Intel has just launched its Rocket Lake-S desktop lineup of processors during this year's CES 2021 virtual event. However, the company is under constant pressure from the competition and it seems like it will not stop with that launch for this year. Today, thanks to the popular leaker @momomo_us on Twitter, we have the first SiSoftware entries made from the anonymous Alder Lake-S system. Dubbed a heterogeneous architecture, Alder Lake is supposed to be Intel's first desktop attempt at making big.LITTLE style of processors for general consumers. It is supposed to feature Intel 10 nm Golden Cove CPU "big" cores & Gracemont "small" CPU cores.

The SiSoftware database entry showcases a prototype system that has 16 cores and 32 threads running at the base frequency of 1.8 GHz and a boost speed of 4 GHz. There is 12.5 MB of L2 cache (split into 10 pairs of 1.25 MB) and 30 MB of level-three (L3) cache present on the processor. There is also an Alder Lake-S mobile graphics controller that runs at 1.5 GHz. Intel Xe gen 12.2 graphics is responsible for the video output. When it comes to memory, Alder Lake-S is finally bringing the newest DDR5 standard with a new motherboard chipset and socket called LGA 1700.

AMD is always in development mode and just when they launch a new product, the company is always gearing up for the next-generation of devices. Just a few months ago, back in November, AMD has launched its Zen 3 core, and today we get to hear about the next steps that the company is taking to stay competitive and grow its product portfolio. In the AnandTech interview with Dr. Lisa Su, and The Street interview with Rick Bergman, the EVP of AMD's Computing and Graphics Business Group, we have gathered information about AMD's plans for Zen 4 core development and RDNA 3 performance target.

Starting with Zen 4, AMD plans to migrate to the AM5 platform, bringing the new DDR5 and USB 4.0 protocols. The current aim of Zen 4 is to be extremely competitive among competing products and to bring many IPC improvements. Just like Zen 3 used many small advances in cache structures, branch prediction, and pipelines, Zen 4 is aiming to achieve a similar thing with its debut. The state of x86 architecture offers little room for improvement, however, when the advancement is done in many places it adds up quite well, as we could see with 19% IPC improvement of Zen 3 over the previous generation Zen 2 core. As the new core will use TSMC's advanced 5 nm process, there is a possibility to have even more cores found inside CCX/CCD complexes. We are expecting to see Zen 4 sometime close to the end of 2021.

ADATA Technology, a manufacturer of high-performance DRAM modules, NAND Flash products, mobile accessories, gaming products, electric power trains, and industrial solutions, is gearing up to bring next-generation DDR5 memory modules to market to offers users a significant upgrade in speed, capacity, as well as increased bandwidth per CPU cores. ADATA has been working closely with two leading motherboard makers, MSI and Gigabyte, to ensure an optimized experience through ensuring synergies between ADATA's DDR5 modules and their latest Intel platforms.

In parallel to developing the new memory modules, ADATA has also been working closely with two leading motherboard makers MSI and Gigabyte, its long-term strategic partners, to ensure their new platforms can take full advantage of DDR5. Among other initiatives, ADATA, MSI, and Gigabyte have been conducting joint testing and research to guarantee optimum DDR5 overclocking on the latest Intel platforms to meet gamers' discerning standards. ADATA and the motherboard above makers will be launching DDR5 modules and DDR5-compliant motherboards simultaneously to offer high performance to a wide range of users, including enterprises, gamers, and creators, to name a few.

Intel has just released its "Architecture Instruction Set Extensions and Future Features Programming Reference" manual, which serves the purpose of providing the developers' information about Intel's upcoming hardware additions which developers can utilize later on. Today, thanks to the @InstLatX64 on Twitter we have information that Intel is bringing on-package High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) solution to its next-generation Sapphire Rapids Xeon processors. Specifically, there are two instructions mentioned: 0220H - HBM command/address parity error and 0221H - HBM data parity error. Both instructions are there to address data errors in HBM so the CPU operates with correct data.

