Intel has just launched its Ice Lake-SP lineup of Xeon Scalable processors, featuring the new Sunny Cove CPU core design. Built on the 10 nm node, these processors represent Intel's first 10 nm shipping product designed for enterprise. However, there is another 10 nm product going to be released for enterprise users. Intel is already preparing the Sapphire Rapids generation of Xeon processors and today we get to see more details about it. Thanks to the anonymous tip that VideoCardz received, we have a bit more details like core count, memory configurations, and connectivity options. And Sapphire Rapids is shaping up to be a very competitive platform. Do note that the slide is a bit older, however, it contains useful information.

The lineup will top at 56 cores with 112 threads, where this processor will carry a TDP of 350 Watts, notably higher than its predecessors. Perhaps one of the most interesting notes from the slide is the department of memory. The new platform will make a debut of DDR5 standard and bring higher capacities with higher speeds. Along with the new protocol, the chiplet design of Sapphire Rapids will bring HBM2E memory to CPUs, with up to 64 GBs of it per socket/processor. The PCIe 5.0 standard will also be present with 80 lanes, accompanying four Intel UPI 2.0 links. Intel is also supposed to extend the x86_64 configuration here with AMX/TMUL extensions for better INT8 and BFloat16 processing.

In the course of our Core i5-11400F "Rocket Lake" processor review, we discovered that the Gear 2 memory mode has the potential to offer higher performance than Gear 1. The Gear 1 mode runs the memory frequency and memory controller frequency in 1:1 sync, while the Gear 2 mode runs them at 1:2, meaning that the memory controllers run at half the memory frequency, allowing you additional memory overclocking headroom. At lower, more stable, memory frequencies, it should be logical to use Gear 1. Our testing springs some surprising results.

Overall, a stock Core i5-11400F paired with DDR4-3733 MHz memory, was found to be 1.5% faster with Gear 2, when averaged across all our CPU tests, compared to Gear 1 at the same 3733 MHz frequency. Gear 2 was 3.42% faster in Cinebench R23 multi-threaded, and a staggering 6% in MySQL. Across rendering and media workloads that scale across all cores, we find Gear 2 faster by 1-3%. It's only with less parallelized workloads such as gaming, where we see Gear 2 lag behind Gear 1, though not by much. In our i5-11400F review, we show that by running your processor in Gear 2, you're making your memory controllers pull less power, freeing up power budget for the CPU cores, translating into the nT performance gains we see here. We discovered that the uncore can pull anywhere between 5 to 10 W more power in Gear 1 mode. This is valuable power eating into the already constrained power-budget of this 65 W TDP chip.

Read the Intel Core i5-11400F TechPowerUp Review

Leading memory provider TEAMGROUP announced today the release of newly specification for T-FORCE high clock rated memory products that will coincide with the launch of Intel 11th Gen Rocket Lake processors: the T-FORCE XTREEM DDR4, XTREEM ARGB DDR4, and XTREEM ARGB WHITE DDR4. When these high clock rate memory modules are paired with the latest Z590 motherboards, users will experience blistering speeds and top performance that will satisfy overclocking enthusiasts and gamers around the world.

T-FORCE's R&D team continues to push clock speeds to greater heights and has successfully launched new 5600 MHz, 5333 MHz, and 5066 MHz DDR4 memory modules to pair with the latest Z590 motherboards and Intel 11th Gen Rocket Lake processors. Under its XTREEM product line, T-FORCE is releasing a DDR4 memory kit with a clock rate of 5600 MHz and a capacity of 16 GB (8 GB x 2) for the ultimate overclocking performance. At the same time, T-FORCE is releasing updated XTREEM/XTREEM ARGB/XTREEM ARGB WHITE DDR4 models with speeds of 5333 MHz and 5066 MHz and 16 GB (8 GB x 2) kits to meet the diverse needs of overclockers.

SMART Modular Technologies, a subsidiary of SMART Global Holdings, Inc., (Nasdaq: SGH), has expanded its support for data center networking applications with the introduction of DuraMemory high-density, very low profile DIMMs and Mini-DIMMs for hyperscale network switching. These products are ideal for maximizing network bandwidth and reliability, which is critical to data center networking requirements.

Network memory dictates the amount of data stored or transferred in switching and routing equipment. Low density as well as poor quality memory can disrupt the performance of a network by acting as a bottleneck to data transfer. The rating and attributes of memory can also greatly affect data center network's overall efficiency.

