TrendForce's latest findings reveal that U.S. tariff hikes prompted most downstream brands to frontload shipments to 1Q25, accelerating inventory reduction across the memory supply chain. Looking ahead to the second quarter, conventional DRAM prices are expected to decline by just 0-5% QoQ, while average DRAM pricing including HBM is forecast to rise by 3-8%, driven by increasing shipments of HBM3e 12hi.

PC and server DRAM prices to hold steady
In response to potential U.S. tariff hikes, major PC OEMs are requesting ODMs to increase production, accelerating DRAM depletion in their inventories. OEMs with lower inventory levels may raise procurement from suppliers in Q2 to ensure stable DRAM supply for the second half of 2025.

Today marks the launch of ASUS Vivobook S14/S16 (S3407QA/S3607QA), a pair of Copilot+ PCs engineered to be the ideal companions for everyday life.

Featuring the latest high-performance Snapdragon X processor with up to 45 TOPS NPU, these ultra-slim, lightweight laptops deliver powerful AI capabilities, extended battery life, and next-level connectivity. For work, study, or play, Vivobook S14/S16 provide an immersive entertainment experience with stunning 16:10 FHD OLED or 2.5K 144 Hz IPS displays, along with Snapdragon Sound and Dolby Atmos audio. Designed for style and durability, these devices ensure effortless AI computing with premium metallic chassis, military-grade resilience, and advanced security features for total peace of mind.

At MWC 2025, Lenovo unveils its latest portfolio of AI-powered business devices, featuring next-generation ThinkPad and ThinkBook laptops, expanded software and recent ThinkShield security solutions, and showcases visionary proof-of-concept innovations. Designed to enhance productivity, personalization, and business protection, these new devices integrate AI-driven computing, flexible form factors, and enterprise security solutions to meet the evolving demands of professionals and hybrid workers.

"AI is fundamentally transforming how businesses operate, and at Lenovo, we are committed to delivering smarter, more secure, and more adaptable solutions that empower professionals in today's fast-evolving workplace. Our latest ThinkPad and ThinkBook innovations leverage AI to enhance productivity, streamline IT management, and provide more secure and seamless hybrid work experiences," said Eric Yu, SVP of SMB and Commercial Product Center, Lenovo Intelligent Devices Group. "The ThinkBook codename Flip AI PC Concept exemplifies our vision for the future—where AI-powered devices drive efficiency, personalization, and collaboration like never before. With our expanding portfolio of AI-integrated business devices and intelligent IT solutions, Lenovo is helping organizations to harness the power of AI in an ever-changing world."

According to South Korea's Money Today, SK hynix is currently engaged in the development of yet another variation of LPDDR5. The mega supplier of DRAM and flash memory chips has publicly disclosed its LPDDR5 Turbo (T) design—going back to late 2023; this iteration was advertised as the "world's fastest mobile memory standard." The first public demonstration of LPDDR5T (10533) was performed at last February's IEEE Solid State Circuit Conference. Currently, the familiar LPDDR5X standard is prevalent throughout commercial channels. Insiders believe that a proposed new "LPDDR5M" design will be released as a lower power alternative to LPDDR5X.

Insiders reckon that the unannounced LPDDR5M standard operates at lower voltages (reportedly 0.98 V), when compared to current offerings (X: 1.05 V). Given the nature of its acronym—Low Power Double Data Rate—this memory type was first devised with efficient operations in mind; ideal for mobile applications. An industry mole proposes that internal company discussions have highlighted a key percentage difference: "at maximum speed, LPDDR5M is ~8% more power efficient than LPDDR5X." The recent Money Today SK news article mentions that older LPDDR4 standards are classed as "legacy products" by company leadership. In contrast, LPDDR5 variants are (allegedly) categorized as "high value-added products." The rumored addition of LPDDR5M is viewed—by regional memory industry watchdogs—as a fortification (and diversification) of SK hynix's strategy; that already encompasses LPDDR5X and LPDDR5T. Tipsters posit that LPDDR5M memory is destined to feature inside next-gen smartphone devices with on-board AI capabilities.

