AMD appears set to enhance the core count for its renowned Threadripper series. After a prolonged wait, the high-end desktop (HEDT) platform boasting a significant CPU count returns with the Ryzen Threadripper PRO 7995WX, which features an impressive 96 cores and 192 threads. This marks the series' first core count upgrade since the Threadripper 3000 series. The 7995WX CPU was spotted in the HP Z6 G5 Workstation system, potentially one of the inaugural prebuilt systems from AMD's OEM partners. The Threadripper PRO series seems poised to dominate AMD's HEDT offerings, with no indications of non-PRO consumer models emerging for now.

The latest Geekbench listing unveiled the 7995WX CPU's 96-core configuration. Although the base frequency appears misrepresented, benchmark data hints at the 96-core CPU potentially reaching a boost clock of 5.14 GHz, a detail further confirmed by Geekbench's output. Another notable enhancement in the Threadripper series is introducing the DDR5 memory standard. While the benchmarking tool doesn't explicitly mention this, it does highlight a memory configuration of 503.27 GB (512 GB) in use. The CPU managed to score 2095 points for single-core score and 81408 points for multi-core score on Geekbench v5.5 for Linux (Ubuntu 22.04 LTS), making it one of the fastest CPUs in the database.

An unusual MSI RTX 3080 Ti SUPRIM X graphics card is up for sale, second hand, on Facebook Marketplace—the Sydney, Australia-based seller is advertising this component as a truly custom model with a non-standard allocation of VRAM: "Yes this is 20 GB not 12 GB." The used item is said to be in "good condition" with its product description elaborating on a bit of history: "There are some scuff marks from the previous owner, but the card works fine. It is an extremely rare collector's item, due to NVIDIA cancelling these variants a month before release. This is not an engineering sample card—this was a finished OEM product that got cancelled, unfortunately." The seller is seeking AU$1100 (~$740 USD), after a reduction from the original asking price of AU$1,300 (~$870 USD).

MSI and Gigabyte were reportedly on the verge of launching GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 20 GB variants two years ago, but NVIDIA had a change of heart (probably due to concerns about costs and production volumes) and decided to stick with a public release of the standard 12 GB GPU. Affected AIBs chose to not destroy their stock of 20 GB cards—these were instead sold to crypto miners and shady retailers. Wccftech points out that mining-oriented units have identifying marks on their I/O ports.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended June 30, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

• Revenue was $56.2 billion and increased 8% (up 10% in constant currency)
• Operating income was $24.3 billion and increased 18% (up 21% in constant currency)
• Net income was $20.1 billion and increased 20% (up 23% in constant currency)
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.69 and increased 21% (up 23% in constant currency)

"Organizations are asking not only how - but how fast - they can apply this next generation of AI to address the biggest opportunities and challenges they face - safely and responsibly," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "We remain focused on leading the new AI platform shift, helping customers use the Microsoft Cloud to get the most value out of their digital spend, and driving operating leverage."

TrendForce reports that OEMs have continued making concerted efforts to scale back production. However, given that the trajectory of market demand is still unclear, it's expected that the NAND Flash market will continue to be in a state of oversupply in 3Q23. Cautious inventory management by buyers is preventing a stabilization in NAND Flash prices even with an anticipated seasonal surge in demand for 2H23. TrendForce predicts that NAND Flash wafers will be the first to see a price hike in 3Q23 as prices for module products such as SSDs, eMMCs, and UFS will likely continue to fall due to tepid downstream demand. Consequently, the overall ASP of NAND Flash is forecast to continue dropping by about 3~8% in 3Q23, though a possibility exists prices may recover in 4Q23.

Client SSD: Although notebook shipments are expected to gradually recover in 3Q23, reversing an oversupply of SSD will continue to be challenging. Furthermore, a portion of suppliers have implemented aggressive promotions to secure customer orders and hit shipping targets in light of weakened demand and less-than-satisfactory order volumes from major clients, putting pressure on other suppliers. TrendForce estimates that the ASP of client SSDs will fall by 8~13% in the third quarter.

TrendForce reports that continued production cuts by DRAM suppliers have led to a gradual quarterly decrease in overall DRAM supply. Seasonal demand, on the other hand, is helping to mitigate inventory pressure on suppliers. TrendForce projects that the third quarter will see the ASP for DRAM converging towards a 0~5% decline. Despite suppliers' concerted efforts, inventory levels persistently remain high, keeping prices low. While production cutbacks may help to curtail quarterly price declines, a tangible recovery in prices may not be seen until 2024.

