXER-6643-TGU is powered by the 11th Generation Intel Core U processors, delivering greater performance over previous generations, with innovative Intel technologies ensuring more accurate, secure data processing. With up to 64 GB of memory, the system allows users to utilize the full extent of the system's processing capabilities, and with the Intel Iris Xe embedded graphics, users can leverage more powerful GPU processing to power AI and Edge Computing industrial applications. With dual HDMI ports, the system can also support 4K high definition video on two monitors, perfect for powering digital signage.

It's not every day that a software company that specializes in benchmarking software decides to compile the performance data of unreleased products found in their online database, but this is what SiSoftware just did for the Intel Core i9-12900K. So far, it's a limited set of tests that have been run on the CPU and what we're looking at here is a set of task specific benchmarks. SiSoftware doesn't provide any system details, so take these numbers for what they are.

The benchmarks consist of three categories, Vector SIMD Native, Cryptographic Native and Financial Analysis Native. Not all tests have been run on the Core i9-12900K and SiSoftware themselves admit that they don't have enough data points to draw any final conclusions. Unlike other supposedly leaked benchmark figures, the Core i9-12900K doesn't look like a clear winner here, as it barely beats the AMD Ryzen 9 5900X in some tests, while it's beaten by it and even the Core i9-11900K in other tests. It should be noted that the Core i9-11900K does use AVX512 where supported which gives it a performance advantage to the other CPUs in some tests. We'll let you make up your own mind here, but one thing is certain, we're going to have to wait for proper reviews before the race is over and a winner is crowned.

Update: As the original article was taken down and there were some useful references in it, you can find a screen grab of it here.

With the 15.6 and 17.3 inch XMG APEX gaming laptops, XMG is positioning a new model series below its own high-end range consisting of the NEO and PRO series. These new laptops combine mobile AMD eight-core processors up to the Ryzen 9 5900HX with NVIDIA GeForce RTX graphics cards up to the RTX 3070. The company is simultaneously introducing the XMG FOCUS, a new product series in the entry-level segment. Intel's Core i7-11800H and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti offer decent gaming performance, while good connectivity and memory round off the overall package. All four new models feature an IPS display with 144 Hz.

Until now, the XMG APEX 15 in the older E20 generation represented uncompromising desktop CPU performance, with processors up to the Ryzen 9 3950X in a laptop. Although XMG is already working on a direct successor under a slightly different name, it is unleashing the XMG APEX 15 and APEX 17 of the M21 generation for the time being with the currently fastest eight-core mobile processors from AMD. The laptops are available with an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H as well as with the slightly faster Ryzen 9 5900HX from the 54 watt TDP class, as well as with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 or RTX 3060 in the respective maximum TGP configuration (RTX 3070: 125 watts plus 15 watts Dynamic Boost 2.0; RTX 3060: 115 watts plus 15 watts Dynamic Boost 2.0).

In view of the ongoing production capacity shortage in the semiconductor industry and the resultant price hike of chips, revenue of the top 10 IC design companies for 2Q21 reached US$29.8 billion, a 60.8% YoY increase, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. In particular, Taiwanese companies put up remarkable performances during this period, with both MediaTek and Novatek posting YoY growths of more than 95%. AMD, on the other hand, experienced a nearly 100% YoY revenue growth, the highest among the top 10.

TrendForce indicates that the ranking of the top five companies for 2Q21 remained unchanged from the previous quarter, although there were major changes in the 6th to 10th spots. More specifically, after finalizing its acquisition of Inphi, Marvell experienced a major revenue growth and leapfrogged Xilinx and Realtek in the rankings from 9th place in 1Q21 to 7th place in 2Q21.

Some of you might be old enough to remember various "RAM doubling" software software solutions that appeared back in the late 1980's for Apple, as well as in the mid 90's for Windows 95 computers. Most of them never really delivered on their claims, but now it looks like we might be getting something similar, albeit in hardware.

Swedish company ZeroPoint Technology AB has announced that it has raised €2.5 million in a seed round to bring its Ziptilion patented memory compression technology IP to the market. ZeroPoint claims a compression ratio of two to three times depending on the workload, which seems very impressive. Unlike current software compression technologies such as ZSWAP or ZRAM that are used to compress data in RAM at a rate of 1.4 to 1.5 times, ZeroPoint promises that it's hardware IP won't have any real world negative effects on system performance. In fact, they claim it'll only cause one nanosecond of extra latency when writing data and 100 nanoseconds delay when it comes to reading the compressed data from RAM.

AMD is slowly preparing the launch of the latest and greatest Ryzen processor family based on the Zen 4 CPU core design. Among various things that are getting an overhaul, the Raphael processor generation is now getting revamped temperature reading and better power management circuitry. According to an Igor's Lab report, AMD has prepared a few new improvements that will make temperature reading and power management easier for PC enthusiasts. Currently, the reported CPU temperature is called Tcontrol (Tctl), which is what the cooling solution sees. If Tctl is high, the fans spin up and cool the system. If Tctl is low, the fans slow down to reduce noise.

