Silicon Motion Technology Corporation ("Silicon Motion"), a global leader in designing and marketing NAND flash controllers and solid-state storage devices today announces MonTitan, a PCIe Gen5 SSD solution platform perfectly suited for the most challenging Datacenter and Enterprise applications. Silicon Motion's new MonTitan platform features an entirely new, purpose-built ASIC and FW architecture, optimized for performance and QoS. Its unique Layered FW stack enables the development of customer differentiated solutions with a high degree of flexibility and accelerated time to market, all while reducing engineering cost.

"SSD storage solutions are evolving to address new challenges in data centers which demand changes in storage platforms and operating models," said Nelson Duann, Silicon Motion's Senior Vice President of Marketing and R&D. "Our MonTitan SSD solution is an innovative PCIe Gen5 SSD platform designed to satisfy the unique demands of datacenters today while providing flexibility and programmability to meet future evolving standards."

Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation desktop platform codenamed Rocket Lake-S. According to the presentation held by Intel today in Shenzen, China, we have official information regarding some of the platform features that Raptor Lake is bringing. Starting with memory support, Raptor Lake is still carrying the transitional DDR4 and DDR5 support, as the full swing towards DDR5 is still in progress. Unlike the previous generation Alder Lake, which brought DDR5-4800 support, Raptor Lake's integrated memory controller can drive DDR5 modules with a 5600 MT/s configuration. As DDR4 support remains, it is limited to 3200 MT/s speed.

Interesting information from the leaked slide points out that support for CPU-attached NVMe storage remains PCIe Gen4. While AMD will provide an AM5 socket with CPU-attached NMVe storage on PCIe Gen5 protocol, Intel is taking a step back and holding on to Gen4. The CPU is outputting 16 PCIe Gen5 lanes on its own. Motherboard vendors for the upcoming 700-series boards for Raptor Lake can still provide a PCIe Gen5 NVMe slot; however, it will have to subtract eight Gen5 lanes from the PCI Express Graphics (PEG) slot and route them to NVMe storage. As our testing shows, this will affect GPU's performance by a few percent. AMD's upcoming AM5 platform has no such issues, as the CPU provides both the PEG and CPU-attached NVMe storage with sufficient PCIe Gen5 bandwidth.

ASUS today announced ExpertCenter PN64 Mini PC and ExpertCenter PN52 Mini PC, a pair of mini PCs that offer amazing combinations of performance and aesthetics, including unique ribbed chassis with beveled edges for a look that blends easily into any office or commercial setting. ExpertCenter PN64 and PN52 are standout performers in the 1-liter PC segment, with a compact layout and thermal design to ensure stability for the latest Intel and AMD processors. Measuring just 120 x 130 x 58 mm, each model can support up to four displays and features comprehensive I/O connectivity. In addition, MyASUS software includes Two-Way AI Noise Cancellation to ensure crystal-clear voice communication, smart fan controls, system diagnostics and other functions.

The ExpertCenter PN64 Mini PC is powered by a 12th Gen Intel Core processor and DDR5-4800 RAM. It features one PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 SSD slot, five USB ports—including a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port with DisplayPort 1.4 support for attaching one display—plus dual HDMI ports that support up to four displays. There's also one configurable port for efficient working scenarios. For additional flexibility, PN64 is designed to allow quick access to the storage and memory modules for easy upgrades.

DDR5 memory pricing has been declining faster than expected, with average pricing for modules based on the latest standard dropping by as much as 20% in a month's time. As reported by ComputerBase, pricing for 1 GB of DDR5 has fallen from around €15 by the end of 2021 down to around €5/GB at time of writing. At current pricing, an entry-level, 32 GB DDR5 kit DDR5-4800 memory (JEDEC standard) has fallen from a high of €430 down to a much more palatable €154.

