TECNO, a global innovative technology brand once again participated in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2024 Barcelona, unveiled its two Mini PC products and awarded by "BEST OF MWC" from high technology media-- the"world-first" MEGA MINI Gaming G1 with water-cooling in the smallest gaming Mini PC size, and the MEGA MINI M1 for Pocket-Sized Desktops Solution. In collaboration with TECNO's latest release of AR glasses, the MiniPC can achieve a larger screen for enhanced productivity and a more immersive gaming experience.

MiTAC Computing Technology, a subsidiary of MiTAC Holdings Corp., proudly reveals its groundbreaking suite of server solutions that deliver unsurpassed capabilities with the 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors. MiTAC introduces its cutting-edge signature platforms that seamlessly integrate the Intel Data Center GPUs, both Intel Max Series and Intel Flex Series, an unparalleled leap in computing performance is unleashed targeting HPC and AI applications.

MiTAC Announce its Full Array of Platforms Supporting the latest 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors
Last year, Intel transitioned the right to manufacture and sell products based on Intel Data Center Solution Group designs to MiTAC. MiTAC confidently announces a transformative upgrade to its product offerings, unveiling advanced platforms that epitomize the future of computing. Featured with up to 64 cores, expanded shared cache, increased UPI and DDR5 support, the latest 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors deliver remarkable performance per watt gains across various workloads. MiTAC's Intel Server M50FCP Family and Intel Server D50DNP Family fully support the latest 5th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, made possible through a quick BIOS update and easy technical resource revisions which provide unsurpassed performance to diverse computing environments.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading brand of performance overclock memory and PC components, in collaboration with ASUS ROG and Intel, celebrates a monumental achievement of setting a new SuperPi-32M overclocking world record at an astonishing 2 min 59 sec 919 ms, marking the first time this benchmark category was achieved in under 3 minutes. This amazing world record was achieved by SAFEDISK, the legendary South Korean extreme overclocker, using G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 memory, ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard, and Intel Core i9-14900KF desktop processor under liquid nitrogen cooling, demonstrating the bleeding edge of hardware performance of the latest computing hardware. For more information, visit the validation page on hwbot.org.

Overclocking Milestone Unlocked - SuperPi-32M at 2 min 59 sec 919 ms
SuperPi-32M is one of the most popular benchmarks for CPU and memory overclockers, and this extreme overclocking milestone commemorates the first time a score of under 3 minutes was achieved. Using liquid nitrogen extreme cooling, SAFEDISK lowered the CPU temperature as low as -188°C to reach a remarkable 8449.2 MHz and the G.SKILL Trident Z5 RGB DDR5 memory as low as -60°C to reach DDR5-9052 with 32-48-45-36 timings on an ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Apex Encore motherboard. This expertly configured setup and operation under extreme conditions gives testament to the breathtaking technical performance of modern computer systems.

Supermicro, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a Total IT Solution Provider for AI, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, delivers an expanded portfolio of purpose-built infrastructure solutions to accelerate performance and increase efficiency in 5G and telecom workloads. With one of the industry's most diverse offerings, Supermicro enables customers to expand public and private 5G infrastructures with improved performance per watt and support for new and innovative AI applications. As a long-term advocate of open networking platforms and a member of the O-RAN Alliance, Supermicro's portfolio incorporates systems featuring 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors, AMD EPYC 8004 Series processors, and the NVIDIA Grace Hopper Superchip.

"Supermicro is expanding our broad portfolio of sustainable and state-of-the-art servers to address the demanding requirements of 5G and telco markets and Edge AI," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "Our products are not just about technology, they are about delivering tangible customer benefits. We quickly bring data center AI capabilities to the network's edge using our Building Block architecture. Our products enable operators to offer new capabilities to their customers with improved performance and lower energy consumption. Our edge servers contain up to 2 TB of high-speed DDR5 memory, 6 PCIe slots, and a range of networking options. These systems are designed for increased power efficiency and performance-per-watt, enabling operators to create high-performance, customized solutions for their unique requirements. This reassures our customers that they are investing in reliable and efficient solutions."

By the end of 2023, MSI unveiled its groundbreaking support for memory capacities of up to 256 GB. Now, both MSI Intel and AMD motherboards official support these capacities, with 4 DIMMs enabling 256 GB and 2 DIMMs supporting 128 GB. This advancement enhances multitasking capabilities and ensures seamless computing operations.

