Lenovo announced today its latest generation of stylish and savage gaming laptops: the Lenovo Legion 7i and 7 (16", 7) portable powerhouses, and the thin and light Lenovo Legion Slim 7 and 7i (16", 7) laptops. Sitting at the apex of gaming performance, the new Lenovo Legion 7i and 7 are now the world's most powerful 16-inch gaming laptops. And joining the 16-inch QHD gaming category are Lenovo Legion's thinnest and lightest gaming laptops yet - the new Lenovo Legion Slim 7i and 7 - now available in a taller 16:10 display for when productivity meets play. The new Lenovo Legion 7 series laptops exceed expectations with a number of innovation firsts that adapt to and balance the multi-dimensional needs of modern gamers and professional players. These new devices not only have the world's largest battery capacity on a 16-inch gaming laptop, they also reign as the world's first 16-inch gaming laptops with FHD webcams for better streaming, and as the first 16-inch WQXGA (2560×1600) gaming laptops. The Windows 11 laptops' minimalist design, long battery life, and whisper-quiet artificial intelligence (A.I.) tuned thermals are purpose-built for those who want performance and mobility.

"Lenovo Legion has always occupied a place at the pinnacle of gaming performance, complementing gamers' personal and professional lives to adapt to wherever they go, whether it's a tournament stadium, classroom, or boardroom," said Ouyang Jun, Lenovo's vice president and general manager of the Consumer Business Segment, Intelligent Devices Group. "More stylish and savage than ever before, Lenovo's new Legion 7 series laptops are leveling up to push the limits of smarter, high-performance gaming."

AMD is planning a massive integrated graphics performance uplift for its next-generation Ryzen 7000U mobile processors. Codenamed "Phoenix," this SoC will feature a CPU based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture with a higher CPU core count than the Intel alternative of the time; and an iGPU based on the RDNA3 graphics architecture. AMD is planning to endow this with the right combination of a CU count and engine clocks, to result in performance that roughly matches the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU, a popular performance-segment discrete GPU for notebooks, according to greymon55. Other highlights of "Phoenix" include a DDR5 + LPDDR5 memory interface, and PCI-Express Gen 5. The SoC is expected to be built on the TSMC N5 (5 nm) process, and debut in 2023.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced its development of the industry's first 512-gigabyte (GB) Compute Express Link (CXL) DRAM, taking an important step toward the commercialization of CXL which will enable extremely high memory capacity with low latency in IT systems. Since introducing the industry's first CXL DRAM prototype with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) controller in May 2021, Samsung has been working closely with data center, enterprise server and chipset companies to develop an improved, customizable CXL device.

The new CXL DRAM is built with an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) CXL controller and is the first to pack 512 GB of DDR5 DRAM, featuring four times the memory capacity and one-fifth the system latency over the previous Samsung CXL offering. "CXL DRAM will become a critical turning point for future computing structures by substantially advancing artificial intelligence (AI) and big data services, as we aggressively expand its usage in next-generation memory architectures including software-defined memory (SDM)," said Cheolmin Park, Vice President of Memory Global Sales & Marketing at Samsung Electronics, and Director of the CXL Consortium. "Samsung will continue to collaborate across the industry to develop and standardize CXL memory solutions, while fostering an increasingly solid ecosystem."

Montage Technology, a leading data processing and interconnect IC design company, today announced it is now producing its 5600 MT/s 2nd-generation DDR5 RCD (RCD02) chip to support memory module vendors to enable the DDR5-5600 ecosystem. The new device is targeted for demanding applications such as next-generation servers, edge computing, and AI. The RCD02 is compliant with the latest JEDEC DDR5RCD02 specification. Compared with the 1st-generation RCD (RCD01), the RCD02 boosts DDR5 data rate by 16.67%. The RCD02 chip adopts dual-channel memory architecture, supports 1.1 V VDD and 1.0 V VDDIO voltages and several power saving modes, thus enabling a great reduction in power consumption.

In addition to providing industry-leading performance, power efficiency and reliability at the device level, Montage's DDR5 RCD02 solution supports CA, CS and DFE training modes, dual frequency, as well as other advanced features to facilitate the higher speed for the next generation DDR5 platform.
"An insatiable demand for bandwidth in everything from high-performance computing to AI training, gaming, is fueling the development of the next-generation memory," said Montage Technology's President, Stephen Tai. "Montage is delighted to be the first in the industry to successfully produce the DDR5 RCD02 chip to help meet the ever-increasing demand for memory bandwidth."

