Marvell today announced the expansion of its industry-leading 5 nm data infrastructure platform with the launch of the industry's first 5 nm 50G PAM4 device for the carrier market, the Prestera DX 7321 Ethernet switch. The new switch builds on the success of the Prestera carrier-optimized portfolio and is ideal for 5G fronthaul and edge connectivity. In concert with this, Marvell's 5 nm OCTEON 10 DPU family, incorporating industry-leading hardware accelerators, is now sampling. By utilizing the industry's leading advanced process geometry, the Marvell Prestera switch and OCTEON DPU deliver 50% lower power than existing offerings, enabling new infrastructure solutions for next-generation carrier edge networks and RAN deployment models.

With the addition of the 5 nm Prestera device, the expanded carrier-optimized switch portfolio now comprises four cutting-edge Ethernet switches that scale port speeds from 1 Gbps to 400 Gbps with aggregate bandwidths ranging from 200 Gbps to 1.6 Tbps. The newest offering enhances Marvell's 5G solutions for Open RAN, vRAN and traditional RAN architectures, with Class D precision time protocol (PTP), which provides more timing headroom to enable larger cell coverage radius. The switch device incorporates integrated MACsec security and advanced telemetry to facilitate network visibility and automation.

Corsair on Wednesday tweeted the first picture of its production Vengeance DDR5 memory modules. The picture reveals a simple, minimalist design, with a sheet-metal heatspreader design with some printed graphic, and the new Vengeance logo. Unlike the Vengeance DDR4 generation, there don't appear to be false "finnage" toward the top of the module. Since DDR5 will be coexisting with DDR4 to at least the next couple of years as Intel is getting its motherboard partners to come out with a substantive lineup of LGA1700 motherboards with DDR4 memory slots, Corsair made sure to mention "DDR5" right on the module. Corsair also revealed that it is developing the first Dominator-branded DDR5 memory, which will possibly come out with the first Intel 12th Gen Core processors.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced its forthcoming DDR5 UDIMMS have received Intel Platform Validation. This marks the first and arguably most important milestone in validating compatibility between Kingston DDR5 memory solutions and Intel platforms utilizing DDR5.

Kingston's introductory portfolio of DDR5 memory will be the first in a series of high performance, low to high capacity, multiple form factor solutions in support of DDR5 based platforms debuting over the next year. After developing the next generation of DDR memory, Kingston is providing over 10,000 DDR5 UDIMM samples to major motherboard manufacturers and technology partners in support of the platform launch. By supporting partners early, Kingston is doing its part to lay the foundation for a successful product launch.

If you're looking at getting your hands on some DDR5 memory for your new Alder Lake build once it launches, a leak of validated RAM has popped up on Twitter, that should give you an idea of what to expect. The list is only a couple of weeks old and it's not what we'd call a long list, as it only covers five companies, out of which three are actual DRAM manufacturers and one is a subsidiary of one of those companies, there are no real surprises here.

All the DDR5 modules tested are rated at 4800 MHz and are either 8, 16 or 32 GB in size, with all modules using 16 Gbit chips. All modules were tested with timings of 40-39-39 at 1.1 V. Kingston is the only outlier here, since they're not a DRAM manufacturer, unlike SK hynix, Samsung and Micron/Crucial. Intel is listing all the modules as non ECC, which should put an end to the claims of all DDR5 being ECC memory.

Intel is set to launch their 12th Generation Alder Lake desktop processors on November 4th alongside the new Z690 chipset supporting DDR5 and PCIe 5.0. We have recently seen the first of these new Z690 motherboards from ASUS being listed for sale by PC Canada. The listings include TUF, ROG Maximus, ROG Strix, and Prime motherboards but we don't see any mention of Apex or Extreme boards so they may not be available at launch. The models all appear to retail for less than their Z590 counterparts except for some of the Prime series models which will come as a pleasant surprise to many. We are also aware that the VRM design for these boards will receive various upgrades according to a recent report from @Komachi. The Z690 Hero is set to feature a 20+1 phase design with 90 A Power Stages while the lower-end boards will get a 14+1 design.