Today, we introduced the Framework Desktop, a tiny 4.5L Mini-ITX desktop powered by AMD's massive new Ryzen AI Max processors. Pre-orders are open now, with first shipments in early Q3 2025. When AMD shared the Ryzen AI Max with us, we immediately knew we had to use it. It has up to 16 CPU cores at 5.1 GHz boost clock, discrete-level Radeon 8060S graphics, and support for up to an insane 128 GB of unified LPDDR5x. That enables 1440p or higher gaming on the heaviest titles, big creative and workstation workloads, and true local AI use cases. This is an absolute monster of a processor, and we shifted our roadmap a year ago to make space for it. In a desktop form factor, we get to unlock every bit of its performance with 120 W sustained power and 140 W boost while staying quiet and cool.

You may still be wondering, why does Framework need to build a desktop? Aren't desktops already modular and upgradeable? They are. In fact, the desktop PC ethos is part of what inspired the Framework Laptop to begin with. The desktop world is amazing. There is a broad, long-lived, interoperable ecosystem with hundreds of brands and hundreds of millions of consumers participating. You can build, upgrade, repair, and personalize to the limits of your imagination (and budget, and desk space), and share your amazing creations with all of the other true believers. We want to make this space as accessible as we possibly can by building a desktop that is simultaneously small and simple and incredibly powerful and customizable. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the culture around PCs and PC gaming first-hand.

Micron Technology, Inc., today announced it is the first in the industry to ship samples of its 1γ (1-gamma), sixth-generation (10 nm-class) DRAM node-based DDR5 memory designed for next-generation CPUs to ecosystem partners and select customers. This 1γ DRAM milestone builds on Micron's previous 1α (1-alpha) and 1β (1-beta) DRAM node leadership to deliver innovations that will power future computing platforms from the cloud to industrial and consumer applications to Edge AI devices like AI PCs, smartphones and automobiles. The Micron 1γ DRAM node will first be leveraged in its 16 Gb DDR5 DRAM and over time will be integrated across Micron's memory portfolio to meet the industry's accelerating demand for high-performance, energy-efficient memory solutions for AI. Designed to offer speed capabilities of up to 9200 MT/s, the 16 Gb DDR5 product provides up to a 15% speed increase and over 20% power reduction compared to its predecessor.

AMD's "Strix Halo" APU, marketed as Ryzen AI Max+, has just been exposed in die-shot analysis. Confirming the processor's triple-die architecture, the package showcases a total silicon footprint of 441.72 mm² that integrates advanced CPU, GPU, and AI acceleration capabilities within a single package. The processor's architecture centers on two 67.07 mm² CPU CCDs, each housing eight Zen 5 cores with a dedicated 8 MB L2 cache. A substantial 307.58 mm² I/O complements these die that houses an RDNA 3.5-based integrated GPU featuring 40 CUs and AMD's XDNA 2 NPU. The memory subsystem demonstrates a 256-bit LPDDR5X interface capable of delivering 256 GB/s bandwidth, supported by 32 MB of strategically placed Last Level Cache to optimize data throughput.

The die shots reveal notable optimizations for mobile deployment, including shortened die-to-die interfaces that reduce the interconnect distance by 2 mm compared to desktop implementations. Some through-silicon via structures are present, which suggest potential compatibility with AMD's 3D V-Cache technology, though the company has not officially confirmed plans for such implementations. The I/O die integrates comprehensive connectivity options, including PCIe 4.0 x16 lanes and USB4 support, while also housing dedicated media engines with full AV1 codec support. Initial deployments of the Strix Halo APU will commence with the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 launch on February 25, marking the beginning of what AMD anticipates will be broad adoption across premium mobile computing platforms.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) announced that the 2025 ROG Flow Z13 is now available for pre-order. This versatile gaming 2-in-1 can feature up to AMD's newest AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 Processor with Radeon 8060S Graphics and a unified memory structure, allowing for incredible performance and power efficiency. A new stainless steel and copper vapor chamber, larger intake vents, and 2nd Gen Arc Flow Fans offer 70% more airflow for quiet and efficient cooling.

This 13-inch tablet boasts a stunning ROG Nebula Display, a 2.5K resolution 180 Hz touchscreen with 500 nits of peak brightness, and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. The Flow Z13 now also features a larger 70Wh battery, a larger touchpad and keycaps, and a convenient Command Center button for quick access to vital system functions. With dual USB-C ports, both of which support USB4 and power delivery, as well as a dedicated HDMI 2.1 port, the Flow Z13 lets gamers leave their dongles at home.

