During Barclays 22nd Annual Global Technology Conference, Intel was a guest and two of the interim company co-CEOs Michelle Johnston Holthaus and David Zinsner gave a little update on the state of affairs at Intel. One of the most interesting aspects of the talk was Intel's upcoming "Panther Lake" processor—a direct successor to Intel Core Ultra 200S "Arrow Lake-H" mobile processors. The company confirmed that Panther Lake would utilize an Intel 18A node and that a few select customers have powered on Panther Lake on the E0 engineering sample chip. "Now we are using Intel Foundry for Panther Lake, which is our 2025 product, which will land on 18A. And this is the first time that we're customer zero in a long time on an Intel process," said interim co-CEO Michelle Johnston Holthaus, adding, "But just to give some assurances, on Panther Lake, we have our ES0 samples out with customers. We have eight customers that have powered on, which gives you just kind of an idea that the health of the silicon is good and the health of the Foundry is good."

While we don't know what ES0 means for Intel internally, we can assume that it is one of the first engineering samples on the 18A. The "ES" moniker usually refers to engineering samples, and zero after it could be the first design iteration. For reference, Intel's "Panther Lake-H" will reportedly have up to 18 cores: 6 P-cores, 8 E-cores, and 4 LP cores. The design brings back low-power island E-cores in the SoC tile. The P-cores use "Cougar Cove," which should have a higher IPC than "Lion Cove," while keeping the existing "Skymont" E-cores. The SoC tile may move from Arrow Lake's 6 nm to a newer process to fit the LP cores and an updated NPU. The iGPU is said to use the Xe3 "Celestial" architecture. With Arrow Lake-H launching in early 2025, Panther Lake-H likely won't arrive until 2026.

Specifications of the upcoming AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor were leaked to the web by a Geizhals listing. The chip comes with a processor base frequency of 4.70 GHz, and a maximum boost frequency of 5.20 GHz. The base frequency of 4.70 GHz is a significant increase from the 4.20 GHz of the current 7800X3D, while the maximum boost frequency has moved up a couple of notches from the 5.05 GHz of the 7800X3D. The TDP of the processor is set at 120 W, same as the 7800X3D, and higher than the 105 W revised-spec cTDP of the non-X3D Ryzen 7 9700X.

The specs sheet also confirms that the 3D V-cache size is unchanged generationally. The stacked 3D V-cache die adds 64 MB to the on-die 32 MB L3 cache, which is exposed to software as a 96 MB contiguously addressable L3 cache. The per-core L2 cache size remains 1 MB per core. The biggest contributor to generational gaming performance increases will rest on the increase in frequencies, the new "Zen 5" microarchitecture and any IPC improvements on offer, plus L3 cache performance improvements AMD introduced with "Zen 5." We recently reported a spectacular theory that AMD has designed the 9800X3D such that the stacked 3D V-cache is positioned below the 8-core CPU complex die chiplet, and not above it, which should significantly improve thermals, and clock speeds.

AMD China has set up a press event to launch its new Ryzen 7 9800X3D "Zen 5" processor with 3D V-cache. The company is sending out invitations like the one pictured below to the Chinese tech press and select PC enthusiasts. The event is slated to take place in Zhuhai, and spans October 23 and 24, which could mean that the company has set up an experience zone, where visitors can take gaming desktops powered by the 9800X3D for a spin with popular game titles. It won't surprise us if AMD has at least an online press event planned around this time for the rest of the world.

The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is widely expected to extend AMD's lead with gaming performance. In first-party gaming benchmarks put out by Intel for its upcoming Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake" processor, the new chip is shown within 3% of the Core i9-14900K, which the current Ryzen 7 7800X3D beats, and the 9800X3D can only push the gaming performance envelope further from here. If it's not the higher IPC of "Zen 5," then it could be the alleged 5.20 GHz all-core boost frequency for the 9800X3D. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D is expected to go on sale in the first week of November 2024.

AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) today announced the availability of the 5th Gen AMD EPYC processors, formerly codenamed "Turin," the world's best server CPU for enterprise, AI and cloud. Using the "Zen 5" core architecture, compatible with the broadly deployed SP5 platform and offering a broad range of core counts spanning from 8 to 192, the AMD EPYC 9005 Series processors extend the record-breaking performance and energy efficiency of the previous generations with the top of stack 192 core CPU delivering up to 2.7X the performance compared to the competition.

New to the AMD EPYC 9005 Series CPUs is the 64 core AMD EPYC 9575F, tailor made for GPU powered AI solutions that need the ultimate in host CPU capabilities. Boosting up to 5 GHz, compared to the 3.8 GHz processor of the competition, it provides up to 28% faster processing needed to keep GPUs fed with data for demanding AI workloads.

Leading IPC provider AAEON today announced the release of two new Panel PCs: the ACP-2106, which features a 10" WXGA screen, and the ACP-2076, equipped with a 7" WSVGA Projected Capacitive Multi-Touch screen. Compared to its previous Panel PC offerings, both the ACP-2106 and ACP-2076 offer substantial improvements in processing power, with a choice of either the Intel Processor N50 or Intel Processor N97 CPU. Moreover, both new additions to the range support up to 32 GB of DDR5, compared to the 8 GB of DDR3L offered by the previous generation. With these improvements, the ACP-2106 and ACP-2076 are clearly designed for use in more advanced and taxing industrial and commercial applications, with retail and industrial automation thought to be primary target markets.

The ACP-2076 grants users a 7" display with 1024 x 600 resolution, while the ACP-2106's 10" screen offers a slightly higher resolution of 1280 x 800. Both PCs are also equipped with an HDMI 1.4b port, making them suitable for applications that require dual-display capabilities, such as smart kiosks. Both models also provide wide viewing angles and high brightness levels, with the ACP-2076 achieving 320 cd/m² and the ACP-2106 reaching 300 cd/m², ensuring consistent visibility in a variety of environments.

MSI, a global leader in AI and advanced computing solutions, proudly announces the launch of the MS-C906, a compact-size Box PC powered by the Intel 13th Gen Raptor Lake-P U Series Processor. Designed for ultra-low-power fanless operation, the MS-C906 is ideal for edge AI applications, offering unparalleled performance and reliability.

Key Features:

• High Performance: Supports up to 32 GB of DDR5 5200 MHz RAM and features quadruple independent HDMI displays, perfect for versatile visual output in various industrial and commercial environments.
• Robust Connectivity: Equipped with four Intel 2.5GbE LAN ports, ensuring robust network connectivity. M.2 and SATA interfaces provide ample storage options.

The newest leak from X (formerly Twitter) has detailed five Intel Granite Rapids SKUs, including the 6980P, 6979P, 6972P, 6952P, and the 6960P. Featuring up to 128 CPU cores and up to 504 MB of cache, these show that Intel Granite Rapids will double the amount of cores compared to the Emerald Rapids SKUs.

The newest leak coming from Jaykihn over at X, following the previous leak that detailed the most powerful SKU. The 6980P will pack 128 cores, pack 504 MB of cache, have a 2.0 GHz base frequency and a massive 500 W TDP rating. The rest of the SKUs have lower core count, ending with the 6960P, which comes with 72 cores, 432 MB of cache, but also a higher 2.7 GHz base frequency.

Since its reveal last week, we got a slightly more technical deep-dive from AMD on its two upcoming processors—the "Strix Point" silicon powering its Ryzen AI 300 series mobile processors; and the "Granite Ridge" chiplet MCM powering its Ryzen 9000 desktop processors. We present a closer look into the "Strix Point" SoC in this article. It turns out that "Strix Point" takes a significantly different approach to heterogeneous multicore than "Phoenix 2." AMD gave us a close look at how this works. AMD built the "Strix Point" monolithic silicon on the TSMC N4P foundry node, with a die-area of around 232 mm².