The price decline comes as good news for anyone aiming to upgrade their PC in wake of AMD's Socket AM5 launch for its Zen 4 architecture, which the company has already confirmed will only support the latest RAM standard. AMD itself must be riding the sea of relief, as high DDR5 pricing could significantly shape the company's next-gen platform's value compared to arch-rival Intel, which already offers DDR4 and DDR5 support with its Alder Lake chips. Expectations place the same memory support for the next-gen Raptor Lake platform. Prices for DDR4 memory seem to have hit a bottom, however, as pricing hasn't significantly moved in around six months. Like with all new technologies, expect the price difference to eventually change in favor of DDR5 memory, as manufacturers adjust their outputs towards adoption.

Transcend, has announced its new-generation DDR5 DRAM modules targeting business and personal computers. In compliance with the JEDEC standards, Transcend's DDR5 memory modules take speed, capacity, and reliability even further, bringing ground-breaking performance to metaverse, high performance computing (HPC), and virtual economy.

The DDR5 module starts its speed at 4800 MT/s, a 50% increase compared to its predecessor, while the DDR4 is at 3200 MT/s. Its strengths lie not only in its high bandwidth, but low power consumption, because the operating voltage has dropped from 1.2 V to 1.1 V, which effectively enhances the overall power efficiency. The DDR5 is also equipped with the on-module Power Management IC, which allows for better control of system power and a higher signal integrity. Meanwhile, the on-die ECC mechanism pushes the system reliability to a new level for computing-intensive applications.

Sabrent Rocket 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB DDR5-UDIMM's 4800 MHz Memory Modules for PC's. It seems like DDR4 has ruled the roost forever. Finally, new motherboards and architectures have allowed memory to grow wings with the advent of DDR5. Improved clock speeds promise up to twice the bandwidth of DDR4, all with lower voltage for better efficiency. To further help with that last bit, DDR5 has on-board power management to reduce motherboard cost and complexity. Sabrent's new DDR5 kits simply plug and play, install your memory kits of choice, enter the BIOS and hit AUTO, and reboot. For those that want to OC these kits, there is plenty of headroom to advance speeds if you want.

Reliability has also been improved by the introduction of on-die error-correction technology. Memory availability is improved by splitting the internal 64-bit (72-bit with ECC) channel into two independent, 32-bit channels (40-bit with ECC) and the addition of the same bank refresh. Combined with other features, including those that allow for up to four times the module capacity with consumer DRAM, DDR5 ensures your multi-core CPU won't be memory starved.

Intel today debuted the 12th Gen Core HX "Alder Lake" processors for high-end gaming notebooks and mobile workstations. These processors are designed to bring desktop-class performance to the mobile segment, and debut the "Alder Lake" C0 silicon in a mobile package. Until now, the fastest Core "Alder Lake" mobile processor was based on a silicon that physically had 6 performance cores (P-cores), and 8 efficiency cores (E-cores). The HX-series sees the desktop C0 silicon, with its 8 P-cores and 8 E-cores, and 30 MB of L3 cache, in the mobile form factor.

This also brings PCI-Express 5.0 x16 PEG connectivity for discrete graphics cards, 8-lane DMI 4.0 chipset bus, and a mobile variant of the Z690 chipset, which can put out two M.2 NVMe Gen 4 slots in addition to the one from the processor die. The additional PCIe budget should allow up to two discrete Thunderbolt 4 controllers. Memory support includes dual-channel (4 sub-channel) DDR5-4800, dual-channel DDR4-3200, and LPDDR4-4267. Certain models even have ECC memory support, targeted at mobile workstations. Intel is using the highest bins of the C0 die, coupled with some aggressive power-management, to achieve processor base power (PBP) of 55 W (10 W lower than the 65 W PBP of the desktop Core i9-12900). The maximum turbo power value for all SKUs is set at 154 W. All processor models in the Core HX series will come with memory overclocking support, some even with CPU overclocking support.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is pleased to announce the launch of Ripjaws DDR5 SO-DIMM memory kits for laptops and small form factor PC systems, with available memory speeds up to DDR5-5200 or kit capacity up to 64 GB (32 GB x2).