PNY released the top-spec model of the XLR8 MAKO RGB series, with the XLR8 DDR5-6000 MAKO RGB. Designed for enthusiast PC builds, the memory modules are characterized by an aluminium heatspreader crowned by a frost-white lighting diffuser with addressable-RGB LEDs underneath, dubbed EPIC-X RGB lighting. Available in 16 GB single-module and 32 GB two-module kits, these sticks pack an Intel XMP 3.0 profile that runs them at DDR5-6000 (PC5-48000) with CL38 latency, and 1.3 V module voltage. The company didn't reveal pricing.

On Tuesday and Wednesday next week, Intel will host its Intel Vision event which will take a look at what the company will bring in the near future. Although not specified in the program, VideoCardz have managed to secure a slide listing no less than seven new Alder Lake-HX mobile CPUs that Intel are expected to reveal during the event. The new chips will be fully loaded out with eight performance and eight efficient cores and with a total of 24 threads at the top-end, i.e. the same as Intel's current desktop parts. In fact, according to VideoCardz, these CPUs are the same physical size as the desktop CPUs, just in a different packaging that reduces the Z-height.

Alder Lake-HX comes with a base power TDP of 55 W and is said to be a new enthusiast CPU range from Intel in the mobile space. As such, overclocking is said to be allowed, which can push the turbo TDP to at least 157 W and this applies to all the CPUs in the Alder Lake-HX family. The platform is also said to feature a full set of PCIe lanes, which means 16 PCIe 5.0 lanes, 20 PCIe 4.0 lanes and 12 PCIe 3.0 lanes. DDR5 memory with XMP 3.0 profiles is also supported, alongside something called Dynamic Memory Boost. Oddly enough, Intel has even made several vPro SKU's that support overclocking, albeit with some kind of limit compared to the non vPro SKUs. It'll be interesting to see what kind of notebooks these CPUs will be going into and what kind of cooling systems will be required, but it's pretty obvious we're talking desktop replacement machines.

Montage Technology, a leading data processing and interconnect IC design company, today announced that it has delivered the world's first Compute Express Link (CXL ) Memory eXpander Controller (MXC). The device is designed to be used in Add-in Cards (AIC), Backplanes or EDSFF memory modules to enable significant scaling of memory capacity and bandwidth for data-intensive applications such as high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI). The MXC is a Type 3 CXL DRAM memory controller. The MXC supports and is compliant with both DDR4 & DDR5 JEDEC standards. It is also designed to the CXL 2.0 specification and supports PCIe 5.0 specification speeds. The MXC provides high-bandwidth and low-latency interconnect between the CPU and the CXL-based devices, allowing them to share memory for higher performance, reduced software stack complexity, and lower data center TCO.

Montage Technology's President, Stephen Tai said, "CXL is a key technology that enables innovative ways to do memory expansion and pooling which will play an important role in next-generation server platforms. I'm very excited that Montage is the first company in the industry to successfully deliver the MXC chip, which signals we are making a critical step towards advancing the CXL interconnect technology to the memory market." CXL Consortium's President, Siamak Tavallaei said, "The CXL Consortium is excited to see continued CXL specification adoption to enable technologies and solutions such as the CXL DRAM Memory eXpander Controller." Montage Technology is working closely with industry-leading memory manufacturers to deliver advanced memory products based on the CXL MXC and help develop a robust memory ecosystem around CXL.

GIGABYTE Technology, one of the top global manufacturers of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, announces today Z690 AORUS TACHYON motherboard with the latest 12th generation Intel Core i9 12900K processor and LN2 liquid nitrogen heat dissipation set the world-leading overclocking records of DDR5 -10022, which verified by HWBOT. GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS TACHYON motherboard designed by world-famous overclocker equips with plenty functions exclusively for extreme overclockers, which promise overclockers higher scores with easier operation, establishing GIGABYTE's leading role in overclocking on the Z690 motherboards.

This DDR5 world record set by GIGABYTE Z690 AORUS TACHYON has been validated by HWBOT—the world famous overclocking records verification website, which indicates that overclocker HiCookie has set the leading record at 5011 MHz (DDR5-10022) using single DDR5 AORUS RGB memory stick with core i9 12900K on his self-designed Z690 AORUS TACHYON motherboard in the DDR5 memory overclocking competition.