Launch of AMD's upcoming Ryzen Threadripper 5000 series high-end desktop (HEDT) and Threadripper WX workstation processors, is rumored to have been delayed to 2022, according to Greymon55, a reliable source with AMD leaks. Codenamed "Chagall," these processors are compatible with existing sTRX4 and sWRX8 motherboards, based on the AMD TRX40 and AMD WRX80 chipsets, respectively. What's new, is the "Zen 3" microarchitecture.

It remains to be seen if the delay is the result of a last-minute decision by AMD to go with the newer "Zen 3" CCD that comes with 3D Vertical Cache technology, over the conventional "Zen 3" CCD; or some other reason. A 2022 launch would mean that Threadripper 5000 series will be launching around the time when Intel has desktop platforms with DDR5 memory and PCI-Express Gen 5. Threadripper 5000 chips with quad-channel DDR4 memory (four 64-bit wide channels) will be seen offering only comparable memory bandwidth to "Alder Lake" systems with overclocked DDR5 memory (four 40-bit wide channels). AMD is likely to prioritize its next "big" socket for the enterprise segment with EPYC "Genoa," as the company could find itself embattled with Xeon "Sapphire Rapids" processors that come with next-gen I/O.

Intel is expected to announce their desktop Alder Lake processors later this month on October 28th and it would appear that laptop processors could enter production as early as November. These revelations come from a leaked roadmap published by Wccftech that lists the Alder Lake-P and Alder Lake-M processor families for launch in Q4 2021 and Q1 2022 respectively. The production window for Alder Lake-P opens November 8th and closes March 13th while for Alder Lake-M that period is from January 17th to April 17th.

The roadmap lists Alder Lake-P processors as featuring a TDP between 12 W to 45 W and Alder Lake-M covering 7 W to 15 W. The two platforms will both feature up to 96 Xe graphics Execution units along with Thunderbolt 4 and WiFi 6E connectivity. Alder Lake-P will include PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 support with no mention of DDR4 compatibility while Alder Lake-M will get PCIe 4.0 and LPDDR4X/LPDDR5. The mobile lineup is divided into 3 groups of which the flagship H55 was not mentioned in the roadmap indicating a post Q1 2022 release.

While we wait for Intel's official launch of its Alder Lake platform, more leaks are making their way onto the internet and this time we get a sneak peek at the maximum memory speed at four different motherboards from ASUS. The model names of the boards leaked a couple of weeks ago, which makes this leak slightly more interesting, as we can get the full model names of the board this way, since the leaker was a bit sloppy here.

Two of the boards, the TUF Gaming Z690-Plus D4 and what we presume is the ROG Strix Z690-A Gaming D4, but the Wi-Fi version, as there are no Prime gaming boards, top out at 5,333 MHz. However, this shouldn't come as a surprise, as both boards rely on DDR4 and the highest memory speed is on par with ASUS' current Z590 boards.

ADATA Industrial, a leading manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, and mobile accessories today announces the launch of a new generation of industrial-grade DDR5 memory modules that offer a major leap forward in performance. They are geared toward assisting the development of 5G, AI, Edge Computing, High-Performance Computing, Automated Vehicles, and Smart Healthcare, to name a few.

According to Yole Developments, DDR5 memory shipments will exceed DDR4 by 2023 and DDR5 sales will account for 90% of the market by 2026. DDR5 will be the undisputed standard of the future and a key component of 5G, AIoT, and other applications. To meet the future demands of its customers, ADATA has unveiled a slew of DDR5 memory modules, including U-DIMM and SO-DIMM variants. The modules utilize select high-quality ICs straight from the manufacturer and will come with capacities of 8 GB and above. Compared with DDR4, DDR5 has twice the bandwidth and offers higher frequencies of up to 4800 MHz. What's more, they operate on just 1.1 V for improved energy efficiency.