Built with specially screened IC chips and hand-tested with G.SKILL's rigorous and highly selective binning process, each Ripjaws DDR5 SO-DIMM memory kit is constructed for high performance and reliability. Shaping the industry standard for memory performance, G.SKILL is launching low-latency specifications with the Ripjaws DDR5 SO-DIMM memory series, including DDR5-4800 CL34-34-34-76 and DDR5-5200 CL38-38-38-83. For a list of specifications at launch, please see the chart below.

Kingston FURY, the gaming division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, announces the release of Kingston FURY Impact DDR5 SODIMMs. Perfect for the gamer or PC enthusiast who want the latest cutting-edge performance from their laptop or small form factor machine.

Kingston FURY Impact DDR5 is fifty percent faster than DDR4 to provide a boost in gaming, rendering, and multitasking, while its low power consumption and increased efficiency keeps your system cool at 1.1 V. Available in Intel XMP 3.0 Certified SODIMM kit capacities up to 64 GB, Kingston FURY Impact DDR5 packs all the enhanced features of DDR5 into a slim, compact form factor. With innovative Plug N Play overclocking technology and on-die ECC, it automatically supports DDR5-4800 at lower latencies than standard DDR5-4800. Thus, improving system performance without having to enable a profile and maintains data integrity while hitting extreme speeds.

SMART Modular Technologies, Inc., a division of SGH and a global leader in memory solutions, solid-state drives, and hybrid storage products announces its new DDR5 32 GB Very Low Profile Registered Dual In-Line Memory Module (VLP RDIMM). SMART's new DuraMemory DDR5 32 GB VLP RDIMM is the industry's first DDR5 VLP RDIMM form factor.

The 32 GB VLP RDIMM addresses applications with space constraints, such as embedded 1U blade compute and storage, enterprise networking, telecom, and industrial single-board computers (SBCs). The space savings also equates to improved heat dissipation and energy savings, reducing business costs. The DDR5 32 GB VLP RDIMM is the newest addition to SMART's broad portfolio of VLP and ULP (Ultra Low Profile) modules that are suitable for all types of dense computing, storage, networking and telecom applications. For ruggedized and harsh operating conditions, SMART also offers retention clips to secure the socket latches in place, and industrial grade temperature operation of -40°C to +85°C.

AMD is planning to crash Intel's big 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake-P" mobile processor launch with its own next-gen launch, the Ryzen 6000 mobile processor series. These chips are the company's first built on the TSMC N6 (6 nm) silicon fabrication process, and combine up to 8 "Zen 3+" CPU cores, with a next-generation iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. The company has given the Media CoreNext and Video CoreNext engines incremental updates, according to a leaked slide scored by VideoCardz.

Ryzen 6000 "Rembrandt" processors come with hardware-accelerated decode of the AV1 video format. The Display CoreNext (display I/O engine) now supports DisplayPort 2.0, complete with DSC, UHBR10, HDR10+, and variable refresh-rate. The HDR pipeline has awareness for the various display panel types, including OLED and mini-LED. The iGPU on "Rembrandt" features up to 12 compute units (768 stream processors). It remains to be seen if Ray Accelerators are featured, as that would make this the first iGPU (on the PC platform) with DirectX 12 Ultimate support.

Apacer's consumer and gaming DDR5 memory modules are finally available! The DDR5-4800 delivers 16 GB of DRAM at 4800 MHz and draws just 1.1 V. That leaves DDR4 modules far behind in the rear-view mirror. Performance, capacity, stability and power efficiency are all taken to the next level. In addition to the standard DDR5 memory module, Apacer is launching a NOX DDR5 gaming memory module. This will provide gamers with extremely stable overclocking capabilities with a single click. Power consumption management is also upgraded in DDR5.

Apacer's DDR5-4800 modules are compliant with the JEDEC standard. And their operating frequency of 4800 MHz is a 50% increase in bandwidth compared to the standard DDR4 upper frequency limit of 3200 MHz.