AMD has confirmed its revamped APU strategy will be delivered throughout three different APU line-ups come 2023. While Raphael will take care of AMD's hopes in the desktop space, the company is readying a new, "Dragon Range" lineup of "pinnacle gaming"-oriented APUs, leveraging the company's upcoming Zen 4 architecture, DDR5, and PCIe 5. Dragon Range APUs will feature the "highest core, thread, and cache ever for a mobile gaming CPU" - although AMD stopped just short of confirming exactly what "highest" translates to. To aid in its extreme gaming aspirations, TDP for Dragon Range is set at 55 W - they thus "largely exist in the space where gaming laptops are plugged in the majority of the time," according to AMD director of technical marketing Robert Hallock.

Another APU family, Phoenix, will be aimed at thin and lights with a penchant for gaming. Phoenix too will leverage AMD's Zen 4 core, DDR5 memory subsystem, and PCIe 5 interfaces. Being aimed at thin and lights, Phoenix APUs are set for a 35 W - 45 W operating range. Interestingly, AMD didn't share any other details - more crucially, the graphics architecture that's to be employed in these high-performance APUs.

Razer, the world's leading lifestyle brand for gamers, announces a brand-new model of the Razer Blade 15 featuring an OLED QHD 240 Hz display will soon be available for purchase. This never-before-seen panel brings brighter, more vivid colors to life at e-sports-level speeds like no other laptop today. Paired with a 12th gen Intel ️ Core i9-12900H processor and an NVIDIA ️ RTX 3070 Ti laptop graphics card, the new Blade 15 stakes ground as an easy choice for both gamers and creators alike.

Both games and video content move swiftly thanks to the panel's ultrafast 1 ms response time, freeing users from the decision of color-accuracy or speed. The unique new OLED display will reach a typical 400 nits brightness and include up to 100% DCI-P3 colors for a crisp, clean picture perfect for a variety of functions, including photo and video editing, watching movies or playing AAA gaming titles.

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.

Viper, the trademarked gaming brand of PATRIOT and a global leader in performance memory, solid-state drives, and flash storage solutions today is proud to announce the market launch of their new VIPER VENOM RGB and non-RGB DDR5 high-performance DRAM memory kits. These brand-new VIPER VENOM DDR5 memory kits are available with and without the RGB illumination, it provides enhanced speeds ranging up to 6200 MHz with kit capacities of 16 GB-32 GB to meet the harsh demand for PC enthusiasts and hardcore gamers.

"Our VIPER Gaming fans waited quite a while for quality DDR5. The VIPER VENOM DDR5 is the first DDR5 DRAM that we distributed for hardware enthusiasts, hardcore gamers, and case modders addicted to unparalleled system performance and stability. VIPER's engineering team has put countless efforts to guarantee excellent compatibility and higher reliability across Intel 's latest platforms, currently." said Roger Shinmoto, Vice President of VIPER GAMING. "Our first launch of Venom DDR5 on 4/28 will feature the highest frequency version at 6200 MHz. We hope the enthusiasts or overclockers be able to experience the physical power of Viper Venom DDR5 at the market launch. However, due to the global shortage of memory chips, we have decided to launch the mainstream frequency models like 5200/5600/6000 MHz sometime in the coming months." He added.

AMD's upcoming Socket AM5 Ryzen 7000-series "Raphael" desktop processors will ship with native support for DDR5-5200 memory speed, according to a marketing slide by memory maker Apacer (which also owns the overclocking memory brand ZADAK). The "Zen 4" based desktop processors will feature a dual-channel DDR5 (4 sub-channel) interface, just like the 12th Gen Core "Alder Lake," but with no backwards compatibility with DDR4.

AMD already stated that Ryzen 7000 processors have a design focus on memory overclocking capabilities, including AMD EXPO, a custom memory module SPD extension standard rivaling Intel XMP 3.0, which will come with fine-grained settings specific to the AMD memory controller architecture. Until now, AMD relied on A-XMP, a motherboard vendor-enabled feature based in the UEFI firmware setup program, which translates Intel XMP SPD profiles of memory modules into AMD-approximate settings.

