IBASE Technology Inc., a leading innovator of embedded computing solutions, announces the launch of the MI1002 Mini-ITX motherboard powered by the latest Intel Core Ultra processors Series 1 (Meteor Lake-PS platform) with an LGA1851 socket. The new platform provides advanced AI capabilities, enhanced graphics, and remarkable energy efficiency, enabling the MI1002 to handle complex tasks effortlessly, whether deploying AI applications, managing edge computing, or driving IoT solutions.

The MI1002 is available in two variants, MI1002AF and MI1002AF-1, both equipped with two DDR5 memory sockets, multiple M.2 slots for ultra-fast storage and 5G connectivity, and dual 2.5G LAN ports for high-speed networking. The MI1002AF includes support for Intel iAMT 18.0 and dTPM 2.0, which are essential for enhanced security and remote management capabilities. The MI1002AF-1, on the other hand, is equipped with fTPM 2.0, providing a more cost-effective solution for applications where Intel iAMT is not required.

Phanteks today launched the Polar ST line of air-type CPU coolers. These include the Polar ST4 (chrome) and the Polar ST5 (black). The aluminium fin-stack tower type fan-heatsinks. The Polar ST4 features four nickel plated copper heat pipes, and is rated for a maximum thermal load of 235 W, while the Polar ST5 has a more upmarket appearance with its black powder coating, and a die-cast metal top plate. The Polar ST5 has five nickel-plated copper heat pipes instead of four, which takes its thermal load value up to 255 W.

Both the Phanteks Polar ST4 and Polar ST5 include a 120 mm fan, specifically the Phanteks M25-120 PWM DRGB. As its name suggests, this is a conventional 25 mm-thick 120 mm fan with PWM control, and addressable RGB lighting control. Its ARGB LEDs are located in the impeller hub. The fan turns between 400 and 2,000 RPM, pushing up to 84.26 CFM of airflow, at up to 2.67 mm H₂O static pressure, and a maximum noise output of 35.7 dBA. Phanteks is including a thermal paste with 4.3 W/m-k thermal conductivity. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1851, LGA1700, LGA1200, AM5, and AM4. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Thermalright introduced the Royal Knight 120SE, a dual fin-stack CPU cooler with a design focus on clearance with the memory area of your motherboard. It does this by offsetting its two fin-stacks away from the memory area, with one of them being almost directly above the CPU base, and by using a slim 15 mm-thick intake fan. The heatsink measures 122 mm × 114 mm × 155 mm (DxWxH), with the intake fan adding another 15 mm depth. The cooler features a nickel-plated copper base, from which six 6 mm-thick copper heatpipes pass through, skewering the two aluminium fin-stacks on both ends.

The intake fan is a Thermalright TL-C12015B. This 15 mm-thick 120 mm spinner features a 2nd generation fluid dynamic bearing, turns at up to 1,800 RPM, pushing up to 59 CFM of airflow at 1.24 mm H₂O static pressure, and 26.1 dBA maximum noise. The second fan is meant to be installed between the two fin-stacks. It is a TL-C12B V2, a 120 mm fan of conventional 25 mm thickness, and featuring a fluid dynamic bearing. It turns at speeds of up to 1,500 RPM, pushing up to 66.17 CFM of airflow, at 1.53 mm H₂O static pressure, and 25.6 dBA maximum noise. Both fans lack any kind of lighting, and use a standard 4-pin PWM power input. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1851, LGA1700, AM5, and AM4. The company didn't reveal pricing.

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.

A picture of a bare PCB of an upcoming GIGABYTE Z890 AORUS Pro Ice motherboard confirms that Intel will use the Core Ultra branding for its next-generation desktop processors based on the "Arrow Lake-S" microarchitecture. The picture reveals the CPU socket area, where the Socket LGA1851 will be installed, besides the CPU VRM component, the BIOS ROM, and the DDR5 DIMM slots, among other minor components. Although incompatible with LGA1700, the new LGA1851 socket has an identical cooler mount layout to it, and retains cooler compatibility, much like LGA1200 did with LGA1151. The AORUS Pro Ice comes with four DDR5 DIMM slots, as that's the only memory standard supported by "Arrow Lake" (no DDR4 support); and the CPU VRM solution uses DrMOS.

