AMD's next-generation Ryzen "Raphael" processor could launch only in the second half of 2022, confirms a leaked company slide scored by VideoCardz. The slide points to a Ryzen 5000X3D series product-stack update within the 1H-2022. These are Socket AM4 processors that leverage the company's updated "Zen 3(+)" CPU core die (CCD), which features 64 MB of 3D Vertical cache memory in addition to 32 MB of L3. AMD claims that 3DV Cache technology significantly improves performance akin to a generational update (anywhere between 5% to 25% depending on the application). The company is targeting "Spring" 2022 for launch, which would put this around early-Q2.

The "Raphael" Socket AM5 processor is sure to catch much of the attention, as it's the company's true next-gen desktop product. It heralds Socket AM5, a new LGA-based socket; and next-generation connectivity that includes DDR5 memory and PCI-Express Gen 5. The CCDs of these processors are built on the TSMC N5 (5 nm) silicon fabrication node, and are based on the "Zen 4" microarchitecture. The leaked slide shows the first grainy picture of Socket AM5, with a retention mechanism not unlike what we're used to, on the Intel platform. We're hearing rumors that AM5 will somehow manage cooler-compatibility with AM4 despite the radical redesign to the socket. An H2-2022 launch would put "Raphael" close to Intel's 13th Gen Core "Raptor Lake" launch, as team blue hopes to return to an annual IPC-uplift cadence, with up to 8 "Raptor Cove" P-cores, and 16 "Gracemont" E-cores.

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.

If you've been waiting for more details about AMD's next mobile platform, then you're in luck, as the motherload has dropped today, with lots of details about the new Rembrandt APU's that are launching next year. Not only has a picture of the first motherboard, with adhering laptop showed up, but we also have a mostly complete block diagram and a list of expected SKU's, even though not all SKU models are revealed as yet.

AMD's Rembrandt APU will be its first APU with PCIe 4.0 support, which in itself might not be worth the wait, but if paired with the right GPU, this might help increase the performance somewhat compared to the previous generation of APUs from AMD. The bigger news is USB4 support, plus a new GPU which we so far don't know too much about, but it's speculated that it'll be called Radeon RX 680M and should offer 12 compute units. DDR5 memory support is also expected, so Rembrandt clearly has a new memory controller, since the APU is still based on the Zen 3 architecture.

With the current short supply and maybe more importantly, the rather insane pricing for DDR5 memory, ASUS is working on what could be called a quick fix for the problem, an adapter that would allow DDR5 motherboard owners to put DDR4 memory in their motherboards. It's not what we'd call an elegant solution at this point, but it's said it'll be refined before it's ready for retail—if it ever enters the market—since apparently the engineer that developed the adapter doesn't always get to see his projects hit retail, as from our understanding he's responsible for a lot of the more unusual products from ASUS' ROG brand.

That said, considering that a lot of high-end Z690 motherboards only support DDR5, this might be an interim solution that makes sense for a lot of people until availability of DDR5 improves. There's some complexity in making the adapter work though, as not only does it need its own power regulation, since DDR4 memory doesn't have onboard power conversion components unlike DDR5, but there's also the 2x 32-bit vs 64-bit bus to take into consideration as well. On top of this, the DRAM traces are obviously extended, which could lead to instabilities, which is why it's apparently only tested with one type of memory right now, which appears to be G-Skill's Tridentz Royal. A further limitation of the adapter is that it requires a special UEFI version to be installed that allows DDR4 memory to be used, but this might be the smallest issue in this "skunk works" project from ASUS' ROG team.

AMD in its 8-K filing with the SEC, disclosed that it has updated its wafer supply agreement (WSA) with GlobalFoundries. Under the latest agreement, AMD commits to buy $2.1 billion worth wafers from GlobalFoundries between 2022 and 2025. The previous version of the WSA saw commitments up to 2024, and wafers worth $1.6 billion. The update hence adds another year and $500 million worth supply.