Intel Motherboard - 700 & 600 Series Platform, BIOS Rolling Out
The supported platforms for this memory capacity enhancement include Intel 700 and 600 series DDR5 motherboards. Gamers looking to benefit from these enhancements will need to upgrade to the own dedicated BIOS. MSI is currently diligently working on releasing the BIOS, with the first batch already available below. The rest of the models will be released in late February and March.

Cadence's digital and custom/analog flows are certified on the Intel 18A process technology. Cadence design IP supports this node from Intel Foundry, and the corresponding process design kits (PDKs) are delivered to accelerate the development of a wide variety of low-power consumer, high-performance computing (HPC), AI and mobile computing designs. Customers can now begin using the production-ready Cadence design flows and design IP to achieve design goals and speed up time to market.

"Intel Foundry is very excited to expand our partnership with Cadence to enable key markets for the leading-edge Intel 18A process technology," said Rahul Goyal, Vice President and General Manager, Product and Design Ecosystem, Intel Foundry. "We will leverage Cadence's world-class portfolio of IP, AI design technologies, and advanced packaging solutions to enable high-volume, high-performance, and power-efficient SoCs in Intel Foundry's most advanced process technology. Cadence is an indispensable partner supporting our IDM2.0 strategy and the Intel Foundry ecosystem."

Last year, Arm introduced its Neoverse Compute Subsystem (CSS) for the N2 and V2 series of data center processors, providing a reference platform for the development of efficient Arm-based chips. Major cloud service providers like AWS with Graviton 4 and Trainuium 2, Microsoft with Cobalt 100 and Maia 100, and even NVIDIA with Grace CPU and Bluefield DPUs are already utilizing custom Arm server CPU and accelerator designs based on the CSS foundation in their data centers. The CSS allows hyperscalers to optimize Arm processor designs specifically for their workloads, focusing on efficiency rather than outright performance. Today, Arm has unveiled the next generation CSS N3 and V3 for even greater efficiency and AI inferencing capabilities. The N3 design provides up to 32 high-efficiency cores per die with improved branch prediction and larger caches to boost AI performance by 196%, while the V3 design scales up to 64 cores and is 50% faster overall than previous generations.

Both the N3 and V3 leverage advanced features like DDR5, PCIe 5.0, CXL 3.0, and chiplet architecture, continuing Arm's push to make chiplets the standard for data center and cloud architectures. The chiplet approach enables customers to connect their own accelerators and other chiplets to the Arm cores via UCIe interfaces, reducing costs and time-to-market. Looking ahead, Arm has a clear roadmap for its Neoverse platform. The upcoming CSS V4 "Adonis" and N4 "Dionysus" designs will build on the improvements in the N3 and V3, advancing Arm's goal of greater efficiency and performance using optimized chiplet architectures. As more major data center operators introduce custom Arm-based designs, the Neoverse CSS aims to provide a flexible, efficient foundation to power the next generation of cloud computing.

Supermicro, Inc., a Total IT Solution Manufacturer for AI, Cloud, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is expanding its portfolio of AI solutions, allowing customers to leverage the power and capability of AI in edge locations, such as public spaces, retail stores, or industrial infrastructure. Using Supermicro application-optimized servers with NVIDIA GPUs makes it easier to fine-tune pre-trained models and for AI inference solutions to be deployed at the edge where the data is generated, improving response times and decision-making.

"Supermicro has the broadest portfolio of Edge AI solutions, capable of supporting pre-trained models for our customers' edge environments," said Charles Liang, president and CEO of Supermicro. "The Supermicro Hyper-E server, based on the dual 5th Gen Intel Xeon processors, can support up to three NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPUs, delivering unparalleled performance for Edge AI. With up to 8 TB of memory in these servers, we are bringing data center AI processing power to edge locations. Supermicro continues to provide the industry with optimized solutions as enterprises build a competitive advantage by processing AI data at their edge locations."