Our older article details the I/O aspects of "Arrow Lake-S." It is almost identical to the LGA1700, except it has four additional PCIe Gen 5 lanes from the CPU, for a total of 20 Gen 5 lanes, and 12 Gen 4 lanes. All Z890 motherboards will come with an M.2 Gen 5 NVMe slot that doesn't eat into the PCI-Express 5.0 x16 PEG slot's bandwidth; and an additional Gen 4 x4 that can either be wired out as an M.2 slot, or be used to drive bandwidth-hungry onboard devices, such as discrete Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 controllers. The chipset bus continues to be DMI 4.0 x8, or 128 Gbps per direction.

In a surprising development, Intel plans to extend the longevity of its Socket LGA1700 platform even as the newer LGA1851 platform led by the Core Ultra 200 "Arrow Lake" remains on track for a late-Q3/early-Q4 2024 debut. This, according to a sensational leak by Jaykihn. It plans to do this with a brand-new silicon for LGA1700, codenamed "Bartlett." This should particularly interest gamers for what's on offer. Imagine the "Raptor Lake-S" die, but with four additional P-cores replacing the four E-core clusters, making a 12-core pure P-core processor—that's "Bartlett." At this point we're not sure which P-core is in use—whether it's the current "Raptor Cove," or whether an attempt will be made by Intel to backport a variant of "Lion Cove" to LGA1700.

This wouldn't be the first pure P-core client processor from Intel after its pivot to heterogeneous multicore—the "Alder Lake" H0 die has six "Golden Cove" P-cores, and lacks any E-core clusters. Intel is planning to give launch an entire new "generation" of processor SKUs for LGA1700 which use the newer client processor nomenclature by Intel, which is Core 200-series, but without the "Ultra" brand extension. There will be SKUs in the Core 3, Core 5, Core 7, and Core 9 brand extensions. Some of these will be Hybrid, and based on the rehashed "Raptor Lake-S" 8P+16E silicon, and some "Alder Lake-S" 8P+8E; but "Bartlett" will be distinctly branded within the series, probably using a letter next to the numerical portion of the processor model number. There will not be any Core 3 series chips based on "Bartlett," but Core 5, Core 7, and Core 9.

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's upcoming Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor introduces a new socket, the LGA1851, alongside the new Intel 800-series desktop chipset. We now have some idea what the 151 additional pins on the new socket are used for, thanks to a leaked platform map on the ChipHell forums, discovered by HXL. Intel is expanding the number of PCIe lanes from the processor. It now puts out a total of 32 PCIe lanes.

From the 32 PCIe lanes put out by the "Arrow Lake-S" processor's system agent, 16 are meant for the PCI-Express 5.0 x16 PEG slot to be used for discrete graphics. Eight are used as chipset bus, technically DMI 4.0 x8 (these are eight lanes that operate at Gen 4 speed for 128 Gbps per direction of bandwidth). There are now not one, but two CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slots possible, just like on the AMD "Raphael" and "Granite Ridge" processors. What's interesting, though, is that not both are Gen 5. One of these is Gen 5 x4, while the other is Gen 4 x4.

Intel, in its Computex 2024 event unveiled its Core Ultra 300 "Lunar Lake" processor, along with a Q3 2024 date for the processors. It now turns out that the processors won't arrive until Fall 2024, specifically September, when the various notebook OEMs will merely announce their products based on the chips, followed by market availability of these notebooks through Holiday 2024, according to a DigiTimes report. The report also says that Intel's Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors could see an October 2024 announcement and availability for at least the Unlocked K- and KF SKUs, along with compatible Socket LGA1851 motherboards based on the top Intel Z890 chipset.

The DigiTimes report invited a clarification from Intel through Digital Trends. The company in a statement reaffirmed that the chips will be available "starting in Q3 2024, as noted at Computex." This statement aligns with the timeline that the company would commence shipments of "Lunar Lake" processors to OEMs starting in June, followed by product announcements and market availability in the following months.