PC DRAM: The benefits of consolidated production cuts on DDR4 by the top three suppliers are expected to become evident in the third quarter. Furthermore, inventory pressure on suppliers has been partially alleviated due to aggressive purchasing by several OEMs at low prices during 2Q23. Evaluating average price trends for PC DRAM products in 3Q23 reveals that DDR4 will continue to remain in a state of persistent oversupply, leading to an expected quarterly price drop of 3~8%. DDR5 prices—influenced by suppliers' efforts to maintain prices and unmet buyer demand—are projected to see a 0-5% quarterly decline. The overall ASP of PC DRAM is projected to experience a QoQ decline of 0~5% in the third quarter.

Ampere Computing today announced a new AmpereOne Family of processors with up to 192 single threaded Ampere cores - the highest core count in the industry. This is the first product from Ampere based on the company's new custom core, built from the ground up and leveraging the company's internal IP. CEO Renée James, who founded Ampere Computing to offer a modern alternative to the industry with processors designed specifically for both efficiency and performance in the Cloud, said there was a fundamental shift happening that required a new approach.

"Every few decades of compute there has emerged a driving application or use of performance that sets a new bar of what is required of performance," James said. "The current driving uses are AI and connected everything combined with our continued use and desire for streaming media. We cannot continue to use power as a proxy for performance in the data center. At Ampere, we design our products to maximize performance at a sustainable power, so we can continue to drive the future of the industry."

TrendForce reveals that alongside the four major CSPs reducing their procurement volumes, OEMs like Dell and HPE have also scaled back their annual shipment volume forecasts at some point between February and April, predicting YoY declines of 15% and 12%, respectively. Furthermore, server demand in China is facing headwinds due to geopolitical and economic challenges. Consequently, TrendForce projects a downward revision in global server shipment volumes for this year—a 2.85% YoY decrease at 13.835 million units.

TrendForce emphasizes that the server market in 1H23 remains pessimistic, with 1Q23 shipments experiencing a 15.9% QoQ decrease due to off-season factors and end-user inventory adjustments. The expected industry boom in 2Q23 failed to materialize, leading to a modest QoQ growth estimate of only 9.23%. Persistent influences on server shipments include OEMs lowering shipment volumes, subdued domestic demand in China, and continuous supply chain inventory adjustments. ESG issues have also led CSPs to prolong server lifecycles and reduce procurement volume. Moreover, OEMs are lengthening supports period for older platforms as businesses seek to control capital expenditures, further contributing to market strain.

Microsoft Corp. today announced the following results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023, as compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal year:

• Revenue was $52.9 billion and increased 7% (up 10% in constant currency)
• Operating income was $22.4 billion and increased 10% (up 15% in constant currency)
• Net income was $18.3 billion and increased 9% (up 14% in constant currency)
• Diluted earnings per share was $2.45 and increased 10% (up 14% in constant currency)

"The world's most advanced AI models are coming together with the world's most universal user interface - natural language - to create a new era of computing," said Satya Nadella, chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft. "Across the Microsoft Cloud, we are the platform of choice to help customers get the most value out of their digital spend and innovate for this next generation of AI."

Resident TechPowerUp hardware database overseer T4C Fantasy has divulged some early information about a custom version of the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 Ti GPU card - Colorful's catchily named iGame RTX 4060 Ti Ultra White OC model has been added to the TPU GPU database, and T4C Fantasy has revealed a couple of tidbits on Twitter. The GPU has been tuned to have a maximum boost clock of 2580 MHz, jumping from a base clock of 2310 MHz. According to past leaks the reference version of the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti has a default boost clock of 2535 MHz, so Colorful's engineers have managed to add another 45 MHz on top of that with their custom iteration - so roughly 2% more than the reference default.

T4C Fantasy also confirmed that the Colorful iGame RTX 4060 Ti Ultra W OC will be appointed with 8 GB of VRAM, which also matches the reference model's rumored memory spec. T4C Fantasy points out that brands have the option to produce RTX 4060 Ti cards with a larger pool of attached video memory, but launch models will likely stick with the standard allotment of 8 GB of VRAM. The RTX 4060 Ti is listed as being based on the Ada Lovelace GPU architecture (GPU variant AD106-350-A1), and T4C Fantasy expects that Team Green will stick with a 5 nm process size - contrary to reports of a transition to manufacturing on 4 nm (chez TSMC foundries).