AMD currently sources 12 nm and 14 nm wafers from GlobalFoundries, which go into making cIOD and sIOD components in its processors, and motherboard chipsets. The move to extend the WSA indicates that the company may continue to use 12 nm-class I/O dies in its processors for the foreseeable future. It will be very interesting to see if 12 nm-class I/O dies make it to next-generation products such as "Genoa" and "Rapael," which integrate the latest IP blocks such as PCI-Express Gen 5 root-complexes, DDR5 memory controllers, and 3rd Gen Infinity Fabric. Processors with 12 nm I/O dies, such as "Milan" and "Vermeer" could be retired only by 2023-24, as AMD will use 2022 to spread across its next-gen product launches.

XPG, a fast-growing provider of systems, components, and peripherals for Gamers, Esports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, today announces it will be on location in Las Vegas during the 2022 CES show (Jan. 5-8). Under the theme of 'Dawn of a New Xtreme,' it will be showing off the latest products from XPG and ADATA including gaming systems, peripherals, accessories, and components, such as the newest DDR5 memory, PCIe 5.0 solid state drives (SSD) and the latest state-of-the-art Platinum PSU.

XPG's and ADATA are gearing up to bring next-generation performance to gamers and other users with its latest PCIe Gen5x 4 SSDs and DDR5 DRAM. At the booth, visitors will get a first look at the XPG LANCER RGB DDR5 and CASTER RGB DDR5 that deliver next-level performance of up to 6000 MT/s and 7000 MT/s, respectively. ADATA's industrial-grade DDR5-4800 U/SO/R-DIMM memory with on-die ECC & PMIC will also be on display.

Since 2020, data centers have seen additional development opportunities driven by new infrastructure. For this reason, DDRs have been developed to become faster and more efficient. On July 14, 2020, JEDEC released the DDR5 SDRAM standard, marking the industry-wide transition to DDR5 server dual in-line memory modules (DIMMs). In China, mainstream manufacturers are gradually focusing on DDR5, striving to promote its widespread commercialization. DDR5 brings with it a series of crucial improvements to help empower next-gen servers with better performance and lower power consumption.

With 22 years of experience in the storage industry, Longsys is constantly accumulating industrial experience while remaining centered on R&D technology. As the first company in China to do so, it has made multiple DDR5 test data items publicly available. FORESEE, the industrial storage brand of Longsys, has recently launched commercial DDR5 U-DIMM, available in 16 GB and 32 GB options.

During its quarterly earnings call, Micron confirmed that the lack of DDR5 memory in retail is not due to a shortage of DDR5 memory ICs, but rather due to a shortage of PMIC and VRM components. Micron said that "demand for DDR5 products is significantly exceeding supply due to non-memory component shortages impacting memory suppliers' ability to build DDR5 modules."

It would appear that demand ended up being higher than expected, due to the popularity of Intel's Alder Lake CPUs, with the DRAM module makers not having prepared enough stock of the new components that are required to make DDR5 DIMMs, which has resulted in the current lack of DDR5 modules in retail. Micron is working on its end to resolve this issue and has entered what it calls "strategic agreements to secure supply of certain components" and is expecting supply of said components to improve slowly in 2022. It seems like some of these components are also related to other products made by Micron, such as SSDs.

ADATA XPG, a fast-growing provider of systems, components, and peripherals for Gamers, E-sports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, today announces the XPG CASTER DDR5 DRAM series. The XPG CASTER, which comes with and without RGB lighting, is rated for 7000 MT/s and comes equipped with On-Die ECC and PMIC for enhanced stability and reliability. Both the RGB and non-RGB variants feature capacities of 16 GB.

Running at 7000 MT/s, the XPG CASTER is a new breed of DDR5 that is over two times faster than standard DDR4 DRAM. With blazing-fast data transfer rates, users will enjoy a smoother and seamless gaming experience. With support for Intel XMP 3.0, overclocking is incredibly and straightforward. It allows users to avoid cumbersome BIOS settings and never-ending adjustment of overclocking parameters.

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.

Lexar, a leading global brand of flash memory solutions, is excited to reveal its cutting-edge Lexar ARES DDR5 Desktop Memory. The ARES DDR5 leverages next-gen technology, with speeds starting at 4800, DDR5-4800 is 1.5x the bandwidth faster than DDR4-3200. Features a sleek aluminium heatspreader to keep your system and motherboard running cool. It is perfect for PC enthusiasts, hardcore gamers and content creators who are looking to next-level performance, increased capacity and maximum power efficiency.