NVIDIA and its memory partners, SK Hynix, Samsung, and Micron, are preparing a new memory form factor called System on Chip Advanced Memory Module—SOCAMM shortly. This technology, adapting to the now well-known CAMM memory module standard, aims to bring additional memory density to NVIDIA systems. Taking inspiration from NVIDIA's Project DIGITS, it has now been developed independently by NVIDIA outside of any official memory consortium like JEDEC. Utilizing a detachable module design, SOCAMM delivers superior specifications compared to existing solutions, featuring 694 I/O ports (versus LPCAMM's 644 and traditional DRAM's 260), direct LPDDR5X memory substrate integration, and a more compact form factor.

For reference, current-generation Project DIGITS is using NVIDIA GB10 Grace Blackwell Superchip capable of delivering one PetaFLOP of FP4 compute, paired with 128 GB of LPDDR5X memory. This configuration limits the size of AI models that run locally on the device, resulting in up to 200 billion parameter models running on a single Project DIGITS AI PC. Two stacked Project DIGITS PCs are needed for models like Llama 3.1 405B with 405 billion parameters. Most interestingly, memory capacity is the primary limiting factor; hence, NVIDIA devotes its time to developing a more memory-dense SOCAMM standard. Being a replacement compatible with LPDDR5, it can use the same controller silicon IP with only the SoC substrate being modified to fit the new memory. With NVIDIA rumored to enter the consumer PC market this year, we could also see an early implementation in consumer PC products, but the next-generation Project DIGITS is the primary target.

Earlier today, NVIDIA happily declared that: "GeForce RTX 50-series laptop pre-orders start February 25 from OEMs." A March launch window was mentioned during the company's official unveiling of its "Blackwell" GPU architecture at CES 2025. Mobile variants of the GeForce RTX 5090, RTX 5080, and RTX 5070 Ti are expected to ship with laptops next month. GeForce RTX 5070 Mobile-equipped devices are due in April. As reported by VideoCardz, a Finnish retailer's webstore has confirmed the February 25 pre-order start date. The Gigantti.fi site lists several new ASUS ROG Zephyrus and Strix laptops; configured with the latest Intel Core Ultra 200HX or AMD "Strix Point/Fire Range" mobile APUs, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50-series discrete graphics solutions. The most expensive option is listed with a €5499 price point—interested buyers are looking at a spec that includes a 16-inch OLED screen, Core Ultra 9-285H processor, 32 GB LPDDR5X RAM, 1 TB M.2 PCIe SSD, and a GeForce RTX 5090 32 GB mobile GPU. At the time of writing, Gigantti's "cheapest" option is a €2999 ROG Strix 16 model; sporting a Ryzen 9 9955HX APU and GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 12 GB Mobile GPU.

NVIDIA disclosed official MSRPs during last month's CES presentation: $2199 for RTX 5090, $2199 for RTX 5080, $1599 for RTX 5070 Ti, and $1299 for the RTX 5070. Western press outlets have scouted North American online retail outlets. Tom's Hardware observed (ASUS and HP) price ranges starting at $1800. The most expensive offering came in at $4200; an ultra high-end ROG Strix Scar 18 laptop featuring a GeForce RTX 5090 Mobile GPU and an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU. Team Green's upcoming launch partners include Acer, ASUS, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, Lenovo, Mechrevo, MSI and Razer. NVIDIA seems to have extra GeForce RTX 50-series announcements in the pipeline—they recommend that potential buyers: "stay tuned for more details!"

So far, this Friday (February 7) has been a bumper day for Intel CPU-related leaks. Golden Pig Upgrade and Jaykihn appear to be in competition with each other—they have uncovered all manner of speculative treasures across desktop and mobile segments. The latest revelation provides an early insight into unannounced feline-themed next-gen CPUs, courtesy of a Jaykihn social media post. Team Blue's Panther Lake processor family is slated for launch within the latter half of 2025—Intel officially stated that it would be their "lead product" on 18A. Older rumors had the "mobile-exclusive" Panther Lake processor family linked to a mixed configuration of new "Cougar Cove" P-cores and updated "Skymont" E-cores. According to today's leak, a variety of core configurations and feature sets are in the pipeline.