The addition of HBM is just one of the many new technologies Sapphire Rapids brings. The platform is supposedly going to bring many new technologies like an eight-channel DDR5 memory controller enriched with Intel's Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA). To connect to all of the external accelerators, the platform uses PCIe 5.0 protocol paired with CXL 1.1 standard to enable cache coherency in the system. And as a reminder, this would not be the first time we see a server CPU use HBM. Fujitsu has developed an A64FX processor with 48 cores and HBM memory, and it is powering today's most powerful supercomputer - Fugaku. That is showing how much can a processor get improved by adding a faster memory on-board. We are waiting to see how Intel manages to play it out and what we end up seeing on the market when Sapphire Rapids is delivered.

Intel needs a platform refresh to battle the competition, mainly speaking to battle AMD and its Ryzen 5000 series processors. That is why the company is developing 500 series of chipsets covering the low-end (H510), mid-range (B560), and high-end markets (Z590) that pair with the upcoming Rocket Lake-S processor generation. Dubbed 11th generation of Core processors, the 11th generation of Intel Core CPUs are going to be built on Intel's refined 14 nm process. The CPUs are supposed to feature a Cypress Cove core, which is a backport of Golden Cove found in Ice Lake. The 500 series motherboards are the last in the DDR4 generation, launching in the timeframe when DDR5 is supposed to take over in the coming years.

Today, thanks to Weixin, a Chinese media outlet that posted a short story on the WeChat platform, we have information about the launch date of these new chipsets. According to the source, we are allegedly going to see these new chipsets on January 11th, the day that Intel CES 2021 event is supposed to happen. The platform will include a range of motherboards from Intel's partners and is supposed to bring support for the much-needed PCIe 4.0 protocol. The launch date should be taken with a grain of salt, of course, before taking it as a fact.

Team Group, a global leader in computer memory, has rapidly responded to market demand changes during the crucial transition period of next-generation DRAM technology. By integrating the newest technologies to promote its development of DDR5 memory, it has outpaced competitions and developed the first engineering sample of consumer-grade DDR5 memory. With this success, it will welcome the new DDR5 generation with consumers worldwide.

Presently, Team Group is working hard at producing its first batch of DDR5 memory with the tentative specifications of 16 GB, 4800 MHz, and 1.1 V for a single module. The company is cooperating with major motherboard manufacturers, such as ASUS, MSI, ASRock, and GIGABYTE, providing memory and working together with their R&D divisions to perform validation tests. Through the collaboration of R&D teams, Team Group was able to accelerate the development of its DDR5 memory by adjusting the initial parameters. The successful completion of the validation phase will confirm that the frequencies of standard DDR5 products surpass those of overclocked DDR4 products, and will represent another big step forward in the evolution of computer memory.

Today, thanks to the ServeTheHome forum member "111alan", we have the first pictures of the alleged Intel Sapphire Rapids Xeon processor. Pictured is what appears to be a dual-die design similar to Cascade Lake-SP design with 56 cores and 112 threads that uses two dies. The Sapphire Rapids is a 10 nm SuperFin design that allegedly comes even in the dual-die configuration. To host this processor, the motherboard needs an LGA4677 socket with 4677 pins present. The new LGA socket, along with the new 10 nm Sapphire Rapids Xeon processors are set for delivery in 2021 when Intel is expected to launch its new processors and their respective platforms.

The processor pictured is clearly a dual-die design, meaning that Intel used some of its Multi-Chip Package (MCM) technology that uses EMIB to interconnect the silicon using an active interposer. As a reminder, the new 10 nm Sapphire Rapids platform is supposed to bring many new features like a DDR5 memory controller paired with Intel's Data Streaming Accelerator (DSA); a brand new PCIe 5.0 standard protocol with a 32 GT/s data transfer rate, and a CXL 1.1 support for next-generation accelerators. The exact configuration of this processor is unknown, however, it is an engineering sample with a clock frequency of a modest 2.0 GHz.

As a world leader in computer memory, TEAMGROUP understands the importance of getting ahead in the next generation of DDR technology, hence it will be releasing ELITE series DDR5 memory in 2021. With over 20 years of experience developing DDR3 and DDR4 products, the company has dazzled the world with its advanced R&D capabilities and excellent product quality. After the JEDEC announced the DDR5 memory standard, TEAMGROUP has been actively designing and working together with our IC manufacturing partners to pioneer and prepare for this new generation.