The "Strix Point" silicon sees the company's Infinity Fabric interconnect as its omnipresent ether. This is a point-to-point interconnect, unlike the ringbus on some Intel processors. The main compute machinery on the "Strix Point" SoC are its two CPU compute complexes (CCX), each with a 32b (read)/16b (write) per cycle data-path to the fabric. The concept of CCX makes a comeback with "Strix Point" after nearly two generations of "Zen." The first CCX contains the chip's four full-sized "Zen 5" CPU cores, which share a 16 MB L3 cache among themselves. The second CCX contains the chip's eight "Zen 5c" cores that share a smaller 8 MB L3 cache. Each of the 12 cores has a 1 MB dedicated L2 cache.

A CPU-Z screenshot of an alleged Intel Core Ultra 9 285K "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor engineering sample is doing rounds on social media, thanks to wxnod. CPU-Z identifies the chip with an Intel Core Ultra case badge with the deep shade of blue associated with the Core Ultra 9 brand extension, which hints at this being the top Core Ultra 9 285K processor model, we know it's the "K" or "KF" SKU looking at its processor base power reading of 125 W. The chip is built in the upcoming Intel Socket LGA1851. CPU-Z displays the process node as 7 nm, which corresponds with the Intel 4 foundry node.

Intel is using the same Intel 4 foundry node for "Arrow Lake-S" as the compute tile of its "Meteor Lake" processor. Intel 4 offers power efficiency and performance comparable to 4 nm nodes from TSMC, although it is physically a 7 nm node. Likewise, the Intel 3 node is physically 5 nm. If you recall, the main logic tile of "Lunar Lake" is being built on the TSMC N3P (3 nm) node. This means that Intel is really gunning for performance/Watt with "Lunar Lake," to get as close to the Apple M3 Pro as possible.

MSI is excited to introduce the MS-C907, a robust and versatile embedded Box IPC designed to meet the demanding requirements of various industries. Beyond its suitability for the chemical industry, the MS-C907 is ideal for applications in factory automation, transportation, digital signage and retail.

Meeting the Needs of Multiple Industries
The MS-C907 offers robust performance, extensive connectivity, and durable design, making it an ideal solution for a wide range of industrial applications. Whether it's automating factory processes, powering digital signage, or managing smart building systems, the MS-C907 provides the reliability and efficiency needed for continuous operation.

Intel is preparing a complete refresh of its desktop platform this year, with the introduction of the Core Ultra 200 series processors based on the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture. The company skipped a desktop processor based on "Meteor Lake," probably because it didn't meet the desired multithreaded performance targets for Intel as it maxed out at 6P+8E+2LP, forcing Intel to come up with the 14th Gen Core "Raptor Lake Refresh" generation to see it through 2H-2023 and at least three quarters of 2024. The company, in all likelihood, will launch the new "Arrow Lake-S" Core Ultra 200 series toward late-Q3 or early-Q4 2024 (September-October). The first wave will include the overclocker-friendly K- and KF SKUs, alongside motherboards based on the top Intel Z890 chipset. 2025 will see the series ramp to more affordable processor models, and mainstream chipsets, such as the B860. These processors require a new motherboard, as Intel is introducing the new Socket LGA1851 with them.

Core configurations of the "Arrow Lake-S" chip surfaced on the web thanks to Jaykihn, a reliable source with Intel leaks. In its maximum configuration, the chip is confirmed to feature 8 P-cores, and 16 E-cores. There are no low-power island E-cores. Each of the 8 P-cores is a "Lion Cove" featuring 3 MB of dedicated L2 cache; while each the E-cores are "Skymont," arranged in 4-core modules that share 4 MB L2 caches among them. Intel claims that the "Lion Cove" P-core offers a 14% IPC increase over the "Redwood Cove" P-core powering "Meteor Lake," which in turn had either equal or a 1% IPC regression compared to "Raptor Cove." This would put "Lion Cove" at a 13-14% IPC advantage over the "Raptor Cove" cores. It's important to note here, that the "Lion Cove" P-cores lack HyperThreading, so Intel will be banking heavily on the "Skymont" E-cores to shore up generational multithreaded performance increase. "Skymont" was a show-stopper at Intel's Computex event, with a nearly 50% IPC gain over previous generations of Intel E-cores, which puts it at par with the "Raptor Cove" cores in single-thread performance.