We have seen a number of announcements from key industry players about the introduction of DDR5 memory but today's news from Chinese company Jiahe Jinwei marks the beginning of DDR5 mass production. The company announced that DDR5 RAM from Micron had arrived at its facilities and that memory module production could begin. Jiahe Jinwei is the fourth largest memory manufacturer in China and owns memory brands such as Guangwei and Asgard which have recently announced DDR5 modules with capacities of up to 128 GB and speeds reaching 4,800 MHz. Intel is expected to launch their 12th Generation Alder Lake processors later this year with DDR5 support while AMD will introduce support with Zen 4 processors on a new AM5 socket.

G.SKILL is excited to announce a series of high speed DDR4 kits for the new Intel Z590 platform. , including DDR4-5333 CL22 16 GB (8GBx2), DDR4-4800 CL17 16 GB (8GBx2), DDR4-4800 CL20 32 GB (16GBx2), and DDR4-4600 CL20 64 GB (32GBx2) under the Trident Z Royal, Trident Z RGB, and Ripjaws V series. These new DDR4 memory specifications offer a perfect choice for those pursuing extreme memory overclocking performance, building a powerful workstation, or for the ultimate gaming experience.

Ultimate Performance DDR4-5333 on the Intel Z590 Platform
Dedicated to developing ever-faster extreme overclocking memory, G.SKILL is pushing the 16 GB (8GBx2) kit capacity to a blistering speed of DDR4-5333. This demonstrates the remarkable memory overclocking support on the latest Intel Z590 platform, which has been validated on the ASUS ROG STRIX Z590-E GAMING WIFI, ASUS ROG MAXIMUS XIII APEX, and MSI MEG Z590I UNIFY motherboards with the latest Intel Core i9-11900K processor, as shown in the screenshots below:

TEAMGROUP has worked vigorously on the development of next-generation DDR5 memory. After completing validation tests for standard DDR5 U-DIMM and SO-DIMM products with the collaboration of major motherboard manufacturers, TEAMGROUP is announcing an exciting breakthrough today: its T-FORCE brand has successfully created DDR5 overclocking memory. Samples were immediately sent to ASUS, ASRock, MSI, and GIGABYTE for collaborative testing of its overclocking capability. Consumers can expect TEAMGROUP's products to be fully compatible with motherboards from the four major manufacturers when the DDR5 generation arrives.

The DDR5 overclocking memory has greater room for voltage adjustment, due to its upgraded power management IC. This PMIC can support high frequency overclocking with voltage over 2.6 V. In previous generations, voltage conversion was controlled by the motherboard. With DDR5, components were moved to the memory, enabling the module to handle the voltage conversion, which not only reduces voltage wear but also reduces noise generation. This allows significantly increased room for overclocking compared to the past, and more powerful computing processing.

Longsys Electronics launches the Longsys DDR5 memory module (ES1). The company has done so in order to keep up with the development of storage technologies, to meet expectations from industry professionals and users regarding future product technology development, and to provide more possibilities for the future of storage industry applications. Moreover, Longsys' FORESEE, a technical storage brand, and Lexar, a storage brand for high-end consumer goods, will also provide strong support in their main areas of application.

The newly-launched DDR5 involves the prototypes of two new architecture products: the 1-Rank x8, and the 2-Rank x8 standard PC Unbuffered DIMM 288PIN On-die-ECC. Compared with DDR4, DDR5 boasts significantly improved function and performance.

AMD is slowly preparing to launch its next-generation client-oriented accelerated processing unit (APU), which is AMD's way of denoting a CPU+GPU combination. The future design is codenamed after Van Gogh, showing AMD's continuous use of historic names for their products. The APU is believed to be a design similar to the one found in the SoC of the latest PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles. That means that there are Zen 2 cores present along with the latest RDNA 2 graphics, side by side in the same processor. Today, one of AMD's engineers posted a boot log of the quad-core Van Gogh APU engineering sample, showing some very interesting information.

The boot log contains information about the memory type used in the APU. In the logs, we see a part that says "[drm] RAM width 256bits DDR5", which means that the APU has an interface for the DDR5 memory and it is 256-bit wide, which represents a quad-channel memory configuration. Such a wide memory bus is typically used for applications that need lots of bandwidth. Given that Van Gogh uses RDNA 2 graphics, the company needs a sufficient memory bandwidth to keep the GPU from starving for data. While we don't have much more information about it, we can expect to hear greater details soon.