Whether you are operating speed-demanding video games, video editing software, or processing intensive workloads, the Lexar ARES DDR5 Desktop Memory accelerates your PC performance for multitasking with increased performance while on the latest 12th Gen Intel Core processor. Moreover, ARES DDR5 elevates the power efficiency and product reliability. It is built with an on-die ECC, which fully leverages real-time data error correction for increased data stability and reliability. With built-in Power Management IC (PMIC), the DDR5 computer memory module provides better power control and power delivery while operating at a low voltage of 1.1 V.

CORSAIR, a world leader in enthusiast components for gamers, creators, and PC builders, today announced new kits of its acclaimed DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 high-performance memory reaching frequencies up to a blistering 6,400 MHz. Available in kits of 2x16GB, DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB 6,200 MHz and 6,400 MHz hit a new milestone with these unprecedented speeds, and are now more customizable than ever thanks to the new XMP Manager in CORSAIR iCUE software.

CORSAIR led the charge in next-generation memory with the release of DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB DDR5 and VENGEANCE DDR5 for the Intel Z690 platform earlier this year, delivering higher frequencies in greater capacities than previously possible. Now the ceiling for DDR5 performance has risen again, with DOMINATOR PLATINUM RGB once more pushing the boundaries for the most powerful systems leveraging 12th Generation Intel Core Processors.

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.

Leading global memory provider TEAMGROUP has been actively expanding in the industrial control field for many years. With the arrival of the new DDR5 generation, the company today announced the DDR5 ECC DIMM and DDR5 R-DIMM Industrial Server Memory modules. In recent years, there has been a steady growth in AI and HPC data applications, driving memory specifications toward higher capacities and greater performance. To meet this rising demand, TEAMGROUP has created multiple solutions with its latest innovations of DDR5 industrial server memory.

Its next-gen server memory modules can reach speeds of 6,400 MT/s, come with a maximum capacity of up to 128 GB, and operate at 1.1 V, resulting in lower overall power consumption. The memory also features two innovations in its power supply architecture and channel architecture. The new power supply architecture shifts power management from the motherboard to the DIMM itself, enhancing signal integrity and resistance to interference. The channel architecture is updated with two independent sub-channels per memory module (DIMM) to significantly improve memory access efficiency and meet the elevated demands of smart platform applications.

SK hynix today announced that it has shipped samples of 24 Gigabit (Gb) DDR5* DRAM with the industry's largest density for a single DRAM chip. The announcement of SK hynix releasing the industry's largest density DDR5 chip comes in just 14 months after the Company became the first to release DDR5 DRAM in October 2020, further solidifying the chipmaker's technological leadership in DDR5.

The new 24 Gb DDR5 was produced with the cutting-edge 1 anm technology that utilizes EUV process. It has a density of 24Gb per chip, which is up from the existing density of 16 Gb in 1 ynm DDR5, with improved production efficiency and increased speed by up to 33%. In addition, SK hynix managed to reduce the product's power consumption by *25% compared to existing products while lowering energy use in manufacturing through enhanced production efficiency. SK hynix expects the product to bring about reduction in carbon emissions as well, which is meaningful in the context of ESG management.

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme 6.60, Engineer 6.60, Business 6.60, and Network Audit 6.60 software. The latest AIDA64 update introduces optimized benchmarks for Intel "Alder Lake" and "Raptor Lake" processors, improvements for DDR5 memory modules and XMP 3.0 memory profiles, and supports the latest AMD and Intel CPU platforms as well as the new graphics and GPGPU computing technologies by both AMD and NVIDIA.

The AIDA64 product family for Windows PCs consists of three business editions and a home edition. The company's flagship IT asset management offering with hardware diagnostic features is AIDA64 Business, while a dedicated network inventory solution called AIDA64 Network Audit is also available, for a lower license fee. Designed for corporate engineers and IT technicians, AIDA64 Engineer includes expert tools not available in AIDA64 Extreme, the home edition of the software. Today all four AIDA64 editions are updated to v6.60.

KINGMAX, has introduced the latest DDR5 4800 MHz 16 GB desktop memory. Fully compatible with Intel's 12th-generation Alder Lake and Z690 platform, it has secured the QVL certification of a good number of main stream motherboard manufacturers, thereby attesting to its platform compatibility essential for this new era for PCs already here.