TEAMGROUP is leading the way with its first DDR5 memory under its global top-selling ELITE memory product line. It plans to release a 16 GB 4800 MHz module operating at 1.1 V, down from the 1.2 V of the previous generation. The data transfer rate is increased to 4,800-5,200 Mbps, an increase of up to 1.6 times while reducing power consumption by 10%. Today's DDR4 memory with error correction code (ECC) requires an additional chip installed on the PCB, whereas DDR5 supports on-die ECC, a feature that self-corrects single-bit errors, greatly improving system stability. Anticipation is high for the efficiency improvements brought by the new generation, which can be utilized for big data and AI computing and other related applications.

Intel has just recently announced its next-generation Rocket Lake-S processor specifications designed to bring improved performance and newer platform technologies like PCIe 4.0. However, we are yet to see the first 10 nm CPU for desktop users. Today, thanks to the sources over at VideoCardz, we have the first look at Intel's next-next-generation processor called Alder Lake. The Alder Lake-S is a platform that brings many of the "firsts" for Intel. It will be the first architecture being built on the company's 10 nm SuperFin architecture. Alongside the new node, the platform will transition to the next-generation of technologies. Rumored are the transitions to PCIe 5.0 and perhaps, most importantly - DDR5.

Another new approach will be Intel's adaptation of Arm's big.LITTLE heterogeneous core structure. The processor will feature a few of the "little" cores for light tasks, and fire up the "big" cores for heavy computing. All of that will require a new socket to house the processor, which is the LGA1700. You can see the new processor below, compared to LGA1200 CPU from the previous generation.

SK hynix Inc. today announced financial results for its third quarter 2020 ended on September 30, 2020. The consolidated revenue of third quarter 2020 was 8.129 trillion won while the operating profit amounted to 1.3 trillion won, and the net income 1.078 trillion won. Operating margin for the quarter was 16% and net margin was 13%.

Despite the Company saw the recovery of mobile DRAM demand in the quarter, both the revenue and operating profit decreased by 6% and 33% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) respectively, as the server DRAM and SSD demands weakened, and the overall semiconductor memory price flow turned downwards in the quarter. For DRAM, SK hynix proactively responded to rising demands of mobile and graphics DRAM, and the expansion of consumer electronics DRAM demand as well. As a result, in spite of decreased server DRAM demand, the Company's DRAM bit shipment in the quarter still increased by 4% QoQ. However, due to the unfavorable price of server DRAM and other certain DRAM products, the average selling price decreased by 7% QoQ.

SK hynix and Intel today announced that they have signed an agreement on Oct. 20, KST, under which SK hynix would acquire Intel's NAND memory and storage business for US $9 billion. The transaction includes the NAND SSD business, the NAND component and wafer business, and the Dalian NAND memory manufacturing facility in China. Intel will retain its distinct Intel Optane business.

SK hynix and Intel will endeavor to obtain required governmental approvals expected in late 2021. Following receipt of these approvals, SK hynix will acquire from Intel the NAND SSD business (including NAND SSD-associated IP and employees), as well as the Dalian facility, with the first payment of US $7 billion. SK hynix will acquire from Intel the remaining assets, including IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers, R&D employees, and the Dalian fab workforce, upon a final closing, expected to occur in March 2025 with the remaining payment of US $2 billion. Per the agreement, Intel will continue to manufacture NAND wafers at the Dalian Memory Manufacturing Facility and retain all IP related to the manufacture and design of NAND flash wafers until the final closing.

Intel has been preparing the launch of its 10 nm processors for desktop users for some time now, and today we are getting the first pictures of the Alder Lake-S CPU backside. Featuring a package with a size of 37.5×45 mm, the Alder Lake CPU uses more of its area for a pin count increase. Going up from 1200 pins in the LGA1200 socket, the new Alder Lake-S CPU uses 1700 CPU pins, which slots in the LGA1700 socket. In the picture below, there is an engineering sample of the Alder Lake-S CPU, which we see for the first time. While there is no much information about the processor, we know that it will use Intel's 10 nm SuperFin design, paired with hybrid core technology. That means that there will be big (Golden Cove) and little (Gracemont) cores in the design. Other features such as PCIe 5.0 and DDR5 should be present as well. The new CPU generation and LGA1700 motherboards are scheduled to arrive in second half of 2021.