Micron and Intel started development on 3D XPoint memory technology back in 2012 and by 2015 Intel had announced their Optane branded lineup of storage products featuring the new memory. Micron estimated that the chips would be sold for half the price of DRAM but five times the cost of flash memory and started limited manufacturing at a jointly owned factory in Lehi, Utah. The new technology was proposed as the future of memory but with Intel being the only major manufacturer of products that dream has not been realized. While the Intel Optane lineup of products has been generally well-received the high-cost and limited use cases have limited its adoption.

Micron has been dissolving its partnership with Intel over the years with their joint 3D XPoint development program ending in 2019 and Micron exercising their right to acquire Intel's share of the factory. This left Intel in the position of purchasing 3D XPoint wafers from Micron for use in their Optane products however this wasn't enough to fully utilize the facilities production and as such Micron has consistently been losing money on the factory. Micron has decided to sell the factory and is now in discussions with potential buyers the most likely being Intel to take over the facility. Intel has announced that their strategy for Optane products will remain the same and that supply will continue.

Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear, and Enthusiast Memory solutions, today announced the official release of the TOUGHRAM XG RGB DDR4 16 GB (8 GB x 2) Memory Kit, and is now available for purchase on TTPremium.com and Thermaltake.com. The TOUGHRAM XG RGB comes in frequencies ranging from 3,600 MHz up to 4,600 MHz 16 GB (8GBx2), featuring a distinguished style for users who seek unconventional gaming styled ram modules.

Compatible with the latest AMD and Intel DDR4 motherboards, the TOUGHRAM XG RGB DDR4 16 GB (8 GB x 2) has been through rigorous tests in order to select tightly-screened ICs for high and stable performance. The aluminium heat spreader of the TOUGHRAM XG has been trimmed with a geometrical pattern for a sleek and fresh look, meanwhile it can also enhance heat dissipation while in use. As the high end memory kit of the TOUGHRAM series, the TOUGHRAM XG RGB has been upgraded to 16 LEDs with a unique X-shaped light bar to control 8 lighting zones for splendid colors. Users can choose over 25 pre-set lighting modes from the TOUGHRAM software, or to synchronize it with multiple RGB software including our advanced light editing software NeonMaker to set-up timeline. The TOUGHRAM XG continues the legacy of building a full RGB ecosystem, it can be synchronized to the TT RGB Plus software along with other enabled components. Other than that, the TOUGHRAM XG can support motherboards equipped with 5 V addressable RGB header, allowing users to control lighting effects directly from the motherboard RGB software.

NVIDIA today announced NVIDIA AI Enterprise, a comprehensive software suite of enterprise-grade AI tools and frameworks optimized, certified and supported by NVIDIA, exclusively with VMware vSphere 7 Update 2, separately announced today.

Through a first-of-its-kind industry collaboration to develop an AI-Ready Enterprise platform, NVIDIA teamed with VMware to virtualize AI workloads on VMware vSphere with NVIDIA AI Enterprise. The offering gives enterprises the software required to develop a broad range of AI solutions, such as advanced diagnostics in healthcare, smart factories for manufacturing, and fraud detection in financial services.

XPG, a fast-growing provider of systems, components, and peripherals for Gamers, Esports Pros, and Tech Enthusiasts, has been working closely with four major motherboard makers (ASUS, MSI, GIGABYTE, and ASRock) to test and optimize the performance of XPG's latest DDR4 memory modules and PCIe Gen 4x4 solid state drive (SSD) on the Intel Z590 platform. The results show that XPG's DDR4 memory module has been overclocked to impressive speeds of up to 5600 MHz per second, while XPG SSD has reached speeds of up to 7100 MB per second.

Taking advantage of Intel's launch of the latest Z590 platform, the XPG Overclocking Lab (XOCL) utilized XPG's most popular memory for overclocking, the SPECTRIX D50, for testing on the platform. The XOCL tested the module in close partnership with two of the world's leading motherboard brands, including MSI and GIGABYTE, to achieve overclocked performance of up to 5600 MHz, while maintaining excellent stability at such high speeds. This result and milestone sets a new standard for memory overclocking speeds on the Intel Z590 platform and showcases the amazing potential of the SPECTRIX D50 for e-sports pros and creators.

Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has developed the industry's first High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) processing power—the HBM-PIM. The new processing-in-memory (PIM) architecture brings powerful AI computing capabilities inside high-performance memory, to accelerate large-scale processing in data centers, high performance computing (HPC) systems and AI-enabled mobile applications.