Last week the first details of Dell's CAMM (Compression Attached Memory Module) made an early appearance courtesy of a product leak, but now official details have appeared and the good news is that Dell is saying it won't be a proprietary solution. The Compression Connector looks unlike anything used by consumer computers today and Dell is said to be hoping that it'll be the next industry standard for memory modules, according to PCWorld. The interposer mentioned in the previous news article is also mentioned and allows for a pair of DDR5 SO-DIMMs to be used, albeit with a much taller Z-height.

Dell is apparently planning on getting its CAMM approved by the JEDEC, which is the standards organisation when it comes to memory. However, even if the CAMM format is accepted as a JEDEC standard, Dell holds patents and is likely to charge some kind of royalty fees to interested parties. That said, if it becomes a JEDEC standard, Dell has to follow RAND or Reasonable and Non-Discretionary terms, so the royalty fees would have to be reasonable for JEDEC to agree on making CAMM a standard. The main benefit of Dell's CAMM is that the memory traces end up being shorter and more direct, since the CAMM has a single-sided interface, whereas SO-DIMMs are interfaced on both sides, just like standard DIMMs. This would allow for higher speed memory interfaces, without the need of using something like signal re-drivers or re-timers.

V-Color, a leading memory provider, announces the launch of Manta XPrism RGB DDR5 gaming series, with speeds of DDR5-5600 CL36-36-36-76 1.2 V to 6400 MHz CL32-39-39-102 1.4v. Available in dual channel kits of 32 GB (2x 16 GB) using carefully sorted Hynix ICs for superior overclocking performance, the Manta XPrism RGB DDR5 is designed for the latest 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors and Intel Z690 chipset motherboard and is XMP 3.0 ready for easy overclocking. To fully complete PC builds, v-color also offers patented SCC 2+2 KIT, available in black and white, for filling unused DIMM slots.

The Manta XPrism RGB comes in 32 GB (2x16GB) modules and offers high-speed performance ranging from 5600 MHz to 6400 MHz. The XPrism RGB is XMP 3.0 ready for optimal frequencies by simply applying profiles in the BIOS. Additionally, each Manta XPrism RGB goes through v-color's patented auto-screening process (Advanced O.C Smart Sorting System).

TEAMGROUP, has announced today the upgrade of TEAMGROUP ELITE U-DIMM DDR5 Standard Memory in response to the evolution of future DDR5 memory specifications and development trends. Developed from TEAMGROUP's outstanding R&D capabilities and excellent product quality, the TEAMGROUP ELITE U-DIMM DDR5 Standard Memory complies with JEDEC standards and supports high-performance specifications of frequency 5600 MHz and 1.1 V voltage. The TEAMGROUP ELITE U-DIMM DDR5 Standard Memory has also been sent to major motherboard manufacturers for verification. As the world welcomes the advent of the DDR5 era, TEAMGROUP will continue to launch memory products with comprehensive compatibility and upgraded specifications.

TEAMGROUP is making an early play in the field of DDR5s. Last year, the company launched the TEAMGROUP ELITE U-DIMM DDR5 4800 MHz 1.1 V Standard Memory ahead of the industry and is now announcing an increased frequency from 4,800 MHz to 5,600 MHz with the same 1.1 V voltage, ensuring users can enjoy high-performance experiences while still conserving energy. The latest TEAMGROUP ELITE U-DIMM DDR5 Standard Memory will also be available in different storage capacities, including 2X8GB, 2X16GB, and 2X32GB, to deliver smooth multi-tasking and an outstanding product that is stable, high-performance, and energy-efficient.

A little over three months ago, leaks suggested AMD was going to introduce its own competitor to Intel's XMP profiles called RAMP or Ryzen Accelerated Memory Profile. However, it seems like the company has decided to change the name of its XMP competitor and according to VideoCardz, the standard will be known as EXPO or Extended Profiles for Overclocking. AMD filed for a trademark for EXPO back in the middle of February, although it's unclear if it has been granted as yet.

According to information that VideoCardz has been given, EXPO is said to be able to store two profiles for memory overclocking and it'll be exclusively for DDR5 memory. AMD has gone for a novel approach compared to XMP, with the first profile being for high-bandwidth optimised settings and the second for low-latency. The second profile is apparently optional, which makes sense since not all memory modules can do low-latency. EXPO is also said to be compatible with all types of memory modules, so it might also appear in SO-DIMM modules in the future.