Jaykihn has listed three Panther Lake SKUs, and a "more mainstream" lower-end Wildcat Lake model. Common features include support for Thunderbolt 4 connectivity and LPDDR5X memory. Team Blue's rumored highest-end Panther Lake-H (PTL-H) processor appears to max out with a grand total of sixteen cores—consisting of 4 P-cores, 8 E-Cores, and 4 LP cores. The integrated graphics solution is (allegedly) a 12 core Xe3 "Celestial" GPU, with support for LPDDR5X memory—it is the only one on the list to completely jettison DDR5 compatibility. Insiders believe that the total platform (TOPS) rating is 180. As interpreted by VideoCardz, a 12-core "Panther Lake-U" (PTL-U) SKU is reportedly free of efficiency (E) units. The sole Wildcat Lake (WCL) model seems to sport a 2 P-core, 4-LP, and 2-Xe3 configuration.

As smartphone SoCs continue to get more powerful every single cycle, there seems to be a plethora of gaming-oriented smartphones entering the market. The pricey ASUS ROG Phone 9 lineup is perhaps the most well known in this regard, powered by the impressively potent Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC. However, the smartphone is well outside most people's budgets, and ASUS seems to have taken note of that. The company has now unveiled a more affordable version, dubbed the ROG Phone 9 FE. However, the smartphone is only available in Thailand for now, commanding a price tag of $890.

On paper, it appears that the only difference between the ROG Phone 9, and the 9 FE is the chipset. While the pricier sibling utilizes the Snapdragon 8 Elite SoC, the FE has to make do with the substantially inferior Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 chip. Apart from that, the ROG Phone 9 FE is almost identical to the vanilla Phone 9, sporting 12 GB of LPDDR5X memory, 256 GB storage, a 50 MP primary shooter, 13 MP wide-angle shooter, and a 5 MP macro camera. At the front, a 32 MP selfie camera sits above the 6.78-inch OLED display with a resolution of 1080 x 2400 and a maximum refresh rate of 165 Hz. In synthetic benchmarks, the Snapdragon 8 Elite leads the 8 Gen 3 by around 25-30% in CPU tests, and around 30-35% in GPU benchmarks, although it does consume more power, which is to be expected.

ASUS is working on a new line of NUC mini PCs powered by the AMD Ryzen AI MAX "Strix Halo" mobile processors that come with oversized iGPUs and CPU core counts as high as 16-core/32-thread "Zen 5." This was sniffed out in shipping manifests by Olrak29_ on its way to being tested by the BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards) for regulatory certification similar to CE, with the manifest describing the NUC model as the "NUC14LNS," meaning that this box is from the NUC 14 series. The manifest describes the NUC sample as featuring the top of the line Ryzen AI MAX+ 395.

The Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 maxes out everything on the silicon, featuring 16 "Zen 5" CPU cores across two CCDs with full 512-bit FPUs, with 80 MB of "total cache" (L3+L2) between them; a 50 TOPS-class NPU that can locally accelerate Microsoft Copilot+, and that large RDNA 3.5 iGPU with 40 compute units (2,560 stream processors), 80 AI accelerators, and 40 ray accelerators. What's interesting about this NUC is that it will not come with SO-DIMM slots, since the "Strix Halo" SoC features a 256-bit wide LPDDR5X memory interface. It will either have hardwired memory, or use a pair of LPCAMM2 modules (each with a 128-bit bus width), which is less likely. With all the rage about AI developers using M4-powered Mac minis to accelerate DeepSeek, is ASUS eying a slice of the AI market?

Fujitsu is a name that we hear less often nowadays, at least in the consumer technology sector. However, the prominent Japanese brand is by no means dormant, and has now unveiled a brand-new laptop that is shockingly light - in fact, it is the lightest laptop available on the market right now that features CoPilot+ functionality. Dubbed the FMV Note U, the ultra-light laptop tips the scales at just around 848 grams, which roughly equates to around 1.87 lbs.

The laptop is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 7 256V or 258V "Lunar Lake" processors, paired with 16 or 32 GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory. The chip is plenty fast, and will easily suffice for almost any moderately intensive workload thrown its way. There is, unsurprisingly, no room for discrete graphics, which means the admirably performant Arc 140V iGPU has to bear all the weight for GPU tasks. A 64 Wh battery is also present, which, paired with Lunar Lake's commendable efficiency, should allow for decently long runtimes away from the wall.