Compared with its predecessors, DDR5 4800 MHz memory stands out as an utter upgrade in overall performance. In terms of speed, DDR5 starts with a base frequency of 4800 MHz and its bandwidth of 38.4 MB/s is at least 1.5 times faster than the maximum of 25.6 MB/s offered by its DDR4 3200 MHz peers. Coupled with dual sub-channels (32-bit) that run independently, data processing becomes substantially more efficient as the memory controller enjoys a much lower data access latency.

Just yesterday, thanks to the Linux driver update, we found information stating that AMD's upcoming EPYC Genoa processor generation based on Zen 4 core IP will have a 12-channel memory controller. However, we didn't know how AMD engineered the memory controller of this processor generation and some of its maximum capabilities. However, there is an exciting discovery. According to the report from ComputerBase, with information exclusive to them, AMD will enable up to 12 TB of DDR5 memory spread across 12 memory channels. The processor supports DDR5-5200 memory, but when all 24 memory slots (two per channel) are populated, the DDR5 maximum speed drops to 4000 MT/s.

It is unclear why this is the case, and if any difficulties were designing the controller, so the maximum speed drops when every slot is used. One reassuring thing is that the bandwidth created by 12 memory channels should be sufficient to make up for the lost speed of DDR5 memory reduction.

ZADAK, announces the next step forward in gaming DRAM. The newest member of its high-end SPARK lineup is a DDR5 RGB illuminated gaming DRAM module which is available in 16 GB and 32 GB capacities. Gamers who demand the fastest clock speeds will be able to choose from modules ranging from 4800 MHz all the way up to 7200 MHz.

DDR5 also features another important upgrade: power management is no longer handled by the motherboard, but by a PMIC (power management integrated circuit) on the module itself. While DDR4 modules consume 1.2V, DDR5 modules only require 1.1V. It sounds like a small difference, but over hours and days of gaming, it adds up to significant power savings. The PMIC also gives overclockers more options when it comes to tweaking settings.

VIPER, a trademarked brand of PATRIOT, is excited to announce the availability of the new VIPER VENOM RGB and non-RGB DDR5 high-performance DRAM modules which will be available in Q1 2022. The VIPER VENOM DDR5 memory modules provide enhanced speeds ranging from 4800 MHz to 6200 MHz with kit capacities of 16 GB to 32 GB equipped with the exclusive VENOM heatspreader design with an option for RGB illumination catering to both PC hardware enthusiasts and hardcore gamers.

VIPER VENOM RGB DDR5 modules come with the stylish VENOM heatshield design with a new design to combine the LED light bar and the heatshield. The RGB light bar is an entirely new design with updated synchronization software and illumination patterns. The unique architecture of DDR5 has localized voltage adjustments based on a locked/unlocked PMIC (power management integrated circuit) and SPD HUB (serial presence detection), which provides simultaneous monitoring, threshold protection, intelligent voltage control, and power management to achieve more comprehensive voltage control.

Thanks to a Linux driver update, we now know that AMD's upcoming Zen 4 based EPYC CPUs will support up to 12 channels of DDR5 memory, an upgrade over the current eight. The EDAC driver, or Error Detection and Correction driver update from AMD contained details of the memory types supported by AMD's upcoming server and workstation CPUs and although this doesn't tell us much about what we'll see from the desktop platform, some of this might spill over to a future Ryzen Threadripper CPU.

The driver also reveals that there will be support for both RDDR5 and LRDDR5, which translates to Registered DDR5 and Load-Reduced DDR5 respectively. LRDDR5 is the replacement for LRDIMMs, which are used in current servers with very high memory densities. Although we don't know when AMD is planning to announce Zen 4, even less so the new EPYC processors, it's expected that it will be some time in the second half next year.

There has been a lot of discourse about the cost of Z690 motherboards, so we decided to ask around to find out what has changed compared to the previous generation of Intel motherboards. There are obviously several factors that have come together to create something like the perfect storm, as the simple answer is that all parts combined have resulted in more expensive motherboards, but there are a few key components that are major contributing factors.