SK hynix Inc. announced to launch world's first DDR5 DRAM. It is a high-speed and high-density product optimized for Big Data, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and machine learning (ML) as a next generation standard of DRAM. Since SK hynix announced the development of World's First 16 Gigabit (Gb) DDR5 DRAM on November 2018, the Company has provided its major partners including Intel with sample products, and has completed various tests and verification of its functions and compatibility. This will allow SK hynix to provide its customers with the products once the DDR5 market becomes active.

In the meantime, SK hynix has conducted joint-operation of on-site lab, system-level test, and simulation with System-on-Chip) (SoC) manufacturers to verify the functions of DDR5. Also, the Company validated compatibility of its DDR5 and the major components on DRAM module including register clock driver) (RCD), which affect DRAM performance, and power management integrated circuit) (PMIC). Through these verifications, SK hynix has been collaborating closely with its global partners.

Intel today launches its 11th Gen Core "Tiger Lake" mobile processors that introduce several new technologies on the backs of new IP. As described in the Architecture Day, "Tiger Lake" is built on the 10 nm SuperFin process, and combines new "Willow Cove" CPU cores with the first commercial debut of the Xe Gen12 graphics architecture that Intel is betting big on, to make a stab at the consumer graphics and scalar compute markets. Join us in this live-blog.Update 16:00 UTC: GB (Gregory Bryant, EVP Client), leads the event from the comfort of his home.Update 16:04 UTC: Here it is, the "world's best processor for thin and light laptops. You'll notice that like most Intel U-segment chips, this is an MCM of the processor and PCH die. Intel bases its "world's best" claims on a per-segment basis.

A lot is riding for Intel on its 11th Gen Core "Tiger Lake" system-on-chip (SoC), which will launch exclusively on mobile platforms, hoping to dominate the 7 W thru 15 W ultraportable form-factors in 2020, while eventually scaling up to the 25 W thru 45 W H-segment form-factors in 2021, with a variant that is rumored to double core-counts. The chip is built on Intel's new 10 nm SuperFin silicon fabrication node that enables a double digit percentage energy efficiency growth over 10 nm, allowing Intel to significantly dial up clock speeds without impacting the power envelope. The CPU and iGPU make up the two key components of the "Tiger Lake" SoC.

The CPU component on the "Tiger Lake" processors that launch in a few weeks from now features four "Willow Cove" CPU cores. Coupled with HyperThreading, this ends up being a 4-core/8-thread setup, although much of Intel's innovation is in giving these cores significant IPC increases over the "Skylake" core powering "Comet Lake" processors, and compared to the "Sunny Cove" cores powering "Ice Lake" a minor IPC (although major net performance increase from clock speeds). The "Willow Cove" CPU core appears to be a derivative of the "Sunny Cove" core, designed to take advantage of the 10 nm SuperFin node, along with three key innovations.

SK hynix Inc. today announced financial results for its second quarter 2020 ended on June 30, 2020. The consolidated revenue of second quarter 2020 was 8.607 trillion won while the operating profit amounted to 1.947 trillion won, and the net income 1.264 trillion won. Operating margin for the quarter was 23% and net margin was 15%.

Despite uncertainties of business environment due to COVID-19, both the Company's revenue and operating income increased by 20% and 143% quarter-over-quarter (QoQ) respectively, as the surging demand for server memory maintained favorable memory price while numerous factors including the increase of the main products' yield rate led to cost reduction.

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, today announced the publication of the widely-anticipated JESD79-5 DDR5 SDRAM standard. The standard addresses demand requirements being driven by intensive cloud and enterprise data center applications, providing developers with twice the performance and much improved power efficiency. JESD79-5 DDR5 is now available for download from the JEDEC website.

DDR5 was designed to meet increasing needs for efficient performance in a wide range of applications including client systems and high-performance servers. DDR5 incorporates memory technology that leverages and extends industry know-how and experience developing previous DDR memories. The standard is architected to enable scaling memory performance without degrading channel efficiency at higher speeds, which has been achieved by doubling the burst-length to BL16 and bank-count to 32 from 16. This revolutionary architecture provides better channel efficiency and higher application level performance that will enable the continued evolution of next-generation computing systems. In addition, the DDR5 DIMM has two 40-bit fully independent sub-channels on the same module for efficiency and improved reliability.