At the COMPUTEX 2021 Virtual Expo in May, TEAMGROUP presented the core value underlying its new products in 2021: "Chill the Heat, Feel the Speed, Make it Big", representing cooling, DDR5, and large capacity, the three major focuses TEAMGROUP builds its new products and design concepts around. Tonight at 10 PM (GMT+8), everyone is sincerely invited to the TEAMGROUP Online Launch Event 2021 via official website, Facebook Page, and YouTube channel as it again takes the three focuses to the next level with its powerful new technical capabilities and innovative technologies. To celebrate the event with the world, TEAMGROUP will give away a Gaming Desktop PC and other prizes worth up to $7,000 USD. Make sure to stay tuned for the TEAMGROUP Online Launch Event 2021.

In recent years, TEAMGROUP has been focusing on developing diverse cooling solutions and applying unique materials to the SSD of the Gaming product line, T-FORCE. Inspired by the four natural elements of wind, fire, water, and earth, TEAMGROUP has utilized four exclusive components of cooling to T-FORCE gaming products. The wind element can be found in TEAMGROUP's CARDEA A440 Pro M.2 PCIe SSD as further improvements are made on existing aluminium fin thermal conductivity technology for fluid ventilation and more effective cooling performance. The impressive read/write speeds of the CARDEA A440 Pro are also approaching the defined maximum speeds for Gen4 x4 by PCI-SIG at an outstanding 7,400/7,000 MB/s.

Once again, the Eurasian Economic Commission has provided us with a look into a wide range of upcoming motherboard models and this time it's Gigabyte's Z690 lineup. The company appears to be reading no less than 17 DDR5 models and 10 DDR4 models, which is simply a massive amount of motherboards. There are two models that caught our eye, firstly the Aorus Tachyon, which continues HiCookies overclocking SKU from the current Z590 Aorus Tachyon and secondly the Aorus Elite Stealth, which may or may not be a passively cooled board, suggesting the Z690 chipset might be coming with active cooling.

We'd hazard a guess and say that not all SKUs will be available at launch, since it's unlikely that there will be a demand for this many different models. A few other noteworthy mentions here include the Z690M Aorus Elite DDR4 (with or without Wi-Fi), which seems to be a higher-end mATX model and it looks like we're getting three Mini-ITX models with the Z690I Aorus Ultra, the Z690 Aero D and the Z690I A Ultra DDR4. Also gone is the Vision name, as it has been replaced with Aero, a brand Gigabyte has used for some of its AMD boards. Time will tell what actually lands in the various markets at the end, as it might be that some of these SKUs are region specific as well.

Following the peak period of production in 3Q21, the supply of DRAM will likely begin to outpace demand in 4Q21, according to TrendForce's latest investigations (the surplus of DRAM supply is henceforth referred to as "sufficiency ratio", expressed as a percentage). In addition, while DRAM suppliers are generally carrying a healthy level of inventory, most of their clients in the end-product markets are carrying a higher level of DRAM inventory than what is considered healthy, meaning these clients will be less willing to procure additional DRAM going forward. TrendForce therefore forecasts a downward trajectory for DRAM ASP in 4Q21. More specifically, DRAM products that are currently in oversupply may experience price drops of more than 5% QoQ, and the overall DRAM ASP will likely decline by about 3-8% QoQ in 4Q21.

Although WFH and distance learning applications previously generated high demand for notebook computers, increasingly widespread vaccinations in Europe and North America have now weakened this demand, particularly for Chromebooks. As a result, global production of notebooks is expected to decline in 4Q21, in turn propelling the sufficiency ratio of PC DRAM to 1.38%, which indicates that PC DRAM will no longer be in short supply in 4Q21. However, PC DRAM accounts for a relatively low share of DRAM manufacturers' DRAM supply bits, since these suppliers have allocated more production capacities to server DRAM, which is in relatively high demand. Hence, there will unlikely be a severe surplus of PC DRAM in 4Q21. It should also be pointed out that, on average, the current spot prices of PC DRAM modules are far lower than their contract prices for 3Q21. TrendForce therefore expects an imminent 5-10% QoQ decline in PC DRAM contract prices for 4Q21, with potential for declines that are even greater than 10% for certain transactions, as PC OEMs anticipate further price drops in PC DRAM prices in the future.

The first indication of what to expect in terms of early DDR5 memory performance on Intel's Alder Lake platform has leaked, courtesy of a Chinese forum and Twitter. It's not the first time we've seen DDR5 performance figures, but this time the CPU is clocked at much higher speeds compared to the figures leaked by Longsys back in March.