Quite possibly the first sighting of a next-generation AMD processor with DDR5 memory surfaced on the web. A BAPCo CrossMark Database entry references a prototype processor with the name-string "AMD Eng Sample: 100-000000560-40_Y," running on a platform titled "ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. M3402RA." The chip has 16 GB of memory across 2 memory channels, and a memory frequency of 4800 MHz DDR. The platform here could be either a desktop motherboard, or a notebook. 4800 MHz is an unusual memory speed for a mobile platform, unless it's a single stick of DDR5-4800 SO-DIMM, with two 40-bit channels.

The first notebooks with DDR5 memory make landfall early next year, when Intel launches mobile variants of its 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake" processors. This would mean that DDR5 SO-DIMMs are already in circulation with OEMs. If the theory of this being a mobile chip holds true, it could very well be the "Rembrandt" APU that combines "Zen 3+" CPU cores with an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture. If however the platform is a prototype Socket AM5 motherboard, it could be one of the first sightings of a next-generation "Raphael" desktop processor with "Zen 4" CPU cores, and a combination of DDR5 memory and PCI-Express Gen 5.

Prominent chip designers like AMD and NVIDIA could bless consumers with a broader offering of their new products as soon as CES 2022 arrives. AMD should present its rumored Rembrandt-H lineup of processors based on the enhanced Zen 3 core, sometimes referred to as Zen 3+. According to the latest report coming from MyLaptopsGuide, Bluetooth SIG has some data entry about ASUS'es upcoming ROG Zephyrus Duo GX650 laptop that integrates AMD Rembrandt-H processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 30-series graphics. As the website claims, the heart of this laptop will be AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX processor built on TSMC's 6 nm manufacturing process. We don't know much about this model, but we expect it to refine the previous Ryzen 9 5900HX.

We again see the rumored NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti graphics card for mobile, powering the graphics side of things. This model is supposedly based on GA103S GPU SKU, which is likely tailor-made for laptops in mind and exclusive to them. ASUS has also paired 16 GB of DDR5-4800 RAM with an AMD Ryzen processor, suggesting that Rembrandt-H has a new memory controller in place. This laptop model also has a 16-inch 300 Hz Full HD screen with anti-glare; however, the amount of information ended there. We have to wait for CES 2022 launch to find out more.

Today, MSI announced the latest lineup of gaming desktops equipped with Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake processor. Based on a new hybrid architecture, the 12th generation Intel Core processor combines a mix of Performance cores (P-cores) and Efficiency cores (E-cores) to maximize performance, increases multi-thread performance by up to 55%, the gaming performance has more than 13% increase compared to the previous generation.

The full lineup of K Series gaming desktops adopted DDR5 memory with read speed up to 60% higher than the previous generation equipped with DDR4. Support for PCIe 5 which is primed to provide speedy and improved transmission. Additionally, MSI has also upgraded MSI Center and MSI App Player. The new MSI Center helps to control and customize your system. With innovation in MSI App Player, it is easier to play mobile games on the PC. The lineup also features 2.5G Ethernet LAN and Wi-Fi 6E to offer faster data transfer speeds. MSI launched 3 models of gamer-oriented desktops, including Aegis Series, Trident Series and Codex X5 series to cater towards all types of gamers.

ADATA Technology, a manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, mobile accessories, gaming products, electric power trains, and industrial solutions today announces the ADATA DDR5-4800, a next-generation DDR5 memory module that is capable of reaching frequencies of up to 4800MT/s and comes with up to 32 GB of capacity. In addition, ADATA has worked with six major motherboard brands, including AORUS, ASROCK, ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI and ROG to ensure optimal performance and compatibility across a wide range of motherboards.

"Through our strong R&D capabilities and close partnerships with the world's leading motherboard makers, we are committed to offering memory modules with next-generation performance, higher capacities, and enhanced stability," said Nick Dai, Senior Manager of DRAM Products at ADATA. "In the coming months, we will continue to launch a diverse array of DDR5 products to meet the different needs of creators, gamers, and other users."

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.