Intel has reportedly chosen the TSMC 4 nm EUV foundry node for its next generation Arc Xe2 discrete GPUs based on the "Battlemage" graphics architecture. This would mark a generational upgrade from the Arc "Alchemist" family, which Intel built on the TSMC 6 nm DUV process. The TSMC N4 node offers significant increases in transistor densities, performance, and power efficiency over the N6, which is allowing Intel to nearly double the Xe cores on its largest "Battlemage" variant in numerical terms. This, coupled with increased IPC, clock speeds, and other features, should make the "Battlemage" contemporary against today's AMD RDNA 3 and NVIDIA Ada gaming GPUs. Interestingly, TSMC N4 isn't the most advanced foundry node that the Xe2 "Battlemage" is being built on. The iGPU powering Intel's Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor is part of its Compute tile, which Intel is building on the more advanced TSMC N3 (3 nm) node.

Intel very much does intend to make discrete gaming GPUs based on its Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture, which made its debut with the Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake-MX" processor as an iGPU. With its next generation, Intel plans to capture an even bigger share of the gaming graphics market, both on the notebook and desktop platforms. "Battlemage" will be crucial for Intel, as it will be able to make its case with Microsoft and Sony for semi-custom chips, for their next-generation consoles. Intel has all pieces of the console SoC puzzle that AMD does. A Xe2 "Battlemage" discrete GPU sample, codenamed "Churchill Falls," has been spotted making its transit in and out of locations known for Intel SoC development, such as Bangalore in India, and Shanghai in China.

Such shipping manifests tend to be incredibly descriptive, and speak of an Arc "Battlemage" X3 and Arc "Battlemage" X4 SKUs, each with 448 execution units (EU), across 56 Xe cores. Assuming an Xe core continues to have 128 unified shaders in the "Battlemage" architecture, you're looking at 7,168 unified shaders for this GPU, a staggering 75% increase in just the numerical count of the shaders, and not accounting for IPC increase and other architecture-level features. The descriptions also speak of a 256-bit wide memory bus, although they don't specify memory type or speed. Given that at launch, the Arc A770 "Alchemist" was a 1440p-class GPU, we predict Intel might take a crack at a 4K-class GPU. Besides raster 3D performance, Intel is expected to significantly improve the ray tracing and AI performance of its Xe2 discrete GPUs, making them powerful options for creative professionals.

MSI IPC is proud to announce the launch new industrial lite box product, the MS-C918. It is designed to meet the diverse needs of modern businesses with a focus on cost-effectiveness, ease of use, and portability. MS-C918 is meticulously designed for non-critical environments. This midterm longevity support is ideal for businesses that require robust and dependable computing solutions without the need for extended industrial-grade lifespans.

Providing a service life of around three years, making them suitable for applications that do not demand the extended durability of high-end industrial-grade products. This midterm support is perfect for businesses that anticipate regular updates or technology refresh cycles, ensuring that the devices remain relevant and efficient over their expected use period.

An AMD Ryzen 5 9600X "Zen 5" processor engineering sample has been overclocked to 5.70 GHz on all cores, and put through the CPU-Z Benchmark. Here, the chip is found to score 871 points in the single-thread benchmark, and 7096 points in the multithreaded benchmark. The overclock to 5.70 GHz is significant, as this is the maximum boost frequency of the upcoming Ryzen 9 9950X flagship part. The single-thread benchmark highlights that "Zen 5" has a similar IPC to the "Raptor Cove" P-core of the Intel Core i9-14900K processor, while the 7096 points multithreaded score is higher than the that of the Ryzen 7 5800X "Zen 3," meaning that AMD is overcoming the deficit of two whole cores (33% of the core-count of the 9600X) with just IPC and faster memory. AMD is expected to launch the Ryzen 9000 series desktop processors in July 2024.