Ocypus is a new PC casing and cooling brand we've met at Computex 2024. The brand has a formidable lineup of contemporary gaming PC cases, fans, and CPU coolers (both air and liquid). The Iota L36 line of AIO liquid CPU coolers come with high static pressure FDB fans, and a glossy rounded-square pump-block with a segmented display that puts out coolant temperature as measured in the pump (rather than pulled from ACPI over USB/software). The cooler comes in white and black trims, and there's just one radiator size on display—360 mm x 120 mm. The Delta L36 is a "lite" variant of the Iota L36, with a silicon RGB LED diffuser crowning the pump-block instead of the temperature display. Both coolers support the upcoming LGA1851, LGA1700, AM5, and AM4 sockets.

The CPU air cooler lineup is topped by the Iota A62, a large dual fin-stack cooler, which comes in silver and black color variants. It uses a pair of 120 mm FDB fans in push-pull configuration, with the second fan located between the two fin-stacks. The top-plates of the fin stacks have perforations, and the LED segment display peeks out from these in what is a neatly executed design. The Delta A62 is identical to this, but without the display. What's interesting is that the Iota A62 lacks fan illumination, but the Delta A62 has plenty of it.

Intel Socket LGA1851 will be the new infrastructure driving at least the next two generations of Intel desktop processors, and the new Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" will be the first processor generation to use it. These chips pack new "Lion Cove" P-cores, "Skymont" E-cores, an updated PCIe Gen 5 I/O, and new Xe2 "Battlemage" integrated graphics; with generational performance leaps to be had. At the ASUS Computex 2024 booth, we spotted some of the company's first high-end gaming PC motherboards for the platform, based on what could be the Intel Z890 chipset.

Our first find is the ROG Maximus Z890 Hero, or at least a variant of it featuring the ASUS BTF backside I/O connectivity. There will be a regular variant with conventional front-facing I/O, too. The LGA1851 socket looks almost identical to the LGA1700. In fact the two have the same physical dimensions, and are cooler compatible—your LGA1700-compatible coolers will work on LGA1851 motherboards. Intel added to the pin-count by tweaking the pin pitch, and reducing the size of the "courtyard" (the central void in the land grid meant for SMDs). LGA1851 is a pure-DDR5 platform, and has more PCIe Gen 5 connectivity than LGA1700, such as CPU-attached Gen 5 NVMe slots that don't subtract lanes from the x16 PEG slot. The ROG Maximus Hero appears to be a feature-packed motherboard geared for CPU overclocking, as well as connectivity galore. It also comes with Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 7, USB4, 5 GbE, and next-generation SupremeFX onboard audio.

GIGABYTE in its Computex 2027 booth showcased a huge lineup of next-generation Socket LGA1851 motherboards based on the top Intel Z890 chipset, which are ready for Intel's Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors. GIGABYTE has taped out the motherboard model names, so all mentions of Z890 in this article are based on our assumption that it's the name of the next-gen Intel chipset. These chips are expected to bring generational IPC increases from their "Lion Cove" P-cores, "Skymont" E-cores, a more complete PCIe Gen 5 I/O (including for the CPU-attached NVMe slots), and other innovations. If the socket looks similar to the LGA1700, it's because it's identical in physical dimensions, and you can use your LGA1700 cooler on the LGA1851, but the processors are not inter-compatible. The company also showcased a few AMD Socket AM5 motherboards based on the new AMD X870E chipset.

The first motherboard to catch our eye is the Z890 AORUS Tachyon. This board is geared for record-seeking CPU overclocking. The processor is wired to just two DDR5 memory slots (1 DIMM per channel, the best configuration for memory OC); and the CPU-attached NVMe slots being close to the socket, with a combined heatsink. The only expansion slots are a PCI-Express 5.0 x16, and what could be a Gen 4 x8. There are plenty of overclocker-friendly controls, voltage measurement points, diagnostic LEDs, and status displays, scattered all over the board.