New features, such as DFE (Decision Feedback Equalization), enable IO speed scalability for higher bandwidth and improved performance. DDR5 supports double the bandwidth as compared to its predecessor, DDR4, and is expected to be launched at 4.8 Gbps (50% higher than DDR4's end of life speed of 3.2 Gbps).

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced a comprehensive enablement program which will provide early access to technical resources, products and ecosystem partners. The Technology Enablement Program will aid in the design, development and qualification of next-generation computing platforms that use DDR5, the most technologically advanced DRAM available.

Today's news builds on Micron's January announcement of DDR5 RDIMM samples and brings the industry one step closer to unlocking the value in next-generation, data-centric applications. Companies joining Micron in the DDR5 Technology Enablement Program include Cadence, Montage, Rambus, Renesas and Synopsys.

Several future AMD processor codenames across various computing segments surfaced courtesy of an Expreview leak that's largely aligned with information from Komachi Ensaka. It does not account for "Matisse Refresh" that's allegedly coming out in June-July as three gaming-focused Ryzen socket AM4 desktop processors; but roadmap from 2H-2020 going up to 2022 sees many codenames surface. To begin with, the second half of 2020 promises to be as action packed as last year's 7/7 mega launch. Over in the graphics business, the company is expected to debut its DirectX 12 Ultimate-compliant RDNA2 client graphics, and its first CDNA architecture-based compute accelerators. Much of the processor launch cycle is based around the new "Zen 3" microarchitecture.

The server platform debuting in the second half of 2020 is codenamed "Genesis SP3." This will be the final processor architecture for the SP3-class enterprise sockets, as it has DDR4 and PCI-Express gen 4.0 I/O. The EPYC server processor is codenamed "Milan," and combines "Zen 3" chiplets along with an sIOD. EPYC Embedded (FP6 package) processors are codenamed "Grey Hawk."

PTT leaked some juicy details of the upcoming Intel "Rocket Lake" and "Alder Lake" processor generations. "Rocket Lake" will power Intel's 11th generation Core processor series in the LGA1200 package, and are rumored to be a "back port" of Intel's advanced "Willow Cove" CPU cores to a 14 nm-class silicon fabrication node, with core-counts ranging up to 8. The idea for Intel is to sell high IPC, high clock-speed desktop processors for gaming.

According to the PTT report, there will be three kinds of SKUs for "Rocket Lake" based on TDP: 8-core parts with 95 W TDP rating; and 8-core, 6-core, and 4-core parts in 80 W TDP and 65 W TDP variants. For the 95 W (PL1) parts, the power-levels PL2, and PL4 are reportedly set at 173 W and 251 W, respectively, and a 56-second Tau (a timing variable that dictates how long a processor can stick around at an elevated power-state before retreating to PL1, which is interchangeable with the TDP value on the box). The 80 W TDP parts feature 146 W PL2, 191 W PL3, and 251 W PL4, but a lower Tau value of 28 seconds. For the 65 W parts, the PL2 is 128 W, PL3 is 177 W, and PL4 251 W, and the Tau value 28 seconds.

Semiconductor startup Tachyum Inc. announced today that it has achieved, on schedule, a major milestone in the detailed physical design of its Prodigy Universal Processor. Tachyum now has a complete chip layout, with a verified detailed physical design of more than 90 percent of the design silicon area.

Tachyum's Prodigy is the world's first Universal Processor, combining general-purpose processors, high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), deep machine learning (ML), explainable AI, bio AI and other AI disciplines within a single chip. This latest milestone achieved integration of key, high-quality Tachyum IP within a multiprocessor environment, and with DDR4/DDR5 DRAM controllers, PCIE 5.0, 112Gb SERDES, USB, GPIO, PLLs and various I/Os. Results of the layout indicate that Prodigy's die size is within product design goals with top-level clocking results that are better than expected.

Silicon Valley startup Tachyum, founded in 2016, is ready with its crowning product, the Tachyum Prodigy. The startup recently received an investment from the Slovak government in hopes of job-creation in the country. The Prodigy is what its makers call "a universal processor," which "outperforms the fastest Xeon at 10X lower power." The company won't mention what machine architecture it uses (whether it's Arm or MIPS, or its own architecture). Its data-sheet is otherwise full of specs that scream at you.