LG Electronics has announced its 2025 Gram laptop lineup at CES 2025, featuring Intel's latest processors and a new AI system that combines on-device EXAONE language processing with cloud-based GPT-4o capabilities. The flagship Gram Pro (17Z90TR) features a 17-inch WQXGA LCD display with 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and a 31-144 Hz variable refresh rate. Powered by Intel Core Ultra 9 or Ultra 7 processors and an NVIDIA RTX 4050 with 6 GB GDDR6 memory, it supports up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X RAM at 8,533 MHz. The device includes dual SSD slots supporting up to 2 TB Gen 4 NVMe storage and a 90Wh battery, all within a 3.26-pound chassis.

The Gram Pro 2-in-1 (16T90TP) employs a 16-inch WQXGA+ OLED panel with 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and a 48-120 Hz refresh rate. Running on Intel Core Ultra 7 or Ultra 5 processors with Intel Arc graphics, it features up to 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory at 8,400 MHz. The convertible weighs 3.08 pounds and includes a 77Wh battery and a mega dual cooling system. At 2.73 pounds, the Gram Pro 16Z90TS combines Intel Core Ultra 7 processors with Intel Arc graphics, featuring a 16-inch WQXGA LCD display and 77Wh battery. All Pro models include dual USB4 Gen3x2 Type-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support and HDMI 2.1 outputs capable of 4K@60 Hz.

Micron at the 2025 International CES showed us product that hint at the company planning a strong comeback to the client and PC-DIY market segments. The company's Crucial brand is already a high-volume player in the client segment, but the company never really approached the enthusiast segment. Products like the company's new T705 Pro and P510 NVMe SSDs, and DDR5 Pro Overclocking memory, seek to change this. We begin our tour with PC memory, and the DDR5 Pro OC CUDIMMs. Crucial has jumped onto the CKD bandwagon, introducing memory modules and kits that come with DDR5-6400 out of the box, but which are geared for manual overclocking to take advantage of the 1β DRAM chips underneath (hence the name).

The company also showed us their first DDR5 CSODIMM suitable for the next generation of notebooks with HX-segment processors. This module comes with a CKD and a DDR5-6400 JEDEC-standard SPD profile out of the box. Lastly, there's the Micron-branded LPCAMM2, which comes in speeds of up to LPDDR5X-8533, and is suitable for the next generation of ultraportables.

ADATA at the 2025 International CES brought several of its latest memory products. The technology dominating memory products this year is CKD, or client clock driver. But there's more, ADATA also introduced memory modules with RCD, or registered clock driver, or a clock driver for RDIMMs. We begin our tour with the XPG Lancer CUDIMM RGB series, the company's flagship PC overclocking memory product. The top-spec module shown here comes with speeds as high as DDR5-9733, a step above even the DDR5-9600 that most other brands brought. The module comes in densities of 16 GB and 24 GB; and speeds of DDR5-8400, DDR5-8800, DDR5-9200, DDR5-9600, besides the top DDR5-9733. When paired with a Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" processor in Gear 4 mode, these kits should easily cross 10,000 MT/s using manual overclocking.

Next up, the company showed us its AICore line of DDR5 RDIMMs for workstations and servers. The module packs an RCD, a registered clock driver, which is essentially a CKD for RDIMMs. It is a component that clears out and amplifies the DDR5 physical layer signal, letting the machine operate at higher memory frequencies. The AICore series comes in speeds of up to DDR5-8000, and densities of up to 16 GB per module. Other speed variants in the series include DDR5-6400 and DDR5-7200. The recommended platforms for these modules include Intel's Xeon W-3500/W-2500 series "Sapphire Rapids," and AMD Ryzen Threadripper 7000-series "Storm Peak."