AMD is preparing to launch its highly-anticipated AM5 socket for the next generation of motherboards. And today, thanks to the sources over at Tom's Hardware, we have information regarding memory support for B650 and X670 motherboards. According to the report, both B650 and X670 chipsets will limit the user's memory option to the latest DDR5 memory standard, making it impossible for users with already existing DDR4 memory to perform a seamless upgrade to a new platform. So far, we don't have a lot of details about Zen4's integrated memory controller, and we can't be certain if it supports DDR5 only or carries legacy DDR4 support. However, it seems like B650 and X670 motherboards will have no plans to enable the DDR4 standard memory usage.

Additionally, the report confirms that the B650 chipset is connected to the AM5 socket via PCIe 4.0 x4 connection and has eight lanes of PCIe 4.0 (four of which are for M.2 SSD), four SATA, and lots of USB ports. Documents suggest that the chipset-socket connection is available using PCIe 5.0 for some AM5 processors, so we have to wait and see how it works. As far as high-end X670 is concerned, this chipset is a combination of two chipset dies, presumably a combination of two B650 modules. This doesn't work as the older north/southbridge type of a solution but rather doubled connectivity of a single B650 chipset. We have to wait for the official launch to confirm this information.

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 an ultra-low latency, high-speed DDR5-6600 CL34 32 GB (2x 16 GB) memory kit under the Trident Z5 RGB series DDR5 memory, for the latest 12th Gen Intel Core desktop processors and Intel Z690 chipset motherboards.

Fully committed to develop extreme performance overclocking memory kits, G.SKILL is releasing a new ultra-low latency, high-speed DDR5-6600 CL34-40-40-105 memory kit in 32 GB (2x16GB) kit capacity. The screenshot below shows this memory kit validated with the Intel Core i7-12700K processor and ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero motherboard.

ORIGIN PC, a leader in custom high-performance systems, today announced the availability of its latest thin and light laptops. With ORIGIN PC's newly upgraded flagship systems, the EVO17-S and NT-17, as well as the addition of two brand new laptops to its lineup of world-class systems - the EVO14-S and NT-14 - gamers can play with power and portability. The EVO17-S is a performance powerhouse, equipped with an Intel Core i9-12900H 14-core processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti GPU, and support for up to 64 GB of DDR5 DRAM, while a 240 Hz QHD screen displays all your games in stunning detail. With this combination of hardware pushing laptop gaming to entirely new heights, ORIGIN PC reaffirms its dedication to exceptional mobile performance.

The EVO17-S, EVO15-S, NT-17, and NT-15 systems feature massive hardware upgrades to meet the growing demands of users. For those looking for an expanded display, Thunderbolt 4 and HDMI ports can connect up to two additional monitors. Weighing in at only 2.4 pounds, the new EVO14-S and NT-14 serve to provide users the incredible power of an ORIGIN PC system with the maximum portability benefits of a laptop. These 14" display systems can be further upgraded by adding an external GPU, connecting up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 or NVIDIA RTX A6000 for top-tier desktop graphics performance.

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today announced a new addition to its lineup of cutting-edge DDR5 memory: VENGEANCE DDR5 SODIMM. Optimized for the latest DDR5 gaming and performance laptops and small-form-factor PCs, these modules deliver groundbreaking DDR5 performance to compatible systems. Launching initially in speeds up to 4,800 MHz and capacities up to 64 GB (2x32GB), VENGEANCE DDR5 SODIMM pushes the boundaries of laptop and small-form-factor memory performance.

Modern DDR5 gaming laptops such as the Alienware x17 R2, MSI Raider GE66 12UHS, and ASUS ROG Zephyrus M16 need high-caliber memory to fully realize their performance potential. DDR5 ensures that today's high-end CPUs receive data as quickly as possible, elevating system speeds and processing power to greater heights. VENGEANCE DDR5 SODIMM modules harness the faster frequencies and greater capacities of DDR5 to improve load times and multitasking in a wide range of popular laptops and small-form-factor PCs, so you can bring DDR5 performance wherever you go.

A leak with details about upcoming Dell notebooks has revealed that Dell's upcoming notebooks with DDR5 memory will feature a custom memory module that Dell calls CAMM, or Compression Attached Memory Module. The CAMM can support up to 128 GB RAM according to the leak and initial modules will support memory speeds of 4800 MHz. It's unclear if notebooks with CAMM support will have soldered down memory as well, but what is clear is that Dell is not looking at using traditional SO-DIMM type modules.