Kwangil Park, senior vice president of Memory Product Planning at Samsung Electronics stated, "Our groundbreaking HBM-PIM is the industry's first programmable PIM solution tailored for diverse AI-driven workloads such as HPC, training and inference. We plan to build upon this breakthrough by further collaborating with AI solution providers for even more advanced PIM-powered applications."

The XTREEM ARGB GAMING MEMORY, winner of the 2020 German Red Dot Design Award, and the DELTA MAX RGB SSD with its ultra-large, cutting-edge RGB panel continue to receive great attention inside and outside the industry. Today, TEAMGROUP is releasing brand new models in a lustrous, clean white for both series. Not only do they have strikingly beautiful lighting effects but also patented tech that provides even more stable overclocking performance. T-FORCE's design marks a new trend of white-colored hardware, introducing a fresh and unique aesthetic to the gaming industry.

The sleek XTREEM ARGB WHITE GAMING MEMORY is fitted with a fully-translucent cover and a 10-layer PCB board that provides superior overclocking capabilities and performance. This model has a frequency of up to 4000 MHz and a capacity of 32 GB for a single module, giving gamers a compelling option for their next upgrade. The XTREEM ARGB WHITE GAMING MEMORY also features overclocking profiles, so users can enjoy outstanding performance with a single click.

Apple has today patented a new approach to how it uses memory in the System-on-Chip (SoC) subsystem. With the announcement of the M1 processor, Apple has switched away from the traditional Intel-supplied chips and transitioned into a fully custom SoC design called Apple Silicon. The new designs have to integrate every component like the Arm CPU and a custom GPU. Both of these processors need good memory access, and Apple has figured out a solution to the problem of having both the CPU and the GPU accessing the same pool of memory. The so-called UMA (unified memory access) represents a bottleneck because both processors share the bandwidth and the total memory capacity, which would leave one processor starving in some scenarios.

Apple has patented a design that aims to solve this problem by combining high-bandwidth cache DRAM as well as high-capacity main DRAM. "With two types of DRAM forming the memory system, one of which may be optimized for bandwidth and the other of which may be optimized for capacity, the goals of bandwidth increase and capacity increase may both be realized, in some embodiments," says the patent, " to implement energy efficiency improvements, which may provide a highly energy-efficient memory solution that is also high performance and high bandwidth." The patent got filed way back in 2016 and it means that we could start seeing this technology in the future Apple Silicon designs, following the M1 chip.

Update 21:14 UTC: We have been reached out by Mr. Kerry Creeron, an attorney with the firm of Banner & Witcoff, who provided us with additional insights about the patent. Mr. Creeron has provided us with his personal commentary about it, and you can find Mr. Creeron's quote below.

CORSAIR, a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced a new range of high-performance DDR4 memory kits to its renowned VENGEANCE RGB PRO lineup, CORSAIR VENGEANCE RGB PRO SL. Initially available in a wide range of frequencies up to 3,600MHz and kits up to 128GB (4x32GB) in both black and white, VENGEANCE RGB PRO SL boasts dynamic ten-zone RGB lighting in a form-factor just 44mm tall, offering wide compatibility with nearly any PC build. Each module is tightly screened and optimized for peak performance and overclocking potential, for memory that matches its mesmerizing visuals with equally impressive performance.

At 44mm tall, VENGEANCE RGB PRO SL's compact form-factor enables compatibility with a multitude of CPU cooler options, including dual-fan AIO liquid CPU coolers and many air coolers such as the CORSAIR A500. Ten individually addressable RGB LEDs per module are massively customizable through CORSAIR iCUE software, and can be synchronized with all iCUE-compatible devices throughout your setup for stunning lighting effects across the entire iCUE ecosystem.

ZenTimings by Ivan Rusanov is a tiny (< 500 KB download) app that lets you monitor your machine's memory timings in a really neat user-interface. The app works with all generations of AMD Ryzen processors, as well as Athlon processors based on the "Zen" microarchitectures. Besides timings, you also get basic info about the main clock domains that affect memory, such as memory clock (DDR), MCLK, UCLK, FCLK; relevant voltage readouts. This simple app is completely free, and open-source, if you'd like to inspect the code. The latest version v1.2.2 adds PHYWRD, PHYWRL, PHYRDL and PowerDown reading, DRAM and VTT readings, and the latest AMD "Dali" APUs. If you like the app, consider contributing to Rusanov on his website, in the source link below.