ASUS at the 2025 International CES showed off some of the first NUC desktops that meet Microsoft Copilot+ AI PC logo requirements. The new ASUS NUC 14 Pro AI measures 130 mm x 130 mm x 34 mm. It runs an Intel Core Ultra 200V series "Lunar Lake" processor. Depending on the processor model, you get 16 GB or 32 GB of hardwired LPDDR5X memory. You also get the processor's Xe2 "Battlemage" iGPU. Its NPU provides up to 45 AI TOPS of performance, meeting Copilot+ requirements. Storage is care of an M.2-2280 slot with NVMe Gen 4 x4 wiring. I/O options include two 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 4 ports including DisplayPort passthrough, and networking that includes Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7.

ASUS won't (or probably can't use the "NUC" moniker with AMD processors), and so there's the ExpertCenter PN54 for those who want essentially the same device, but with an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series processor. This mini PC has the same exact dimensions as the NUC 14 Pro AI, and is powered by a Ryzen AI 300 "Strix Point" processor, with options going all the way up to the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370. This chip includes the XDNA 2 NPU with 50 AI TOPS on tap, which means it meets Microsoft Copilot+ AI PC logo requirements. It also features the Radeon 870M RDNA 3.5 graphics with 16 CU. The chip uses standard dual-channel DDR5-5600 using SODIMMs. Storage includes an M.2-2280 slot with Gen 4 x4 wiring. In place of Thunderbolt 4, you get a couple of USB4 ports with 40 Gbps bandwidth and DP passthrough. Comms include Bluetooth 5.4 and Wi-Fi 7, just like on its Intel-powered sibling.

Lenovo announced the latest additions to its Lenovo Legion ecosystem of gaming devices, accessories, and software today at CES 2025, delivering a deep bench of devices across a wide range of form-factors that give gamers of all levels powerful options to game their way in pursuit of 'reaching their impossible'. These new devices include:

• The Lenovo Legion Go S (8", 1) and Lenovo Legion Go S (8", 1) - Powered by SteamOS, gaming handheld devices featuring an 8-inch screen with VRR support, a chassis sporting fused TrueStrike controllers with adjustable trigger switches and hall-effect joysticks, and the world's first officially licensed handheld powered by SteamOS.
• The Lenovo Legion Go (8.8", 2), a gaming handheld prototype device planned to feature a native landscape OLED display, up to double the RAM compared to previous generation, and a bigger battery.
• The redesigned Lenovo Legion Pro 7i (16", 10), Lenovo Legion Pro 5i (16", 10) and Lenovo Legion Pro 5 (16", 10) laptops, with new aggressive design language, more performance, and new Lenovo PureSight OLED display options.
• A fully redesigned Legion Space gaming software solution that unifies all Lenovo Legion device settings, syncs with all Lenovo Legion ecosystem devices, provides access to all games in one library, and features a suite of new AI-powered features that help gamers up their game, their streams, and their enjoyment.
• The Lenovo Legion Pro 34WD-10 monitor, a PureSight OLED display with gaming-specific features to give competitive gamers an edge on the map.
• Lenovo also announced other new additions to its Legion and LOQ laptops and desktops, the latest Legion Tab, and a selection of Legion accessories to complement the gaming devices.

Acer today launched the new Nitro Blaze 8 and Nitro Blaze 11 handheld gaming devices, designed to elevate mobile gaming experiences with cutting-edge performance and versatile features. Powered by AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS processors, 16 GB of LPDDR5X memory, and up to 2 TB of storage, the Nitro Blaze series boasts lightning-fast performance and responsiveness. Their WQXGA touch panels (8.8-inch or 10.95-inch) featuring Radeon Super Resolution and AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution technology, ensure fluid image quality. The dedicated Acer Game Space application simplifies managing and accessing popular games and applications on handheld gaming PCs.

The new Nitro Mobile Gaming Controller enhances the mobile gaming experience by enabling users to game anywhere and anytime with its foldable design. It supports fast charging to allow uninterrupted gaming sessions while powering mobile devices quickly.

AMD at the 2025 International CES debuted the Ryzen AI Max 300 series of mobile processors. These chips are designed to go up against the Apple M4 Pro, or the chip that powers the Apple MacBook Pro. The idea behind it is to provide leadership CPU and graphics performance from a single package, minimizing the PCB footprint from having a discrete GPU. In stark contrast, the Intel Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake," is designed more to go against the Apple M4, or the chips that power the latest MacBook Air but not quite the MacBook Pro. What sets "Strix Halo" functionally apart from "Lunar Lake" or even the M4 Pro, is that the AMD chip doesn't have memory-on-package (MoP), it relies on discrete LPDDR5X memory chips.