With Raphael, the CUR_TEMP (current temperature) output part of Tctl has been upgraded to reflect a much smoother curve, and avoid jittering with fans as they are not spiking so suddenly anymore. This is helping contribute to the noise output and has made it run at a consistent fan speed in the system. Another note about Raphael is a new power management technique. AMD has designed the AM5 platform to avoid sudden power spikes, to maintain maximum efficiency over time. It is a design decision made from the very start, and the CPU will try to constrain itself in the TDP range that it is configured for. For more details about the circuitry, please head over to the Igor's Lab article.

IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced the new IBM Power E1080 server, the first in a new family of servers based on the new IBM Power10 processor, designed specifically for hybrid cloud environments. The IBM Power10-equipped E1080 server is engineered to be one of the most secured server platforms and is designed to help clients operate a secured, frictionless hybrid cloud experience across their entire IT infrastructure.

The IBM Power E1080 server is launching at a critical time for IT. As organizations around the world continue to adapt to unpredictable changes in consumer behaviors and needs, they need a platform that can deliver their applications and insights securely where and when they need them. The IBM Institute of Business Value's 2021 CEO Study found that, of the 3,000 CEOs surveyed, 56% emphasized the need to enhance operational agility and flexibility when asked what they'll most aggressively pursue over the next two to three years.

BIOSTAR, a leading brand of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today announced product support for the latest AMD Ryzen 5000G series Cezanne processors. AMD's next-generation Ryzen 5000G series desktop processors codenamed "Cezanne" are ready to invade the global market. The new 5000G series processors are based on Zen 3 architecture, AMD's Ryzen 5000 series of desktop APUs based on the Zen 3 CPU and Vega GPU microarchitectures succeeding the Ryzen 4000 "Renoir" series.

Extreme performance enabled for personal computing with up to 8 cores fueled by the world's most advanced 7 nm processor core technology, the AMD Ryzen 5000 G-series desktop processors with Radeon graphics deliver ultra-fast responsiveness and multi-threaded performance for any use case.

[Editor's note: We have published the review of HYTE Revolt 3 Case here.]

HYTE, the new PC components and lifestyle brand of iBUYPOWER, a leading manufacturer of high-performance custom gaming PCs, today released its premier product, the Revolt 3 Mini-ITX PC case. Previously announced during CES 2021 as the Revolt 3 MK3, the Revolt 3 was designed with careful consideration for DIY PC enthusiasts, gamers, and creators alike.

"iBUYPOWER is excited to introduce its new sub-brand, HYTE, to our community with its very first product, the Revolt 3" said Darren Su, Executive Vice President of iBUYPOWER. "With over 20 years of experience as a systems integrator we felt like we had a unique perspective to bring to the table when developing PC Components. We approached the Revolt 3 with the goal of designing a case with the freedom and flexibility that would allow the use of a wide range of components without imposing performance restrictions based on the size of the case."

Tachyum Inc. today announced that it has successfully executed the Linux boot process on the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) prototype of its Prodigy Universal Processor, in 2 months after taking delivery of the IO motherboard from manufacturing. This achievement proves the stability of the Prodigy emulation system and allows the company to move forward with additional testing before advancing to tape out.

Tachyum engineers were able to perform the Linux boot, execute a short user-mode program and shutdown the system on the fully functional FPGA emulation system. Not only does this successful test prove that the basic processor is stable, but interrupts, exceptions, timing, and system-mode transitions are, as well. This is a key milestone, which dramatically reduces risk, as booting and running large and complex pieces of software like Linux reliably on the Tachyum FPGA processor prototype shows that verification and hardware stability are past the most difficult turning point, and it is now obvious that verification and testing should successfully complete in the coming months. Designers are now shifting their attention to debug and verification processes, running hundreds of trillions of test cycles over the next few months, and running large scale user mode applications with compatibility testing to get the processor to production quality.

ID-COOLING today announced SE-226-XT ARGB and SE-226-XT BLACK CPU air coolers. Both coolers include the same black heatsink with 6 heatpipes and copper base. 120 mm ARGB fan and Black fan are used on ARGB / BLACK version respectively. SE-226-XT Series is designed to cool those processors with a TDP up to 250 W. Both models are built with a solid heatsink which is specially design with 100% RAM compatibility. Black coating is applied for a stealthy looking.

For SE-226-XT ARGB, the included 120x120x25mm fan is built with 2Ball bearing and has 8pcs rubber dampeners on all corners of both sides, running at 800 to 2000rpm with PWM support while pushing 56.6CFM air at maximum speed, noise level measured 16.2 to 31.5dB (A). For SE-226-XT BLACK, the included standard 120x120x25mm fan has 8pcs rubber dampeners on all corners of both sides, running at 700 to 1800rpm with PWM support while pushing 76.16CFM air at maximum speed, noise level measured 15.2 to 35.2dB (A).