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced two new Crucial Pro Series products with the addition of overclocking-capable memory and the world's fastest Gen 5 SSD. The Crucial DDR5 Pro Memory: Overclocking Edition modules are available in 16 GB densities up to DDR5-6000 to deliver higher performance, lower latencies and better bandwidth to fuel gaming wins and reduce performance bottlenecks. These powerful DDR5 overclocking DRAM modules are compatible with the latest DDR5 Intel and AMD CPUs and support both Intel XMP 3.0 and AMD EXPO specifications on every module, eliminating compatibility hassles. Built with leading-edge Micron 232-layer TLC NAND, the Crucial T705 SSD unleashes the full potential of Gen 5 performance.

Lightning-fast sequential reads and writes up to 14,500 MB/s and 12,700 MB/s (up to 1,550K/1,800K IOPS random reads and writes) respectively, enable faster gaming, video editing, 3D rendering and heavy workload AI application processing. With DDR5 Pro Overclocking DRAM and the T705 SSD, enthusiasts, gamers and professionals can harness the speed, bandwidth and performance they need for AI-ready PC builds capable of processing, rendering and storing large volumes of AI generated content.

Seizing the Edge: Cervoz Adapts to Shifting Data Landscape—The rapid emergence of technologies like AIoT and 5G and their demand for high-speed data processing has accelerated the data transition from the cloud to the edge. This shift exposes data to unpredictable environments with extreme temperature variations, vibrations, and space constraints, making it critical for edge devices to thrive in these settings. Cervoz strategically targets the blooming edge computing sector by introducing an extensive array of compact product lines, enhancing its existing SSDs, DRAM, and Modular Expansion Cards to meet the unique needs of edge computing.

Cervoz Reveals NVMe M.2 SSDs and Connectivity Solutions to Power the Edge
Cervoz introduces its latest compact PCIe Gen. 3x2 SSD offerings, the T421 M.2 2242 (B+M key) and T425 M.2 2230 (A+E key). These space-efficient design and low power consumption feature offer exceptional performance, catering to the storage needs of fanless embedded PCs and motherboards for purpose-built edge applications. Cervoz is also leading the way in developing connectivity solutions, including Ethernet, Wi-Fi, Serial, USB, and CAN Bus all available in M.2 2230 (A+E key) and M.2 2242/2260/2280 (B+M) form factors. The M.2 (B+M key) 2242/2260/2280 card is a versatile three-in-one solution designed for maximum adaptability. While it initially comes in a 2280 form factor, it can be easily adjusted to fit 2260 or 2242 sizes. It offers an effortless upgrade of existing systems without sacrificing connection capability, especially in edge devices.

Chinese review outlets have received MSI Claw sample units—the "Please, Xiao Fengfeng" Bilibili video channel has produced several comparison pieces detailing how the plucky Intel Meteor Lake-powered handheld stands up against its closest rival; ASUS ROG Ally. The latter utilizes an AMD Ryzen Z1 APU—in Extreme or Standard forms—many news outlets have pointed out that the Z1 Extreme processor is a slightly reworked Ryzen 7 7840U "Phoenix" processor. Intel and its handheld hardware partners have not dressed up Meteor Lake chips with alternative gaming monikers—simply put, the MSI Claw arrives with Core Ultra 7-155H or Ultra 5-135H processors onboard. The two rival systems both run on Window 11, and also share the same screen size, resolution, display technology (IPS) and 16 GB LPDDR5-6400 memory configuration. The almost eight months old ASUS handheld seems to outperform its near-launch competition.

Xiao Fengfeng's review (Ultra 7-155H versus Z1 Extreme) focuses on different power levels and how they affect handheld performance—the Claw and Ally have user selectable TDP modes. A VideoCardz analysis piece lays out key divergences: "Both companies offer easy TDP profile switches, allowing users to adjust performance based on the game's requirements or available battery life. The Claw's larger battery could theoretically offer more gaming time or higher TDP with the same battery life. The system can work at 40 W TDP level (but in reality it's between 35 and 40 watts)...In the Shadow of the Tomb Raider test, the Claw doesn't seem to outperform the ROG Ally. According to a Bilibili creator's test, the system falls short at four different power levels: 15 W, 20 W, 25 W, and max TDP (40 W for Claw and 30 W for Ally)."