ECS Industrial Computer Co., Ltd., (ECSIPC) is pleased to announce its participation at InfoComm 2024, Las Vegas Convention Center, NV. Exhibits June 12-14, 2024, at Booth #C8942. ECSIPC will be showcasing the latest LIVA mini PCs and fanless box PC for vertical market applications including digital signage, and a new motherboard for industrial and commercial use. ECSIPC is demonstrating its new LIVA X3A ARM-based digital signage player integrated with ContentSync exclusive software for flexible digital signage including for retail stores, shopping malls, restaurants, banks, hotels, and airports.

The LIVA X3A features the Rockchip RK3588 processor, 8 GB LPDDR5 memory and 64 GB eMMC storage plus four HDMI ports to provide three video outputs up to 4K UHD and one HD video output simultaneously. ContentSync provides users with intuitive operations including splicing mode to merge screens for captivating dynamic displays and customized scheduling.

Amid all the attention the next-generation "Lion Cove" P-cores powering the upcoming "Lunar Lake" and "Arrow Lake" microarchitectures get as they compete with AMD's "Zen 5," it's easy to lose sight of the next-generation "Skymont" E-cores that will feature in both the upcoming Intel microarchitectures, and as standalone cores in the "Twin Lake" low-power processor. Pictures from an Intel presentation, possibly to PC OEMs, got leaked to the web. These are just thumbnails, we can't see the whole slides, but the person who took the pictures captioned them in a now-deleted social media post on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo.

And now, the big reveal—the "Skymont" E-core is said to offer a double-digit IPC gain over the "Crestmont" E-core powering the current "Meteor Lake" processor, which in itself posted a roughly 4% IPC gain over the "Gracemont" E-cores found in the "Raptor Lake" and "Alder Lake" microarchitectures. Such an IPC gain over "Gracemont" should make the "Skymont" E-core match the IPC of the "Sunny Cove" or "Willow Cove" P-cores powering the "Ice Lake" and "Tiger Lake" microarchitectures, respectively, which were both within the 90th percentile of the AMD "Zen 3" core in IPC.

An AMD Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" desktop processor engineering sample with a maximum boost frequency of 5.80 GHz was found to offer an astonishing 19% higher single-threaded performance increase over an AMD Ryzen 9 7950X. "Granite Ridge" is codename for the Socket AM5 desktop processor family that implements the new "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture. The unnamed "Granite Ridge" processor comes with an OPN code of 100-0000001290. Its CPU core count is irrelevant, as the single-threaded performance is in question here. The processor boosts up to 5.80 GHz, which means the core handling the single-threaded benchmark workload is achieving this speed. This speed is 100 MHz higher than the 5.70 GHz that the Ryzen 9 7950X processor based on the "Zen 4" architecture, boosts up to.

The single-threaded benchmark in question is the CPU-Z Bench. The mostly blurred out CPU-Z screenshot that reveals the OPN also mentions a processor TDP of 170 W, which means this engineering sample chip is either 12-core or 16-core. The chip posts a CPU-Z Bench single-thread score of 910 points, which matches that of the Intel Core i9-14900K with its 908 points. You've to understand that the i9-14900K boosts one of its P-cores to 6.00 GHz, to yield the 908 points that's part CPU-Z's reference scores. So straight off the bat, we see that "Zen 5" has a higher IPC than the "Raptor Cove" P-core powering the i9-14900K. Its gaming performance might end up higher than the Ryzen 7000 X3D family.Many Thanks to TumbleGeorge for the tip.

AMD is slated to deliver a "Zen 5" microarchitecture deep-dive at the Hot Chips 2024 conference, on August 25. The company is widely expected to either unveil or announce its next-generation processors based on the architecture, in its 2024 Computex keynote on June 3, so it remains to be seen if the deep-dive follows a product launch, or predates it. Either way, Hot Chips talks tend to be significantly more detailed than the product launch pre-briefs that we get; and so we hope to learn a lot more about the architecture.