We've known for a while that the Z890 will be Intel's next-generation high-end desktop motherboard chipset for the Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors in the LGA1851 package, and that Intel's first wave of processors and motherboards will target PC enthusiasts like they usually do—with just the unlocked K/KF processor SKUs and motherboards based on the Z890. We are now learning that the B860 will indeed be the company's mid-tier chipset for the processor. MSI has registered at least four motherboard models based on the B860, which showed up on Device Report.

These four motherboard models are the MPG B860M Edge Ti WiFi, the MPG B860I Edge WiFi, the MAG B860 Tomahawk WiFi, and the MAG B860M Mortar WiFi, with MSI internal product numbers 7E38, 7E39, 7E40, and 7E43, respectively. There's no word on whether B860 will even be available when the processors debut. Going by past trends, the mid-tier chipset and 65 W-class processor SKUs usually come out in the Q1 following a new processor generation launch, which means we could see these sometime early-2025. The B860 will lack CPU overclocking capabilities, and probably feature a narrower chipset bus, and fewer PCIe general purpose lanes than the Z890. As for MSI's Z890 motherboard lineup, there are at least eight models recorded—the MEG Z890 GODLIKE, the MEG Z890 Ace, MEG Z890 Unify-X, MPG Z890 Carbon WiFi, MPG Z890 Edge Ti WiFi, MPG Z890I Edge Ti WiFi, MAG Z890 Tomahawk WiFi, and the PRO Z890-P WiFi.

Intel is giving its next-generation desktop processor lineup the Core Ultra 200 series processor model numbering. We detailed the processor numbering in our older report. The Core Ultra 200 series would be the company's first desktop processors with AI capabilities thanks to an integrated 50 TOPS-class NPU. At the heart of these processors is the "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture. Its development is the reason the company had to refresh "Raptor Lake" to cover its 2023-24 processor lineup. The company's "Meteor Lake" microarchitecture topped off at CPU core counts of 6P+8E, which would have proven to be a generational regression in multithreaded application performance over "Raptor Lake." The new "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor has a maximum CPU core configuration of 8P+16E, which means consumers can expect at least the same core-counts at given price-points to carry over.

According to a report by Chinese tech publication Benchlife.info, the introduction of "Arrow Lake" would see Intel's desktop processor model numbering align with that of its mobile processor numbering, and incorporate the Core Ultra brand to denote the latest microarchitecture for a given processor generation. Since "Arrow Lake" is a generation ahead of "Meteor Lake," processor models in the series get numbered under Core Ultra 200 series.

Thermaltake today announced the ASTRIA 600 ARGB, a dual fin-stack type CPU cooler. The company had shown off the ASTRIA line of coolers earlier this year at the 2024 CES. The ASTRIA 600 leads the pack, being the heaviest model, with the most heat dissipation area from its dual-stack design. Its design involves a nickel-plated copper base, from which six 6 mm-thick copper heat pipes make their way through two aluminium fin-stacks with equal fin-pitch to each other. Both fin-stacks are capped by die-cast metal top-plates with ARGB lighting from 18 LEDs, each. Two 120 mm fans ventilate the fin-stacks.

Each of the two included 120 mm fans features a 40,000-hour rated bearing, and a 9-LED ARGB lighting that projects from the impeller hub. The fan takes in 4-pin PWM for its main function, turns at speeds ranging between 500 and 1,800 RPM, pushing up to 65 CFM of airflow, at 2.56 mm H₂O static pressure, and up to 26.8 dBA noise. Even with both fans in place, Thermaltake says you have clearance for 1.5x-tall memory modules (ones that have lighting or heatsink crowns). The cooler has a cooling capacity of 265 W, making it fit for any of the flagship desktop processors. Among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1700, upcoming LGA1851, LGA1200/LGA115x, AM5, and AM4. The cooler measures 124 mm x 137 mm x 160 mm (L x W x H). The company didn't reveal pricing.