Intel's upcoming Alder Lake processor family is set to bring a mixture of big and little cores, combined into one package designed for the hybrid way of computing. Alongside the CPU cores, Intel is also etching integrated graphics into the Alder Lake silicon. However, according to Komachi (@KOMACHI_ENSAKA), there will be Alder Lake SKUs that don't feature a working integrated GPU. Just like we witnessed Intel produce "F" models for its past few generations of Core processors, we could see a re-appearance of the F SKUs with Alder Lake as well. In the leaked listing, Komachi notes the appearance of Intel Core i5-12600KF, Core i7-12700KF, and Core i9-12900KF.

All of the listed models are overclockable SKUs, just with their integrated graphics disabled. Just like the previous generation, Intel decided to introduce this SKU, giving customers a few benefits with the non-functional iGPU. As there is no GPU to produce heat, overclocking efforts could be much better on the "F" SKUs. In addition to that, these SKUs could be a bit cheaper compared to the regular models, saving the buyers some spare cash if they are going to purchase a 3rd party dedicated GPU anyway.

ENERMAX, a leading designer and manufacturer of high-performance PC hardware products, confirms compatibility with the upcoming Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake CPU and announces the availability of LGA 1700 mounting kits for its current and future multi-socket desktop CPU coolers.

ENERMAX's LGA 1700 mounting kits will offer full compatibility with the new LGA 1700 socket for its CPU cooler lineups. In addition to LGA 1700, the coolers will continue to include mounting hardware for the previous generation Intel platform (LGA 2066, LGA 2011, LGA 1156, LGA 1155, LGA 1151, LGA 1150, LGA 1200) as well as AMD (AM4/AM3+/AM3/AM2+/AM2/FM2+/FM2/FM).

According to this Reddit thread, multiple AMD customers are reporting that the latest stock update on AMD's web store has left them without a desired product, and anger over the broken functionality. As AMD operates its own web-based storefront with all the latest CPUs and GPUs, users are constantly checking if the store has anything to offer in these times of processor scarcity, where it is impossible to purchase the latest generation of graphics cards or processors. AMD updated the website today with the newest batch of Ryzen processors and Radeon graphics cards, users have been reporting that the website functionality has been broken.

Multiple users tried to purchase their desired product, but the AMD website notified them that the queue is paused for about 30 minutes, and seemingly no one was able to purchase anything. People have been reporting that the Captcha used to verify that you are not a robot has failed as well, and adding the product to the cart was impossible, as seen in the image below. As there are multiple such comments posted in the thread, it leads us to write a report on it, wondering what is going on with AMD's storefront operations and what AMD is doing about it. With multiple users trying to purchase an AMD product, they were left with their hands empty, to wonder what is going on.

CPU-Z, the software of choice for monitoring the CPU and its attributes, has yesterday been updated to version 1.97, which brings much-needed and interesting features. For starters, the new version adds support to detect Intel Core i9-12900K, Core i7-12700K, and Core i5-12600K "Alder Lake" CPUs and the Intel Z6xx chipset platform. Those specific SKUs are the top of the line in their respective categories, and it is only logical that support for the new generation starts there.

Next up, the software now supports detection of the latest DDR5 DRAM technology, which can now also be detected along with the new XMP 3.0 profile format. Last but not least, the software is adding detection for AMD's Radeon RX 6600 XT GPU as well.

To download the latest update, head over to our downloads section. If you wanna get pinged automagically when a new version is released, select the yellow "Get Notified" button on that same page.

Server and workstation users will soon be able to mount all Eisblock XPX Pro models and the Eisbaer Pro AIO on the LGA 4189 socket. The corresponding bracket will soon be available as an option. Owners of an XPX Pro cooler or the Eisbaer PRO AIO can contact Alphacool with their invoice to receive a free bracket: info@alphacool.com

All Eisblock XPX coolers and Eisbaer AIOs are already compatible with Intel Socket LGA 1700. If you own an Alphacool Eisblock XPX cooler and looking to upgrade to the new Intel Socket 1700, you don't have to worry about additional mounts. All Eisblock XPX coolers are already compatible with the new socket LGA 1700 with the included mounting material. A corresponding new manual for all coolers of the Alphacool Eisblock XPX series will be available online when the socket is released. All Eisbaer CPU AIO water coolers are also compatible with Socket 1700 with the enclosed mounting kit.

Intel today announced AWS customers can access the latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors via the new Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) M6i instances. Optimized for high-performance, general-purpose compute, the latest Intel-powered Amazon EC2 instances provide customers increased flexibility and more choices when running their Intel-powered infrastructure within the AWS cloud. Today's news is a further continuation of Intel and AWS' close collaboration, giving customers scalable compute instances in the cloud for almost 15 years.

"Our latest 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors are our highest performance data center CPU and provide AWS customers an excellent platform to run their most critical business applications. We look forward to continuing our long-term collaboration with AWS to deploy industry-leading technologies within AWS' cloud infrastructure." -Sandra Rivera, Intel executive vice president and general manager, Datacenter and AI Group.