The first notebooks from Dell to feature the new module appears to be the Precision 7-series, which will also feature an Intel 55 W Alder Lake-HX series CPU, a choice of an NVIDIA RTX A5000 GPU or Intel Arc DG2 based graphics with a 90 W TDP, as well as up to 12 TB of NVMe storage over PCIe 4.0. Apparently Dell has developed what it calls DGFF or Dell Graphics Form Factor for these laptops, which suggests that they'll feature some kind of modular graphics solution. Considering that at least some models in Precision 7-series will sport 16-inch displays, there should be plenty of space for a GPU module, although it'll be interesting to see exactly what Dell is bringing to the table that's new here.

Intel is slowly transitioning its data center customers to a new processor generation called Sapphire Rapids. Today, thanks to the hardware leaker Yuuki_ans we have more profound insights into the top-end 56-core Sapphire Rapids processor and its power settings. According to the leak, we have information on either Xeon Platinum 8476 or Platinum 8480 designs that are equipped with 56 cores and 112 threads. This model was running at the base frequency of 1.9 GHz and a boost frequency of 3.3 GHz. Single-core can boost to 3.7 GHz if the report is giving a correct reading. Remember that this is only an engineering sample, so the final target speeds could differ. It carries 112 MB of L2 and 105 MB of L3 cache, and this sample was running with 1 TB of DDR5 memory with CL40-39-38-76 timings.

Perhaps the most exciting finding is the power configuration of this SKU. Intel has enabled this CPU to consume 350 Watts in PL1 rating, with up to 420 Watts in PL2 performance mode. The enforced BIOS power limit rating is set at an astonishing 764 Watts, which could happen with AVX-512 enabled. Final TDP ratings are yet to be disclosed; however, these Sapphire Rapids processors are shaping to be relatively power-hungry chips.

ZADAK, a leading provider of PC gaming components and innovative water cooling solutions, today announced the launch of SPARK RGB DDR5 desktop gaming memory modules. SPARK RGB DDR5 is ZADAK's first module in the DDR5 format. The performance, capacity, stability and power saving efficiency have all been significantly improved. It delivers speeds from 5200 MHz to 6400 MHz, and it is available in capacities of 16 GB and 32 GB. It's sure to be a hit among early adopters and high-end gamers.

The SPARK RGB DDR5 gaming memory module features a matte white exterior with a frosted texture. The top of the module features a slender aluminium alloy dissipation array that releases heat from the heat sink. And the staggered design of the materials presents a hollow light-guide effect with gem-like decorations. The eye is inevitably drawn to the gem shape set in the center of the heat sink, which shows off the dynamic multi-zone RGB lighting. This stunning aesthetic will give it a place of honor in any high-end gaming rig.

One of the largest cloud providers in China, Alibaba, has today announced a preview for a new instance powered by Yitian 710 processor. The new processor is a collection of Alibaba's efforts to develop a home-grown design capable of powering cloud instances and the infrastructure needed for it and its clients. Without much further ado, the Yitian 710 is based on Armv9 ISA and features 128 cores. Ramping up to 3.2 GHz, these cores are paired with eight-channel DDR5 memory to enable sufficient data transfer. In addition, the CPU supports 96 PCIe 5.0 lanes for IO with storage and accelerators. These are most likely custom designs, and we don't know if they are using a blueprint based on Arm's Neoverse. The CPU is manufactured at TSMC's facilities on 5 nm node and features 60 billion transistors.

Alibaba offers these processors as a part of their Elastic Compute Service (ECS) instance called g8m, where users can select 1/2/4/8/16/32/64/128 vCPUs, where each vCPU is equal to one CPU core physically. Alibaba is running this as a trial option and notes that users should not run production code on these instances, as they will disappear after two months. Only 100 instances are available for now, and they are based in Alibaba's Hangzhou zone in China. The company notes that instances based on Yitian 710 processors offer 100 percent higher efficiency than existing AMD/Intel solutions; however, they don't have any useful data to back it up. The Chinese cloud giant is likely trying to test and see if the home-grown hardware can satisfy the needs of its clients so that they can continue the path to self-sustainability.