The "Strix Halo" processor is "Fire Range" on steroids. There are one or two "Zen 5" CCDs, for up to a 16-core/32-thread core configuration. Each of these "Zen 5" cores are unlike the ones on "Strix Point," in that they feature a fully unlocked AVX512 hardware pipeline (512-bit FP). The CCD shares a lavish 32 MB of L3 cache among 8 "Zen 5" cores. This is hardly the star attraction. Unlike "Fire Range," which features the small 6 nm client I/O die from "Granite Ridge," The new "Strix Halo" features a massive SoC die built on the 5 nm EUV foundry node. This packs the star attraction of the processor, it's oversized iGPU that has a massive 40 compute units (2,560 stream processors).

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the global launch of the Galaxy Book5 Pro and Galaxy Book5 360, expanding the Galaxy Book5 lineup to meet a wider range of AI needs for all users. Powered by Intel Core Ultra processors (Series 2) featuring NPUs up to 47 TOPs, these latest PCs come directly integrated with Galaxy AI capabilities like the innovative AI Select as well as cutting-edge features that deliver personalized experiences across the Galaxy ecosystem. With the addition of AI Select, PC users can easily search anything, anytime with a simple click, just like on their phone except on a much larger, immersive display.

"We are thrilled to make Galaxy AI and cutting-edge innovation accessible to more people than ever before, addressing their unique productivity needs on PC and other Galaxy devices," said Changtae Kim, EVP & Head of New Computing R&D Team, Mobile eXperience Business at Samsung Electronics. "Alongside our trusted industry partners, we are delivering an AI experience on Galaxy Book that empowers users to work, create and connect in more intelligent ways through our growing ecosystem."

Nintendo Switch 2 promises to be this year's big (well small) gaming platform launch. It goes up against a growing ecosystem of handhelds based on x86-64 mobile processors running Windows, its main play would have to be offering a similar or better gameplay experience, but with better battery life, given that all of its hardware is purpose-built for a handheld console, and runs a highly optimized software stack; and the SoC forms a big part of this. Nintendo turned to NVIDIA for the job, given its graphics IP leadership, and its ability to integrate it with Arm CPU IP in a semi-custom chip. Someone with access to a Switch 2 prototype, likely an ISV, took the device apart, revealing the chip, a die-shrunk version of the Tegra T239 from 2023.

It's important to note that prototype consoles physically appear nothing like the final product, they're just designed so ISVs and game developers can validate them, and together with PC-based "official" emulation, set up the ability to develop or port games to the new platform. The Switch 2 looks very similar to the original Switch, it is a large tablet-like device, with detachable controllers. The largest chip on the mainboard is the NVIDIA Tegra T239. Nintendo Prime shared more details about the chip.

TrendForce's latest investigations reveal that the DRAM market is expected to face downward pricing pressure in 1Q25 as seasonal weakness aligns with sluggish consumer demand for products like smartphones. Additionally, early stockpiling by notebook manufacturers—over potential import tariffs under the Trump administration—has further exacerbated the pricing decline.

Conventional DRAM prices are projected to drop by 8% to 13%. However, if HBM products are included, the anticipated price decline will range from 0% to 5%.

AMD's recently announced Strix Point APU lineup has received favorable reviews from critics and consumers alike. Especially for SFF/Mini PC enthusiasts, Strix Point brings commendable efficiency and performance to the table - both of which are absolutely essential for a high-end mini PC. The GMK EVO-X1 is surely among those, and the system is now available for purchase from GMKTec's official online store.

The EVO X1 sports a 110.19 x 107.3 x 63.2 mm chassis, which is decently compact for its class. As mentioned previously, the system is powered by the 12-core (4x Zen 5 + 8x Zen 5c) Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 APU with the shockingly potent RDNA 3.5-based Radeon 890M iGPU with 16 CUs. For most CPU-centric workloads, the EVO X1 should easily suffice. The iGPU, as mentioned, is potent enough to handle most graphically demanding tasks, including some lightweight gaming, but expecting anything more from it would be futile. Thankfully, an OCuLink port is present, which should allow for extremely fast eGPU connections courtesy of its 64 Gbps bandwidth.