ZOTAC USA Inc., a leading manufacturer of innovative gaming hardware solutions, is thrilled to announce the market launch of three new MEK HERO pre-built Gaming PCs: the MEK HERO A7647S, A7647STI, and A7748S built using the latest ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER Twin Edge OC, ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER Trinity OC White Edition, and ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER Trinity Black Edition Graphic Cards. These are teamed up with AMD Ryzen 5 7600 and Ryzen 7 7700X processors, offering stunning 4K graphics for unprecedented gaming performance with AI-accelerated DLSS 3.5 and Real-Time Ray Tracing, bringing gamers an immersive gaming experience. This new series of MEK HERO offers 3 years of warranty coverage, specifically for the included ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 40 SUPER Series Graphics Card component.

The MEK HERO A7647S, A7647STI, and A7748S Gaming PCs feature 16 GB DDR5 system memory and NVMe M.2 SSD storage, elevating PC gaming and the visual content creation process to new heights. Each MEK HERO Gaming PC undergoes meticulous assembly and hand-testing in the United States, ensuring the highest build quality. Crafted for optimal performance, durability, and an unmatched experience, MEK HERO Gaming PCs with GeForce RTX 40 SUPER Series Graphics Cards are tailored to meet the demands of hardcore gamers and content creators alike.

AMD's newly announced Ryzen 8000G "Hawk Point" desktop APUs do not support ECC memory, contrary to what the specifications on the AMD website had initially shown, Reddit users found out. The company has since quietly edited its product pages to remove the bit about ECC support. For the overwhelming majority of desktop client use cases, including enthusiast PCs, ECC memory support is irrelevant. That said, the memory controllers of "Phoenix" in Ryzen PRO 7000 mobile processors for commercial notebooks support ECC memory, and so it stands to reason that upcoming Ryzen PRO models for both commercial desktops and notebooks might feature it.

The AMD Ryzen 7 8700G and Ryzen 5 8600G are based on the 4 nm "Hawk Point" monolithic silicon, with a more overclocker-friendly set of DDR5 memory controllers than the ones found in the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" processors. Besides support for several high-frequency DDR5 modes, the memory controller technically supports ECC (at least "Phoenix" does, on the Ryzen PRO 7000 mobile processors). The memory controller also supports a maximum of 256 GB of memory, or 64 GB dual-rank memory modules per slot. It also supports 24 GB and 48 GB DIMM densities.

It turns out that the 60-core Xeon W9-3595X leak from last week is part of a 14-SKU mid-lifecycle refresh of the Xeon W LGA4677 series targeting the workstation and HEDT markets. The underlying microarchitecture and silicon at the heart of these is "Sapphire Rapids Refresh," it's essentially the same as "Sapphire Rapids," but with CPU core-count increases across the SKUs. If you recall, the "Sapphire Rapids" MCM has a maximum core-count of 60-core/120-thread which is maxed out in Xeon Scalable server processors, but only hit up to 56-core/112-thread with the original W3400 and W2400 series HEDT/workstation chips. This unused 4-core headroom, combined with increases in clock speeds, is how Intel plans to create these 14 SKUs across the new W3500 and W2500 product lines.

As with the original W3400 and W2400 series; what set the W3500 series chips apart from the W2500 series, is the I/O. The W3500 series gets 8-channel DDR5 memory and 128 PCIe Gen 5 lanes, while the W2500 series chips get 4-channel DDR5 memory and 64 PCIe Gen 5 lanes. As we mentioned, this refresh is all about increasing the CPU core counts at existing price points. The top W9-3595X is a 60-core/120-thread chip, compared to the 56-core/112-thread W9-3495X it's replacing. The new W9-3575X gets a massive 8-core uplift, and is now a 44-core/88-thread processor, compared to the 36-core/72-thread W9-3475X. The W7-3565X is 32-core/64-thread, compared to the 28-core/56-thread W7-3465X.

SafeDisk (AKA SoonHo Jeong) has tinkered with an AMD Ryzen 7 8700G APU and ASUS ROG Crosshair X670E GENE motherboard combination—earlier today, the professional overclocker set a validated/verified memory speed of DDR5-10600 world record on Team Red's AM5 platform. This has surpassed a previous result global-leading from late last week—DDR5-10346 was achieved with the same processor, but on a GIGABYTE B650E AORUS Tachyon board. SafeDisk has a distinct advantage in memory overclocking stakes, due to his workplace being the ASUS ROG labs in Taipei, Taiwan—his closest competitor, Benny Lodewijk Nitolo Lase (an Indonesian overclocker) now sits behind him in second place.