An intriguing offshoot of Intel's Meteor Lake generation of processors has been discovered by hardware sleuth momomo_us—an iBase MI1002 motherboard specification sheet contains references to a 14th Gen Core Ultra (Meteor Lake-PS) family, with a next-gen LGA1851 socket listed as the desktop platform. The industrial iBase Mini-ITX workstation board is "coming soon" according to a promotional image—this could signal a revival of Meteor Lake outside of laptop platforms. 2023 was a bit of a rollercoaster year for MTL-S SKUs (on socket LGA1851)—one moment Team Blue confirmed that it was happening, then a couple of days later it was disposed of. The upcoming Arrow Lake processor generation seems to be the logical taker of this mantle, but the (leaked) existence of Meteor Lake-PS throws a proverbial spanner into the works.

iBase's MTL-PS-ready boards will be niche "industrial/embedded" items—according to Tom's Hardware: "Intel hasn't officially revealed Meteor Lake PS, but given the "PS" designation, these upcoming processors target the IoT market, similar to Alder Lake PS. Therefore, it's safe to assume that Intel is bringing the mobile Meteor Lake processors to the LGA1851 socket...Although the motherboard has (this) socket, no chipset is present because Meteor Lake PS is the spitting image of the Meteor Lake chip and doesn't need a PCH." Team Blue is hyping up Arrow Lake (ARL-S) as its next-gen mainstream desktop platform, with a launch window set for later in 2024—by sharp contrast, Meteor Lake PS parts are highly unlikely to receive much fanfare upon release.

Noctua today expanded its chromax.black line with an all-black version of the award-winning low-height 120 mm CPU cooler NH-D12L: Staying true to the successful formula of the original model, the new chromax.black version with its black fans and black coated heatsink combines the same signature quiet cooling performance with a sleek stealth look.

"The NH-D12L has become a popular choice for compact, high performance builds in cases like the Lian Li O11 Dynamic or the DAN C4-SFX ", says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "With the new chromax.black version, we're now giving customers the option to leverage the NH-D12L's renowned quiet cooling performance in all-black systems."

Intel is rumored to be preparing to tease its Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake" processor at the 2024 Computex, which gets underway this June. The series itself isn't expected to launch before Q4-2024, but Computex is the only major global event between June and January for Intel to unveil or tease its next-generation processor, so here we are. At this point we don't know which exact platform of "Arrow Lake" Intel is planning to tease—whether these are the mobile variants, or the Socket LGA1851 desktop "Arrow Lake-S." An unveiling of the latter would almost definitely entail PC motherboard vendors being allowed to show off their first compatible motherboards at Computex—the perfect platform for them to do so.

The Core Ultra "Arrow Lake" retains a Foveros Tiled (chiplet) construction of "Meteor Lake," but with advancements to the chip's Compute tile, which is built on the Intel 20A foundry node, and rocks new "Lion Cove" P-cores and "Skymont" E-cores; an updated I/O tile, and an iGPU based on the updated Xe-LPG+ graphics architecture. Since the processor now serves practically all PCH functions, the mobile "Arrow Lake" is a single-chip solution, whereas the desktop "Arrow Lake-S" is expected to remain 2-chip. There will be more I/O from the CPU, though, which is why the socket has 151 more pins than the LGA1700.

After the announcement of the new water cooler series, ARCTIC is now announcing the next product highlights - this time in the area of air cooling. For its 23rd anniversary, the manufacturer is still in a celebratory mood and is also bringing the Freezer 36 onto the market at special prices. With significantly increased performance and simplified assembly, the Freezer 36 not only outperforms its predecessor models but also holds its own against the competition.

Even more efficient ventilation is achieved thanks to the optimized heat sink with side-flow design. Two of ARCTIC's proven P-fans, known for their performance, are used in push-pull-configuration. The innovative click-fastening system enables quick and easy installation and fan replacement. For the upcoming LGA1851 and LGA1700 installation, the Freezer 36 uses a special contact frame that distributes the contact pressure evenly. This minimizes the mechanical stress on the CPU and motherboard and increases cooling performance.