Personal computers (PCs) based on Arm architecture will grow in popularity and their market share will almost double from 14% now to 25% by 2027, according to Counterpoint Research's latest projections. The ability of Arm-based hardware to run Mac OS has allowed Apple to capture 90% of the Arm-based notebook computer market. However, the full support of Windows and Office365 and the speed of native Arm-based app adoption are also critical factors in determining the Arm SoC penetration rate in PCs. Once these factors are addressed, Arm-based PCs will become a viable option for both daily users and businesses.

As more existing PC OEMs/ODMs and smartphone manufacturers enter the market, they will bring their expertise in Arm-based hardware and software, which will further boost the popularity of Arm-based PCs. The availability of more native Arm-based apps will also increase user comfort and familiarity with the platform. Overall, the trend towards Arm-based PCs is expected to continue and their market share will likely increase significantly in the coming years.

Although NAND suppliers have continued to roll back production, there is still an oversupply of NAND Flash as demand for products such as servers, smartphones, and notebooks is still too weak. Therefore, TrendForce predicts that the ASP of NAND Flash will continue to fall in 2Q23, though that decline may shrink to 5~10%. The key to supply and demand returning to a market equilibrium lies in whether NAND suppliers can cut back on production even more. TrendForce believes if demand remains stable, then the ASP of NAND Flash will have an opportunity to rebound in 4Q23; if demand is weaker than expected, then ASP will take longer to recover.

Client SSD: Currently, PC OEM's have managed to liquidate most of their component inventory, and are now gearing up in preparation for mid-year sales events. Suppliers are cutting prices to clear out their inventories of PCIe Gen 3 SSDs, which are gradually being phased out. Meanwhile, prices of PCIe Gen 4 SSDs continue to face downward pressure due to a slow intake of new customer orders. The continuous decline of QLC products in 1Q23 has also dragged down the prices of TLC products, and there is relatively little room for prices to keep falling in 2Q23. While it still remains unclear whether or not demand will recover, TrendForce projects that the prices of PC client SSDs will drop 5~10% in 2Q23.

TrendForce reports that several suppliers, such as Micron and SK hynix, have started scaling back DRAM production. The ASP of DRAM plunged 20% in 1Q23, and this price decline is predicted to slow down to 10~15% next quarter. It's uncertain whether or not demand will recover in 2H23. Therefore, the ASP of DRAM has continued to fall as inventory levels are high from the suppliers' side, and prices will only rebound if there is a significant decrease in production.

PC DRAM: Purchase quantity from buyers has fallen drastically over the past three quarters; buyers have around 9~13 weeks of PC DRAM stock remaining. Despite suppliers having already cut production in the PC DRAM segment, DDR4 8 GB module is still likely to fall by more than 10% in 2Q23. There is a possibility that PC OEMs may purchase more DRAM because prices have been down to a relatively low level, but it is still under observation whether or not this can mitigate the inventory overstock situation from the suppliers' side. TrendForce predicts the ASP of PC DRAM will fall between 10~15%.

NVIDIA has killed SLI on its graphics cards, disabling the possibility of connecting two or more GPUs to harness their power for gaming and other workloads. However, SLI is making a reincarnation today in the form of a new H100 GPU model that spots higher memory capacity and higher performance. Called the H100 NVL, the GPU is a unique edition design based on the regular H100 PCIe version. What makes the H100 HVL version so special is the boost in memory capacity, now up from 80 GB in the standard model to 94 GB in the NVL edition SKU, for a total of 188 GB of HMB3 memory, running on a 6144-bit bus. Being a special edition SKU, it is sold only in pairs, as these H100 NVL GPUs are paired together and are connected by three NVLink connectors on top. Installation requires two PCIe slots, separated by dual-slot spacing.

The performance differences between the H100 PCIe version and the H100 SXM version are now matched with the new H100 NVL, as the card features a boost in the TDP with up to 400 Watts per card, which is configurable. The H100 NVL uses the same Tensor and CUDA core configuration as the SXM edition, except it is placed on a PCIe slot and connected to another card. Being sold in pairs, OEMs can outfit their systems with either two or four pairs per certified system. You can see the specification table below, with information filled out by AnandTech. As NVIDIA says, the need for this special edition SKU is the emergence of Large Language Models (LLMs) that require significant computational power to run. "Servers equipped with H100 NVL GPUs increase GPT-175B model performance up to 12X over NVIDIA DGX A100 systems while maintaining low latency in power-constrained data center environments," noted the company.

Today, thanks to Yuuki_Ans on the Chinese Bilibili forum, we have more information about the upcoming "Avenue City" platform that powers Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest. Intel's forthcoming Granite Rapids and Sierra Forest Xeon processors will diverge the Xeon family into two offerings: one optimized for performance/core equipped with P-cores and the other for power/core equipped with E-cores. The reference platform Intel designs and shares with OEMs internally is a 16.7" x 20" board with 20 PCB layers, made as a dual-socket solution. Featuring two massive LGA-7529 sockets, the reference design shows the basic layout for a server powered by these new Xeons.