SafeDisk's test setup included the aforementioned APU plus motherboard combo, a Thermalright (not ASUS!) AIO, a twin pack of G.Skill Trident Z5 (F5-7800J3646H16G) DIMMs, and an ASUS GeForce GT 730 2 GB Silent graphics card. The ROG Crosshair X670E GENE's default set of VRM heatsinks were removed completely during test conditions. The two memory sticks were set at their default CL36 7800 MT/s speed at 1.45 V—SafeDisk's record breaking DDR5-10600 overclock was achieved with timings of 50-62-62-127-127. Wccftech noted that the: "overclock was able to boot directly into the OS and (SafeDisk) says that the whole OC procedure was very easy."

AMD is readying the new 800-series motherboard chipset to launch alongside its next-generation Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processors that implement the "Zen 5" microarchitecture. The chipset family will be led by the AMD X870E, a successor to the current X670E. Since AMD isn't changing the CPU socket, and this is very much the same Socket AM5, the 800-series chipset will support not just "Granite Ridge" at launch, but also the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael," and Ryzen 8000 series "Hawk Point." Moore's Law is Dead goes into the details of what sets the X870E apart from the current X670E, and it all has to do with USB4.

Apparently, motherboard manufacturers will be mandated to include 40 Gbps USB4 connectivity with AMD X870E, which essentially makes the chipset a 3-chip solution—two Promontory 21 bridge chips, and a discrete ASMedia ASM4242 USB4 host controller; although it's possible that AMD's QVL will allow other brands of USB4 controllers as they become available. The Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" are chiplet based processors just like the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," and while the 4 nm "Zen 5" CCDs are new, the 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) is largely carried over from "Raphael," with a few updates to its memory controller. DDR5-6400 will be the new AMD-recommended "sweetspot" speed; although AMD might get its motherboard vendors to support DDR5-8000 EXPO profiles with an FCLK of 2400 MHz, and a divider.

QNAP Systems, Inc., a leading computing, networking, and storage solution innovator, today introduced the TS-h3077AFU, a highly reliable 30-bay SATA 6 Gb/s all-flash SSD NAS with a ZFS-based operating system, cutting-edge AMD Ryzen Embedded 7000 Series processors and integrated AMD Radeon Graphics. With up to 1.6M/1.2M iSCSI 4K random read/write IOPS, DDR5 RAM, built-in dual-port 10/2.5 GbE, upgradability to 100 GbE, PCIe Gen 4 expandability, and scalability to petabyte-scale storage, the TS-h3077AFU meets uncompromising performance demands in 4K/8K video workflows, storage centers, and virtualization. The QuTS hero operating system also features ZFS data reduction and SSD optimization, ensuring the utmost performance, lifespan, and efficiency from all-flash investments.

"The TS-h3077AFU redefines the landscape of storage solutions, offering not just capacity but also efficiency and performance for the most demanding business environments. Its capabilities in graphics processing, connectivity, and reliability, provided by the powerful AMD Ryzen Embedded 7000 Series Processor, position it as a game-changer in the industry," said Meiji Chang, General Manager of QNAP.

V-Color Technology Inc., announced their collaboration with MSI, resulting in the creation of the Manta DDR5 XFinity MPOWER a dynamic memory series that achieves speeds of up to 8400, seamlessly combining the prowess and innovation of both companies. Engineered for overclocking, this new series is ready to deliver top performance and exceptional endurance.
The DDR5 Manta XFinity MPOWER is developed with overclocking in mind, providing top-tier performance and endurance, catering to the needs of PC enthusiasts and high-performance consumers. In addition to its superior performance, this series has a sleek and modern design with a heatsink ideal for dissipating high temperatures, adding a touch of style to any system. With 16 LEDs enhanced technology, it delivers smooth, vivid lighting effects with a focus on personalization and performance.