DOWNLOAD: ZenTimings by Ivan Rusanov v1.2.2The change-log follows.

Linus Torvalds, the inventor of the Linux kernel and version-control system called git, has posted another one of his famous rants, addressing his views about the lack of ECC memory in consumer devices. Mr. Torvalds has posted his views on the Linux kernel mailing list, where he usually comments about the development of the kernel. The ECC or Error Correcting Code memory is a special kind of DRAM that fixes the problems that occur inside the memory itself, where a bit can get corrupted and change the data stored, thus offering false results. ECC aims to fix those mistakes by implementing a system that fixes these small errors and avoids bigger problems. According to Mr. Torvalds, it is a technology that we need to be implemented everywhere, not just server space like Intel imagines.

Linus TorvaldsIntel has been instrumental in killing the whole ECC industry with it's horribly bad market segmentation... Intel has been detrimental to the whole industry and to users because of their bad and misguided policies wrt ECC. Seriously...The arguments against ECC were always complete and utter garbage... Now even the memory manufacturers are starting do do ECC internally because they finally owned up to the fact that they absolutely have to. And the memory manufacturers claim it's because of economics and lower power. And they are lying bastards - let me once again point to row-hammer about how those problems have existed for several generations already, but these f***** happily sold broken hardware to consumers and claimed it was an "attack", when it always was "we're cutting corners".

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

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

When AMD introduced its Smart Access Memory (SAM) technology, it was used as one of the key advertising points for its 5000 series of Ryzen processors based on Zen 3 architecture. At the time of launch, it was believed that only the latest generation of Ryzen processors can support it and only AMD GPUs can see a benefit in performance. However, later on, many of the motherboard makers have been playing with BIOS updates and have found a way to enable resizable BAR, the technology used for SAM, on non-AMD platforms. Today, thanks to the Reddit user Merich98 we have found out that ASUS has enabled resizable BAR support via BIOS update.

The user has used BIOS version 2409, released just a few days ago, on ASUS B450-PLUS motherboard. The feat is no extraordinary because it works on a B450 motherboard, it has been supported for a long time, but rather the feat is impressive because it works with the first generation AMD Ryzen 7 1700 processor. This contradicts the theory that SAM only needs 5000 series AMD Ryzen processors to run. However, the gains were not that great. On average, the average frame rate number has increased by a small +0.839%. This could be attributed to some margin of error, so it seems like SAM is not giving much performance uplift in this case.

VIPER GAMING by PATRIOT, a trademarked brand of PATRIOT and a global leader in performance memory, solid-state drives, and flash storage solutions, today is pleased to announce the launch of its new VIPER STEEL RGB series DDR4 high-performance memory. The VIPER STEEL RGB series evolved from the award-winning VIPER STEEL series memory and now comes equipped with spectacular RGB illumination and dedicated to bringing desktop DRAM RGB lighting design to a whole new level. The VIPER STEEL RGB series memory kits are currently available at speeds 3200 MHz and 3600 MHz with the largest capacity of 64 GB (2x 32 GB) kit. All modules are hand-tested and optimized across the latest Intel and AMD Ryzen platforms to deliver excellent stability and a visual feast of RGB lighting to PC enthusiasts and water-cooled PC modders.

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

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

The DRAM market exhibits a healthier and more balanced supply/demand relationship compared with the NAND Flash market because of its oligopolistic structure, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. The percentage distribution of DRAM supply bits by application currently shows that PC DRAM accounts for 13%, server DRAM 34%, mobile DRAM 40%, graphics DRAM 5%, and consumer DRAM (or specialty DRAM) 8%. Looking ahead to 1Q21, the DRAM market by then will have gone through an inventory adjustment period of slightly more than two quarters. Memory buyers will also be more willing to stock up because they want to reduce the risk of future price hikes. Therefore, DRAM prices on the whole will be constrained from falling further. The overall ASP of DRAM products is now forecasted to stay generally flat or slightly up for 1Q21.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is thrilled to be a part of multiple overclocking records during the launch of the AMD Ryzen 5000 Series processor, also known as Vermeer. With the launch of a new CPU architecture generation, comes a time where older records are overtaken by the new. Various extreme overclockers on HWBOT.org used G.SKILL memory kits as their memory of choice when achieving their overclock targets. Across various categories, an astounding 51 records from a total of 55 records were achieved with the use of G.SKILL DDR4 memory.