Although the memory is still running at 6400 MHz, performance is up significantly with read speeds of over 90 GB/s. As we're most likely still looking at an ES sample and an early UEFI build, there should be room for improvement here. The leaked performance numbers appear to be from a Dell system of unknown model.

Today, we got ahold of the first picture showing Intel's upcoming Z690 chipset, the highest-end chipset offering for the Alder Lake lineup of processors. From previous leaks, we have concluded that Intel has enabled the Z690 chipset to be a very powerful offering. Featuring support for running either DDR4 or DDR5 memory, the Z690 chipset will allow motherboard AIBs to offer motherboards with both the new and current DDR standards, easing the transition to the new DDR5 memory. As far as PCIe connectivity, this high-end chipset produces 12 PCIe Gen5 lanes, along with 16 PCIe Gen3 lanes. This is, of course, just an addition to the 16 PCIe Gen5 lanes that the Alder Lake processor provides, enabling a wide portfolio of PCIe lanes for connecting SSDs and graphics cards.

Below, you can see the Z690 chipset image (热心市民描边怪 image), compared to the Z590 (AnandTech image) chipset, where there is a clear difference in size. The new Z690 chipset seems quite a lot bigger, and that is really not a surprise given the new technology stack that it brings.

Annual shipment of notebook computers and desktop PCs underwent a massive increase in 2020 thanks to the proliferation of the stay-at-home economy brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic last year, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. In particular, notebook shipment increased by a staggering 26% YoY, thereby generating a corresponding demand for DRAM chips. Although the movement of DRAM prices remained stable in 2020, there was a palpable growth in actual DRAM bit demand. Hence, global DRAM module revenue increased by about 5% YoY to US$16.9 billion for 2020.

Looking back at the price trend of DRAM modules for 2020, TrendForce indicates that the market adopted a relative conservative outlook going forward in view of the ongoing pandemic. In turn, various end-products differed wildly in their respective market performances as well. For instance, while demand for notebooks remained strong, smartphone demand was relatively bearish. Server shipment, on the other hand, was at the same time consistent yet indicative of uncertainties, to some degree. In light of the varying performances in the end-markets, PC DRAM prices did not undergo drastic fluctuations throughout the year, and DRAM module suppliers posted earnings performances that were a direct result of their sales strategies, with certain suppliers, including Kimtigo and ADATA, able to raise their revenues by a massive margin.

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.

Samsung Electronics the world leader in advanced memory technology, today showcased its latest advancements with processing-in-memory (PIM) technology at Hot Chips 33—a leading semiconductor conference where the most notable microprocessor and IC innovations are unveiled each year. Samsung's revelations include the first successful integration of its PIM-enabled High Bandwidth Memory (HBM-PIM) into a commercialized accelerator system, and broadened PIM applications to embrace DRAM modules and mobile memory, in accelerating the move toward the convergence of memory and logic.

In February, Samsung introduced the industry's first HBM-PIM (Aquabolt-XL), which incorporates the AI processing function into Samsung's HBM2 Aquabolt, to enhance high-speed data processing in supercomputers and AI applications. The HBM-PIM has since been tested in the Xilinx Virtex Ultrascale+ (Alveo) AI accelerator, where it delivered an almost 2.5X system performance gain as well as more than a 60% cut in energy consumption.

At this year's Hot chips 33 conference, Samsung has presented its works on the upcoming DDR5 memory standard. The company has managed to achieve a lot of new developments, as the newer standard pairs with new technologies to deliver higher speeds and better capacity. The Korean company designed its DDR5 modules as 8-high (8H) stacked TSV (through silicon via) dies. In the previous DDR4 implementations, Samsung used 4-high (4H) stacked TSV dies, which are actually thicker than the latest 8-high implementations. To achieve the new thin design, Samsung has used thin wafer handling techniques, which resulted in a 40% reduction in gab between stacked dies. The new 8H DDR5 modules are only 1.0 mm thick, compared to the 1.2 mm of the older 4H modules.