A lot of speculation has been about the cost of the PCB itself and although it's correct that the PCB is a contributing factor, we're talking about a couple of dollars in extra cost, not only for the higher quality PCB materials themselves but also the fact that boards with DDR5 memory are more costly to produce, as more care needs to be taken with the overall design. However, the big surprise to us is that the single part that has driven up the cost the most is the physical LGA-17xx CPU socket and retention mechanism, which is apparently around four times as expensive as the LGA-12xx socket.

China's technology reliance on 3rd party companies seems to be getting smaller. One of the leading technology companies in China, Huawei, has designed a laptop powered by a custom 5 nm Kirin SoC with DDR5 memory. Called the Dyna Cloud L420, Huawei has prepared this model for the Chinese market to provide a fully functional laptop that will get the job done, with no risk of the potential security backdoors implemented in the processor. Powered by a brand new Kirin 9006C SoC manufactured on TSMC's 5 nm process, it features eight unknown cores running at 3.1 GHz frequency. We assume that those are custom cores designed by Huawei. This SoC is accompanied by 8 GB of LPDDR5 memory, with 256 GB and 512 GB UFS 3.1 configurations storage options.

When it comes to the rest of the laptop, it rocks a 14-inch 2160x1440 display. I/O options are solid as well, as this machine has an HDMI video output, two USB-A, one USB-C, and Gigabit Ethernet using a mini-RJ45 port. Connectivity is provided by Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 4.2. There is a 56 W/h battery that provides the juice to keep it running when it comes to the battery. And to complete all of that, this laptop officially only supports Huawei's proprietary Kirin OS (KOS) and Unity OS (UOS), with expected support for HarmonyOS in the future. Pricing and availability information is a mistery at the present date.

AMD apparently finds itself with quite a bit of undigested 7 nm "Renoir" silicon, which it plans to repackage as Socket AM4 processors, reports VideoCardz, citing sources on ChipHell forums. The most interesting aspect of this leak is that the silicon variant, codenamed "Renoir X," comes with a disabled iGPU. This is hence a case of AMD harvesting enough "Renoir" dies with faulty iGPU components, to sell them off as desktop processors. It is also learned that these chips don't feature all of the 8 "Zen 2" CPU cores present on the silicon, but rather AMD is looking to carve out entry-level SKUs, such as the Ryzen 3 or Athlon. The company lacks Athlon desktop SKUs based on "Zen 2" or later, although traditionally the company sought to include some basic iGPU solution with its Athlon SKUs.

In related news, the source reports that AMD will refresh its Ryzen desktop processor family with the new "Vermeer S" Ryzen processors. Built on the existing Socket AM4 package, these use AMD's "Zen 3" CCDs that feature 3D Vertical Cache (3DV Cache), much like the recently announced EPYC "Milan X" server processors. AMD claimed that the 3DV Cache technology has a significant performance uplift on performance akin to a generational update. These could be the company's first response to Intel Core "Alder Lake," although since they're based on the older AM4 platform, could only feature DDR4 and PCIe Gen 4. Much like the Ryzen 3000XT series, these appear to be a stopgap product lineup, with AMD targeting late-Q2/early-Q3 for next-generation "Raphael" Socket AM5 processors based on the "Zen 4" architecture, with DDR5 and PCIe Gen 5.

As Amazon is continuing to grow its AWS business, both with new instances powered by AMD's third generation of EPYC processors and it's new EC2 C5g instances powered by its current Graviton2 processors and Nvidia's T4G tensor core GPUs. However, the company is also opening up its first EC2 C7g preview instances using its brand new Graviton3 processors, which the company claims offer vastly improved performance over the Graviton2 on specific workloads.

EC2 stands for Elastic Compute Cloud and judging by the fact that the Graviton3 is said to have up to twice as past FPU performance for scientific workloads and being twice as fast for cryptographic workloads and up to three times faster for machine learning workloads, you can guess who these new EC2 instances are intended for. Amazon didn't reveal much in terms of technical details about the Graviton3, but it'll utilize DDR5 memory, which makes it one of the first, if not the first server CPU to use DDR5. It's also said to use up to 60 percent less energy than the Graviton2, while delivering up to 25 percent more compute performance. It's implied that it uses the Arm v9 architecture and the Neoverse N2 Arm cores, although this hasn't been officially announced.