To begin with, its top trim, the Prodigy T16128, packs 128 cores on a single package, complete with 64-bit address space, 512-bit vector extensions, matrix multiplication fixed-function hardware that accelerate AI/ML, and 4 IPC at up to 4.00 GHz core clock. Tachyum began the processor's software-side support, with an FPGA emulator in December 2019 (so you can emulate the processor on an FPGA and begin developing for it), C/C++ and Fortran compilers; debuggers and profilers, tensorflow compilers, and a Linux distribution that's optimized it. The I/O capabilities of this chip are something else.

AMD is expected to support the next-generation DDR5 memory standard by 2022, according to a MyDrivers report citing industry sources. We are close to a change in memory standards, with the 5-year old DDR4 memory standard beginning a gradual phase out over the next 3 years. Leading DRAM manufacturers such as SK Hynix have already hinted mass-production of the next-generation DDR5 memory to commence within 2020. Much like with DDR4, Intel could be the first to market with processors that support it, likely with its "Sapphire Rapids" Xeon processors. AMD, on the other hand, could debut support for the standard only with its "Zen 4" microarchitecture slated for 2021 technology announcements, with 2022 availability.

AMD "Zen 4" will see a transition to a new silicon fabrication process, likely TSMC 5 nm-class. It will be an inflection point for the company from an I/O standpoint, as it sees the introduction of DDR5 memory support across enterprise and desktop platforms, LPDDR5 on the mobile platform, and PCI-Express gen 5.0 across the board. Besides a generational bandwidth doubling, PCIe gen 5.0 is expected to introduce several industry-standard features that help with hyper-scalability in the enterprise segment, benefiting compute clusters with multiple scalar processors, such as AMD's CDNA2. Intel introduced many of these features with its proprietary CXL interconnect. AMD's upcoming "Zen 3" microarchitecture, scheduled for within 2020 with market presence in 2021, is expected to stick with DDR4, LPDDR4x, and PCI-Express gen 4.0 standards. DDR5 will enable data-rates ranging between 3200 to 8400 MHz, densities such as single-rank 32 GB UDIMMs, and a few new physical-layer features such as same-bank refresh.

Micron Technology, Inc., together with Motorola, today announced integration of Micron's low-power DDR5 (LPDDR5) DRAM into Motorola's new motorola edge+ smartphone, bringing the full potential of the 5G experience to consumers. Micron and Motorola worked in close collaboration to enable the edge+ to reach 5G network speeds that require maximum processing power coupled with high bandwidth memory and storage.

With 12 gigabytes (GB) of industry-leading Micron LPDDR5 DRAM memory, motorola edge+ delivers a smooth, lag-free consumer experience. The new phone takes advantage of the faster data speeds and lower latency of 5G to increase the performance of cloud-based applications such as gaming and streaming entertainment.

SK Hynix has today posted an update on their blog about the upcoming DDR5 memory, which they have developed in co-respondence with JEDEC's progression of the standard. They have noted a few key things, among which some of the most interesting are features like the maximum speed of 8400 Mbps. The DDR5 standard is very flexible, allowing manufacturers to release their chips with frequencies ranging anywhere from 3200-8400 Mbps. While the lowest speed is 3200 Mbps, manufacturers are starting with 4800 Mbps chips and building their way up from there. The minimum density of a single DDR5 die is 8 Gb, while the maximum is 64 Gb, quadrupling the maximum capacity of DDR4 dies.

Perhaps one of the biggest changes besides capacity and speed improvements is the addition of Error-Correcting Code (ECC) support for memory. This feature is now not exclusive to special dies, like with DDR4, but rather is built inside every die. The DDR5 memory chips use 32 banks, split into 8 bank groups, which is designed to provide as much bandwidth as possible. Burst Length is doubled to 16, compared to 8 of DDR4, so memory access availability is better. Operating Voltage is decreased to 1.1 V, from the previous 1.2 V of DDR4, resulting in an overall decrease of 20% of power consumption. The mass production of SK-Hynix's DDR5 chips will start this year, however, exact timing is unknown.