Over the weekend, there have been a series of leaks from sources such as Golden Pig Upgrade, and High Yield YT, surrounding Intel's next-generation desktop processor, the Core Ultra 2-series "Arrow Lake-S." The lineup is likely to continue the new client processor naming scheme Intel introduced with the Core Ultra 1-series "Meteor Lake" on the mobile platform. "Arrow Lake-S" is rumored to debut the new Socket LGA1851, which retains cooler-compatibility with LGA1700. Although Intel has nucleated all I/O functions of the traditional PCH to "Meteor Lake," making it a single-chip solution on the mobile platform; and although the mobile "Arrow Lake" will continue to be single-chip; the desktop "Arrow Lake-S" will be a 2-chip solution. This is mainly because the desktop platform demands a lot more PCIe lanes, for a larger number of NVMe storage devices, or high bandwidth devices such as Thunderbolt and USB4 hubs, etc.

Another key finding in this latest series of leaks, is that unlike "Meteor Lake," the desktop "Arrow Lake-S" will do away with low-power island E-cores located in the SoC tile of the processor. All CPU cores are located in the Compute tile, which is expected to be built in the Intel 20A foundry node—the company's first node to implement GAAFETs (nanosheets), with backside power delivery; as well as an advanced 2nd generation EUV lithography. Intel's 1st Gen EUV is used on the current FinFET-based Intel 4 and Intel 3 foundry nodes.

Toward the end of 2024, Intel will update its client processor product stack with the introduction of the new "Arrow Lake" microarchitecture targeting both the desktop and mobile segments. On the desktop side of things, this will herald the new Socket LGA1851 with more SoC connectivity being shifted to the processor; and on the mobile side of things, there will be a much-needed increase in CPU core counts form the current 6P+8E+2LP. This low maximum core-count for "Meteor Lake" is the reason why Intel couldn't debut it on the desktop platform, and couldn't use it to power enthusiast HX-segment mobile processors, either—it had to tap into "Raptor Lake Refresh," and use the older 14th Gen Core nomenclature one last time.

All hopes are now pinned on "Arrow Lake," which could make up Intel's second Core Ultra mobile lineup; its first desktop Core Ultra, and possibly push "Meteor Lake" to the non-Ultra tier. "Arrow Lake" carries forward the Xe-LPG graphics architecture for the iGPU that Intel debuted with "Meteor Lake," but there's a key difference between the desktop- and mobile "Arrow Lake" chips concerning this iGPU, and it has not just to do with the Xe core counts. It turns out, that while the desktop "Arrow Lake-S" processor comes with an iGPU based on the Xe-LPG graphics architecture; the mobile "Arrow Lake" chips spanning the U-, P-, and H-segments will use a newer version of this architecture, called the Xe-LPG+.

Bitspower brought a large bag of new toys at the 2024 International CES. The first thing that caught our attention was a familiar-looking case with infinity reflection lighting. On a closer look, it turned out to be a Lian Li PC-O11D Evo XL that's been given a neat aesthetic uplift thanks to the new Enigma Light Panel kit by Bitspower. You arrange these along the edges of your side- and front panels, and the provide an impressive, infinity reflection effect. It works with standard 3-pin ARGB, so you can mix it with your regular lighting setup. Next up, are a slew of CR Slim series reservoirs that are designed in the distribution plate format, which they line up with one of your glass panels, providing a better view of your coolant. There are various sizes, ranging from 120 mm x 120 mm, going all the way up to 803 mm. x 140 mm, with fitting ports at strategic locations to align with your CPU and VGA blocks, and radiators. The reservoirs come with preparation for a standard D5 pump, and feature a side cover that has the ARGB LED lighting, the diodes aren't studded into the acrylic as such. Bitspower released a mounting brackets of various sizes to help you correctly mount the reservoirs and accessories in place.