When it comes to performance, Samsung expects the new DDR5 modules to deliver big. Running at 7.2 Gbps speeds, the Samsung-made RDIMM/LRDIMM modules can reach up to 512 GB in capacity. This is, of course, limited to the server/enterprise market. Regular consumers/PC users can expect to have UDIMMs with up to 64 GB of capacity. The aforementioned 7.2 Gbps speed is achieved at the specified 1.1 Volts of power, meaning that Samsung's implementation is very efficient. According to some estimations made by the company, the DDR5 crossover for the mainstream market is not expected before 2023/2024, meaning that there is still a lot of time for memory makers to refine their DDR5 products.

Intel's upcoming Xeon "Sapphire Rapids" processor features a memory interface topology that closely resembles that of first-generation AMD EPYC "Rome," thanks to the multi-chip module design of the processor. Back in 2017, Intel's competing "Skylake-SP" Xeon processors were based on monolithic dies. Despite being spread across multiple memory controller tiles, the 6-channel DDR4 memory interface was depicted by Intel as an advantage over EPYC "Rome." AMD's first "Zen" based enterprise processor was a multi-chip module of four 14 nm, 8-core "Zeppelin" dies, each with a 2-channel DDR4 memory interface that added up to the processor's 8-channel I/O. Much like "Sapphire Rapids," a CPU core from any of the four dies had access to memory and I/O controlled by any other die, as the four were networked over the Infinity Fabric interconnect in a configuration that essentially resembled "4P on a stick."

With "Sapphire Rapids," Intel is taking a largely similar approach—it has four compute tiles (dies) instead of a monolithic die, which Intel says helps with scalability in both directions; and each of the four compute tiles has a 2-channel DDR5 or 1024-bit HBM memory interface, which add up to the processor's 8-channel DDR5 total I/O. Intel says that CPU cores from each tile has equal access to memory, last-level cache, and I/O controlled by another die. Inter-tile communication is handled by EMIB physical media (55 micron bump-pitch wiring). UPI 2.0 makes up the inter-socket interconnect. Each of the four compute tiles has 24 UPI 2.0 links that operate at 16 GT/s. Intel didn't detail how memory is presented to the operating system, or the NUMA hierarchy, however much of Intel's engineering effort appears to be focused on making this disjointed memory I/O work as if "Sapphire Rapids" were a monolithic die. The company claims "consistent low-latency, high cross-sectional bandwidth across the SoC."

Intel will beat AMD to next-generation I/O, with its 12th Generation Core "Alder Lake-S" desktop processors. The company confirmed that the processor will debut both DDR5 memory and PCI-Express Gen 5.0, which double data-rates over current-gen DDR4 and PCI-Express Gen 4, respectively. "Alder Lake-S" features a dual-channel DDR5 memory interface, with data-rates specced to DDR5-4800 MHz, more with overclocking, reaching enthusiast-grade memory attaining speeds in excess of DDR5-7200. Besides speed, DDR5 is expected to herald a doubling in density, with 16 GB single-rank modules becoming a common density-class, 32 GB single-rank being possible in premium modules; and 64 GB dual-rank modules being possible soon. Leading memory manufacturers have started announcing their first DDR5 products in preparation of "Alder Lake-S" launch in Q4-2021.

The memory controller is now able to dynamically adjust memory frequency and voltage, depending on current workload, power budget and other inputs—a first for the PC! This could even mean automatic "Turbo" overclocking for memory. Intel also mentioned "Enhanced Overclocking Support" but didn't go into further detail what that entails. While DDR5 is definitely the cool new kid on the block, Intel's Alder Lake memory controller keeps support for DDR4, and LPDDR4, while adding LPDDR5-5200 support (important for mobile devices). Just to clarify, there won't be one die support DDR5, and another for DDR4, no, all dies will have support for all four of these memory standards. How that will work out for motherboard designs is unknown at this point.

Since the end of 2020, TEAMGROUP has been at the forefront of next-generation DDR5 development, working closely with motherboard manufacturers to perform extensive validation testing. Whether it is the testing and research of DDR5's new PMIC architecture or XMP overclocking parameters, the company has achieved very fruitful results. Today TEAMGROUP is launching its brand new DELTA DDR5 Memory Series, the first DDR5 modules to be equipped with RGB lighting effect, providing gamers who enjoy visual flair with both next-level speed and eye-pleasing illumination.