A lot rides on the continued success of "Zen 5" to deliver a double-digit percentage IPC increase over its predecessor, while also introducing new microarchitecture-level features; and leveraging new foundry processes at TSMC, to deliver competitive processors to Intel. Unlike Intel, which has implemented hybrid CPU cores across its product stack, AMD continues to make traditional multicore processors, and refuses to level even the chips that contain regular and high-density versions of its "Zen 4" cores as "hybrid."

AMD on Monday said that its 2024 Computex Keynote address slated for June 3, will see a slew of next-generation product announcements. "Join us as Dr. Lisa Su delivers the Computex 2024 opening keynote and shares the latest on how AMD and our partners are pushing the envelope with our next generation of high-performance PC, data center and AI solutions," the brief release said.

AMD is widely expected to unveil its next-generation Ryzen 9000 "Strix Point" mobile processors for AI PCs capable of powering the recently announced Microsoft Copilot+, its next-generation Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" desktop processors, its 5th Generation EPYC "Turin" server processors, and possibly even its next-generation Radeon RX RDNA 4 generation. At the heart of all its processor announcements is the new "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture that's expected to introduce an over 10% IPC improvement with significant improvements in AVX512 performance over "Zen 4," which should benefit certain kinds of AI workloads.

AMD formally launched the Ryzen 7 8700F and Ryzen 5 8400F Socket AM5 desktop processors. These are variants based on the Ryzen 8000-series desktop APUs, but with their integrated graphics disabled. The 8700F may lack integrated graphics, but includes the Ryzen AI NPU, with up to 16 AI TOPS performance. The 8400F lacks an NPU. Much like the 8700G, the 8700F packs an 8-core/16-thread CPU based on the current "Zen 4" architecture, but with a 100 MHz lower maximum boost frequency of 5.00 GHz. The TDP is the same, at 65 W, and the retail package includes a Wraith Stealth cooler.

The Ryzen 5 8400F is a 6-core/12-thread processor, but much like the 8500G, it is based on the "Phoenix 2" silicon, which has two "Zen 4" cores that can achieve the maximum 4.70 GHz boost frequency for this chip, and four "Zen 4c" that boost lower. Both kinds of cores feature an identical IPC and ISA, and so AMD Chipset Software uses UEFI CPPC preferred cores software flags to prioritize workload to the "Zen 4" cores. AMD in its launch presentation claims that the 8700F should offer competitive gaming and productivity performance to an Intel Core i5-14400F, and that the 8400F should offer gaming performance in the league of an i5-13400F. The company is pricing the 8700F at $269, or $60 cheaper than the 8700G; while the 8400F is priced at $169, or $10 less than the 8500G.

MSI, a leading innovator in technology solutions, proudly unveils the MS-C903, a versatile embedded system designed to meet the demanding requirements of various industries including transportation, gaming, medical, automation, and robotics. Engineered to excel in challenging conditions, the MS-C903 ensures reliable operation in harsh environments with temperatures ranging from -20 to 70°C. Its wide voltage DC input (12~24 V) with overcurrent protection (OCP) and overvoltage protection (OVP) guarantees stable power supply. Enhanced security features include hardware monitoring with a 256-level watchdog timer and an Infineon TPM Controller (SLB9670VQ2.0/FW7.85). Compliant with IEC 61373 standards, its anti-vibration and shockproof design ensures durability. With multiple mounting options including wall mount, DIN rail, and VESA mount, the MS-C903 offers flexible installation. Additionally, its excellent performance, driven by Intel 11th Gen Tiger Lake-UP3 Embedded/Industrial SKU Series and ample I/O interfaces, makes it ideal for diverse applications.

The PICO-ITX, a compact embedded single-board computer (SBC) based on a 100 mm x 72 mm form factor, serves as a more space-efficient alternative motherboard, ensuring a broad range of interfaces on a more readily deployable board.