We already know about AMD Ryzen 7 8700G APU's enjoyment of overclocked memory—early reviews demonstrated the graphical benefits granted by fiddling with "iGPU engine clock and the processor's memory frequency." While gamers can enjoy a boosted integrated graphics solution that is comparable in performance 1080p stakes to a discrete Radeon RX 6500 XT GPU, AI enthusiasts are eager to experiment with the "Hawk Point" pat's Radeon 780M IGP and Neural Processing Unit (NPU)—the first generation Ryzen XDNA inference engine can unleash up to 16 AI TOPs. One individual, chi11eddog, posted their findings through social media channels earlier today, coinciding with the official launch of Ryzen 8000G processors. The initial set of results concentrated on the Radeon 780M aspect; NPU-centric data may arrive at a later date.

They performed quick tests on AMD's freshly released Ryzen 7 8700G desktop processor, combined with an MSI B650 Gaming Plus WiFi motherboard and two sticks of 16 GB DDR5-4800 memory. The MSI exclusive "Memory Try It" feature was deployed further up in the tables—this assisted in achieving and gauging several "higher system RAM frequency" settings. Here is chi11eddog's succinct interpretation of benchmark results: "7600 MT/s is 15% faster than 4800 MT/s in UL Procyon AI Inference Benchmark and 4% faster in GIMP with Stable Diffusion." The processor's default memory state is capable of producing 210 Float32 TOPs, according to chi11eddog's inference chart. The 6000 MT/s setting produces a 7% improvement over baseline, while 7200 MT/s drives proceedings to 11%—the flagship APU's Radeon 780M iGPU appears to be quite dependent on bandwidth. Their GIMP w/ Stable Diffusion benchmarks also taxed the integrated RDNA 3 graphics solution—again, it was deemed to be fairly bandwidth hungry.

MAINGEAR, the leader in premium-quality, high-performance gaming PCs, announces its 2024 preconfigured MG-1 gaming PCs, featuring the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40-Series SUPER GPUs. Designed to redefine the gaming experience, these newly announced pre-configured systems, starting at $1,199, offer enhanced performance, diverse options, more memory, larger SSD capacities, and can be had with Windows 11 Pro.

"Refreshing the MG-1 Series to feature the latest gaming hardware and components represents our ongoing commitment to delivering cutting-edge gaming experiences. With the latest Intel & AMD processors, NVIDIA GPUs, including the new SUPERs, and a broader range of options in the MG-1, MAINGEAR continues to set the standard for gaming excellence." - Wallace Santos, CEO of MAINGEAR.

DFI, the world's leading brand in embedded motherboards and industrial computers, is targeting the AI application market by launching the embedded system module (SOM) MTH968 equipped with the latest Intel Core Ultra processor. It is the first product integrated with an NPU (Neural Processor Unit) processor, representing the official integration of AI with industrial PCs (IPCs). With the expansion into AI IPC, DFI expects to inject new momentum into the AI edge computing market.

According to the STL Partners report, the potential market value of global edge computing will increase from US$9 billion in 2020 to US$462 billion in 2030, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49%. Therefore, the development of products that utilize the core capabilities of chips to rapidly execute AI edge computing in devices has become a key focus for many major technology companies.

In addition to the 37 Gbps GDDR7 memory, Samsung Electronics prepares to showcase several other memory innovations at the 2024 IEEE-SSCC as compiled by VideoCardz. To begin with, the company is showcasing a new 280-layer 3D QLC NAND flash memory in the 1 Tb density, enabling next generation of mainstream SSDs and smartphone storage. This chip offers an areal density of 28.5 Gb/mm², and a speed of 3.2 GB/s. To put this into perspective, the fastest 3D NAND flash types powering the current crop of flagship NVMe SSDs rely on 2.4 GB/s of I/O data rates.

Next up, is a new generation DDR5 memory chip offers data rates of DDR5-8000 with a density of 32 Gbit (4 GB). This chip uses a symmetric-mosaic DRAM cell architecture, and is built on a 5th generation 10 nm class foundry node Samsung optimized for DRAM products. What's impressive about this chip is that it will allow PC memory vendors to build 32 GB and 48 GB DIMMs in single-rank configuration with DDR5-8000 speeds; as well as 64 GB and 96 GB DIMMs in dual-rank configuration (impressive, provided your platform can play well with DDR5-8000 in dual-rank).