The T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5 continues the design language of the DELTA DDR4 Series by maintaining the ultra-large spreader with wide-angled RGB edges and a minimalist geometrical surface. The overall look is further enhanced by its sleek stealth-fighter-inspired design. In addition, the color and flashing speed of each RGB LED used in DELTA RGB DDR5 can be independently controlled, offering more freedom to customize lighting effects than a typical RGB DDR4 memory. Currently samples have been sent to ASUS, GIGABYTE, MSI, ASROCK, BIOSTAR and other motherboard manufacturers for lighting tests. Players will be able to easily customize their own dazzling RGB effects through the manufacturers' lighting software.

PNY announced today the latest addition to their extensive lineup of PC memory for computer upgrades as well as for enthusiasts and gamers; Performance DDR5 4800 MHz Desktop Memory. Designed for next generation systems supporting the new memory standard, DDR5 will allow for higher-density modules and faster frequency speeds as compared to previous generation technologies.

PNY Performance DDR5 is designed to support the growing lineup of motherboards compatible with the new DDR5 memory standard. This advanced technology supports many new and exciting features that were limited or not supported in previous generations of PC memory. DDR5 supports higher density modules, up to four-times higher per module, and faster frequency speeds as standard. Compared to DDR4, which has a limited JEDEC standard speed of 3200 megahertz, DDR5 starts at 4800 MHz. The PNY Performance memory will also start at 16 GB per module and feature the JEDEC standard frequency of 4800 megahertz.

While the server industry transitions to the latest generation of processors based on the x86 platform, the Intel Ice Lake and AMD Milan CPUs entered mass production earlier this year and were shipped to certain customers, such as North American CSPs and telecommunication companies, at a low volume in 1Q21, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. These processors are expected to begin seeing widespread adoption in the server market in 3Q21. TrendForce believes that Ice Lake represents a step-up in computing performance from the previous generation due to its higher scalability and support for more memory channels. On the other hand, the new normal that emerged in the post-pandemic era is expected to drive clients in the server sector to partially migrate to the Ice Lake platform, whose share in the server market is expected to surpass 30% in 4Q21.

MediaTek today announced the new Dimensity 920 and Dimensity 810 chipsets, the latest additions to its Dimensity 5G family. This debut gives smartphone makers the ability to provide boosted performance, brilliant imaging and smarter displays to their customers.

Designed for powerful 5G smartphones, the Dimensity 920 balances performance, power and cost to provide an incredible mobile experience. Built using the 6nm high-performance manufacturing node, it supports intelligent displays and hardware-based 4K HDR video capture, while also offering a 9% boost in gaming performance compared to its predecessor, the Dimensity 900.

PC enthusiast memory and storage brand Neo Forza, detailed its plans to roll out DDR5 memory for desktop PCs. It also sheds light on some of the possible combinations of memory speed and density under development. Q4 2021 is when the company's first DDR5 memory modules will debut. These will be basic, bare-PCB modules with specs and speeds closest to JEDEC's. The company will start out with DDR5-4800 MHz modules, with densities of 8 GB, 16 GB, and 32 GB. The starting CAS latency on these things appears to be 40T. From what we gather, 16 GB will be the new single-rank standard memory size, 8 GB single-rank will be a low-cost option; while 32 GB could be commonly dual-rank, rarely single-. These modules will likely be co-branded with authorized DRAM IC providers.

Vanilla DDR5-4800 modules are only the beginning. Neo Forza plans to develop gaming-grade memory modules, complete with chunky heatspreaders, RGB LED illumination, and more importantly, higher clock speeds. The company expects that as DDR5 matures as a standard, speeds of DDR5-6400, DDR5-7200, and DDR5-8600, will become common for the enthusiast segment. The higher frequency modules will likely be 16 GB single-rank. As densities ramp up, 64 GB dual-rank modules will be possible, and Neo Forza expects to ship 128 GB (2x 64 GB) dual-channel kits, or scale out to 4-channel thru 8-channel HEDT platforms.