GIGAIPC's PICO-G350A (Yocto OS) / PICO-G350B (Android OS) are the first Pico-ITX boards to feature an ARM SoC, powered by MediaTek MT8365 Arm Quad-Core Cortex -A53, to provide incredible energy efficiency and outstanding low power consumption that demonstrates impressive performance. Featuring a ruggedized design, it operates reliably across a wide temperature range from 0 to 60°C. Designed with flexibility and rich on-board interfaces, including USB 2.0 (hot and USB OTG), Micro SD expansion slots, and M.2 2230 E-Key for AW-CB451NF-D wifi module support, this solution is tailored to accommodate various application scenarios, such as smart retail, self-service terminals, industrial automation, intelligent medical health, and digital media.

ECS Industrial Computer Co., Ltd., also known as ECSIPC, proudly unveils its latest generation of mini PCs for quad-display industrial applications, the LIVA Z5 series, which includes the LIVA Z5 Plus, LIVA Z5E Plus, and LIVA Z5F Plus. Committed to providing industry-specific value solutions, ECSIPC focuses on developing niche products and solutions for vertical industry applications. ECSIPC has achieved success in various application areas, including educational electronic whiteboards in Europe and the US, airport real-time flight systems in India, image projection for Japan's Shinkansen bullet trains, and electronic menu and POS systems for KFC in South America, while also exploring applications in vending machines and digital signage.

The newly launched LIVA Z5 series is powered by Intel 13th and 14th generation Core processors, delivering significant performance improvements with up to 10 cores capable of efficiently handling various demanding tasks. The series has Wi-Fi 6E speeds up to 9.6 Gbps for enhanced data transmission efficiency, allowing seamless playback of high-quality audiovisual content. Additionally, the multi-storage design accommodates PCIe Gen 4 M.2 NVMe SSDs and a 2.5-inch SSD or HDD, offering greater storage flexibility. The series ensures high-speed data processing in industrial environments with two 2.5G Base-T (2.5G) ports. At the same time, support for vPro and physical TPM significantly enhances the value of industrial applications.

China's homegrown Loongson 3A6000 CPU shows promise but still needs to catch up AMD and Intel's latest offerings in real-world performance. According to benchmarks by Chinese tech reviewer Geekerwan, the 3A6000 has instructions per clock (IPC) on par with AMD's Zen 4 architecture and Intel's Raptor Lake. Using the SPEC CPU 2017 processor benchmark, Geekerwan has clocked all the CPUs at 2.5 GHs to compare the raw benchmark results to Zen 4 and Intel's Raptor Lake (Raptor Cove) processors. As a result, the Loongson 3A6000 seemingly matches the latest designs by AMD and Intel in integer results, with integer IPC measured at 4.8, while Zen 4 and Raptor Cove have 5.0 and 4.9, respectively. The floating point performance is still lagging behind a lot, though. This demonstrates that Loongson's CPU design can catching up to global leaders, but still needs further development, especially for floating point arithmetic.

However, the 3A6000 is held back by low clock speeds and limited core counts. With a maximum boost speed of just 2.5 GHz across four CPU cores, the 3A6000 cannot compete with flagship chips like AMD's 16-core Ryzen 9 7950X running at 5.7 GHz. While the 3A6000's IPC is impressive, its raw computing power is a fraction of that of leading x86 CPUs. Loongson must improve manufacturing process technology to increase clock speeds, core counts, and cache size. The 3A6000's strengths highlight Loongson's ambitions: an in-house LoongArch ISA design fabricated on 12 nm achieves competitive IPC to state-of-the-art x86 chips built on more advanced TSMC 5 nm and Intel 7 nm nodes. This shows the potential behind Loongson's engineering. Reports suggest that next-generation Loongson 3A7000 CPUs will use SMIC 7 nm, allowing higher clocks and more cores to better harness the architecture's potential. So, we expect the next generation to set a bar for China's homegrown CPU performance.