CORSAIR at the 2024 International CES unveiled three new air cooling products; the A115 air CPU cooler, the AF120 MAX fans, and the RX Series Fans. We begin our tour with the AF120 MAX. These 120 mm fans come with a thickness of 30 mm, above the 25 mm industry standard. This 5 mm increase allows for a significantly bigger impeller, which results in a static pressure of 4.14 mm H₂O at its top speed of 2,000 RPM. The company hasn't disclosed its airflow and noise numbers, yet. It is also planning such thick fans in the 140 mm size. The fan is recommended for applications such as liquid cooling radiators, where the high static pressure comes handy. Next up, is the RX Series, a set of mid-range fans that come in RGB and non-RGB variants, and in sizes of 120 mm and 140 mm. The RGB ones support iCUE Link.

The star attraction is the new A115 air CPU cooler. This is a high-end D-type (dual fin-stack) CPU cooler, which uses six 6 mm-thick copper heatpipes that make indirect contact with the CPU through a copper base; 90 nickel-plated fins, a pair of included AF140 Elite PWM 140 mm fans; and an innovative new fan-installation mechanism that puts the two fans on rails, and has them slide into place from the top, with the heatsink installed, so you don't wrestle with clips and get cut. This sliding mechanism also ensures clearance for memory near the first "push" fan. The company's "Hold Fast" retention module is designed for easy installation of the heatsink; among the CPU socket types supported are LGA1700 (and by extension the upcoming LGA1851), AM5, and AM4.

Intel in its 2024 International CES presentation, unveiled its two new upcoming client microarchitectures, "Arrow Lake" and "Lunar Lake." Michelle Johnston Holthaus, EVP and GM of Intel's client computing group (CCG), in her keynote address, held up a next-generation Core Ultra "Lunar Lake" chip. This is the Lunar Lake-MX package, with MOP (memory on package). You have a Foveros base tile resembling "Meteor Lake," with on-package LPDDR5x memory stacks. With "Lunar Lake," Intel is reorganizing components across its various Foveros tiles—the Compute and Graphics tiles are combined into a single tile built on an Intel foundry node that's possibly the Intel 20A (we have no confirmation); and a smaller SoC tile that has all of the components of the current "Meteor Lake" SoC tile, and is possibly built on a TSMC node, such as N3.

"Lunar Lake" will pick up the mantle from "Meteor Lake" in the U-segment and H-segment (that's ultraportables, and thin-and-light), when it comes out later this year (we predict in the second half of 2024), with Core Ultra 2-series branding. Intel also referenced "Arrow Lake," which could finally bring light to the sluggish pace of development in its desktop segment. When it comes out later this year, "Arrow Lake" will debut Socket LGA1851, "Arrow Lake" will bring the AI Boost NPU to the desktop, along with Arc Xe-LPG integrated graphics. The biggest upgrade of course will be its new Compute tile, with its "Lion Cove" P-cores, and "Skymont" E-cores, that possibly offer a large IPC uplift over the current combination of "Raptor Cove" and "Gracemont" cores on the "Raptor Lake" silicon. It's also possible that Intel will try to bring "Meteor Lake" with its 6P+8E Compute tile, Xe-LPG iGPU, and NPU, to the LGA1851 socket, as part of some mid-range processor models. 2024 will see a Intel desktop processor based on a new architecture, which is the big takeaway here.

Noctua today introduced its new NM-M1 enthusiast-grade multi-socket mounting kits. Available for Noctua coolers with 83 and 78 mm mounting pitch, the NM-M1-MP83 and NM-M1-MP78 represent an ideal upgrade for users who want to migrate their Noctua CPU coolers to the new, Torx based SecuFirm2+ standard or to the latest sockets that their cooler did not yet support at the time of purchase. On AMD AM5, the offset mounting option can significantly improve performance with typical reductions in CPU temperatures of 1-3°C.

"The mounting system might seem like a sideshow when looking at a CPU cooler as a whole, yet in fact, it's one of the key factors not only for the customer's overall user experience but also for product safety and performance - poor contact pressure or contact quality can easily ruin your results even if the heatsink as such is working great", explains Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "At Noctua, we have always taken pride in refining our mounting systems unremittingly, and the NM-M1 kits are a testament to this strive: integrating the latest SecuFirm2+ standard as well as our offset mounting option for improved performance on AMD AM5, they keep raising the bar."