The first CPU-Z test results of AMD's upcoming Ryzen 7 8700G were sniffed out by serial leaker @momomo_us on X/Twitter and the new APU is looking very promising performance wise. It ends up being neck and neck with yours truly own Ryzen 7 7800X3D with a small lead to the CPU over the APU in single-threaded performance, but in the multi-threaded test the APU manages to stay ahead of the CPU, if only just. Both AMD chips are still somewhat behind Intel's Core i7-12700KF, but it has an extra four threads, even though those threads are slower due to them being on the E-cores.

The Ryzen 7 8700G test system was using an ASRock B650 Pro RS motherboard and the APU was paired with 32 GB of DDR5-6400 memory with reasonably tight timings of 32-39-39-102. The tester relied on the integrated Radeon 780M graphics in the APU and the Windows 11 operating system was installed on a 500 GB Seagate BarraCuda 510 SSD. In the single-threaded test the Ryzen 7 8700G scores 675 points vs 683 for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and in the multi-threaded tests it came in at 7318 vs 7301. Not bad for a 65 W TDP APU vs a 120 W TDP CPU. For comparison, the average for Intel's Core i7-12700KF is 7754 in the mutli-threaded test. Although CPU-Z is far from an exhaustive test, it does at least give us a first glimpse of what to expect from the new Zen 4 APUs from AMD in terms of performance and it looks like it's in line with its best Zen 4 CPUs.

According to sources close to Seoul Economy, and reported by DigiTimes, Intel has reportedly chosen Samsung as a supplier for its next-generation Lunar Lake processors, set to debut later this year. The report notes that Samsung will provide LPDDR5X memory devices for integration into Intel's processors. This collaboration could be a substantial win for Samsung, given Intel's projection to distribute millions of Lunar Lake CPUs in the coming years. However, it's important to note that this information is based on a leak and has not been officially confirmed. Designed for ultra-portable laptops, the Lunar Lake-MX platform is expected to feature 16 GB or 32 GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory directly on the processor package. This on-package memory approach aims to minimize the platform's physical size while enhancing performance over traditional memory configurations. With Lunar Lake's exclusive support for on-package memory, Samsung's LPDDR5X-8533 products could significantly boost sales.

While Samsung is currently in the spotlight, it remains unclear if it will be the sole LPDDR5X memory provider for Lunar Lake. Intel's strategy involves selling processors with pre-validated memory, leaving the door open for potential validation of similar memory products from competitors like Micron and SK Hynix. Thanks to a new microarchitecture, Intel has promoted its Lunar Lake processors as a revolutionary leap in performance-per-watt efficiency. The processors are expected to utilize a multi-chipset design with Foveros technology, combining CPU and GPU chipsets, a system-on-chip tile, and dual memory packages. The CPU component is anticipated to include up to eight cores, a mix of four high-performance Lion Cove and four energy-efficient Skymont cores, alongside advanced graphics, cache, and AI acceleration capabilities. Apple's use of on-package memory in its M-series chips has set a precedent in the industry, and with Intel's Lunar Lake MX, this trend could extend across the thin-and-light laptop market. However, systems requiring more flexibility in terms of configuration, repair, and upgrades will likely continue to employ standard memory solutions like SODIMMs and/or the new CAMM2 modules that offer a balance of high performance and energy efficiency.

AMD is looking to debut its Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processors based on the "Zen 5" microarchitecture some time around May-June 2024, according to High Yield YT, a reliable source with AMD leaks. These processors will be built in the existing Socket AM5 package, and be compatible with all existing AMD 600 series chipset motherboards. It remains to be seen if AMD debuts a new line of motherboard chipsets. Almost all Socket AM5 motherboards come with the USB BIOS flashback feature, which means motherboards from even the earliest production batches that are in the retail channel, should be able to easily support the new processors.

AMD is giving its next-gen desktop processors the Ryzen 9000 series processor model numbering, as it used the Ryzen 8000 series for its recently announced Socket AM5 desktop APUs based on the "Hawk Point" monolithic silicon. "Granite Ridge" will be a chiplet-based processor, much like the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael." In fact, it will even retain the same 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) as "Raphael," with some possible revisions made to increase its native DDR5 memory frequency (up from the current DDR5-5200), and improve its memory overclocking capabilities. It's being reported that DDR5-6400 could be the new "sweetspot" memory speed for these processors, up from the current DDR5-6000.