Capable of powering Granite Rapids / Sierra Forest-AP processors of up to 500 Watts, the platform also accommodates next-generation I/O. Featuring 24 DDR5 DIMMs with support for 12-channel memory, with memory speeds of up to 6400 MT/s. The PCIe selection includes six PCIe Gen 5 x16 links supporting CXL cache coherent protocol and 6x24 UPI links. Additionally, we have another piece of information that Granite Rapids will come with up to 128 cores and 256 threads in both regular and HBM-powered Xeon Max flavoring. You can see storage and reference platform configuration details on the slides below.

AMD's EPYC lineup already features the new Zen 4 core designed for better performance and efficiency. However, since the release of EPYC Milan-X processors with 3D V-cache integrated into server offerings, we wondered if AMD will continue to make such SKUs for upcoming generations. According to the report from Wccftech, we have a leaked table of specifications that showcase what some seemingly top-end Genoa-X SKUs will look like. The two SKUs listed here are the "100-000000892-04" coded engineering sample and the "100-000000892-06" coded retail sample. With support for the same SP5 platform, these CPUs should be easily integrated with the existing offerings from OEM.

As far as specifications, this processor features 384 MBs of L3 cache coming from CCDs, 768 MBs of L3 cache from the 3D V-Cache stacks, and 96 MBs of L2 cache for a total of 1248 MBs in the usable cache. A 3 MB stack of L1 cache is also dedicated to instructions and primary CPU data. Compared to the regular Genoa design, this is a 260% increase in cache sizes, and compared to Milan-X, the Genoa-X design also progresses with 56% more cache. With a TDP of up to 400 Watts, configurable to 320 Watts, this CPU can boost up to 3.7 GHz. AMD EPYC Genoa-X CPUs are expected to hit the shelves in the middle of 2023.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the new Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 Mobile Platform—delivering premium experiences brand new to the Snapdragon 7-series. Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 provides exceptional CPU and GPU performance fueling swift, nonstop gaming, dynamic low-light photography and 4K HDR videography, AI-enhanced experiences and high-speed 5G and Wi-Fi connectivity.

"Snapdragon is synonymous with premium mobile experiences. Today's launch of the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 2 illustrates our ability to bring some of the most in-demand flagship features to our Snapdragon-7 series—making them accessible to more people," said Christopher Patrick, senior vice president and general manager of mobile handsets, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "We are committed to delivering the most innovative solutions to meet the needs of consumers, our customers, and the industry at large."

AQIRYS, the trending Romanian gaming brand, announces the launch of ADARA, the most advanced gaming keyboard in its portfolio. The model announced today is aimed at the most discerning and demanding users of compact keyboards, and it has been engineered for silence, smoothness, and future customization and upgrade possibilities.

Named after the brightest star in ultraviolet light, ADARA fuses in a versatile compact form factor, the latest features and innovations in mechanical keyboard design with customized switches from HaiMu, the newest OEM name in the high-end switches arena. Thanks to its 1800 compact form factor and 95-key layout, the new keyboard offers similar space-saving benefits for performing ample mouse movements, just like the TKL format preferred by e-sports professionals, while preserving the convenience of the Numpad.

TrendForce's recent analysis of the foundry market reveals that demand continues to slide for all types of mature and advanced nodes. The major IC design houses have cut wafer input for 1Q23 and will likely scale back further for 2Q23. Currently, foundries are expected to maintain a lower-than-ideal level of capacity utilization rate in the first two quarters of this year. Some nodes could experience a steeper demand drop in 2Q23 as there are still no signs of a significant rebound in wafer orders. Looking ahead to the second half of this year, orders will likely pick up for some components that underwent an inventory correction at an earlier time. However, the state of the global economy will remain the largest variable that affect demand, and the recovery of individual foundries' capacity utilization rates will not occur as quickly as expected. Taking these factors into account, TrendForce currently forecasts that global foundry revenue will drop by around 4% YoY for 2023. The projected decline for 2023 is more severe when compared with the one that was recorded for 2019.

Due to the various major events that affected the global economy and politics, the overall demand for consumer electronics made a sharp downward turn in 2022, and global shipments of notebook (laptop) computers began to fall over the quarters. TrendForce's latest analysis finds that global shipments of notebook computers (from ODMs) reached just around 186 million units for 2022, showing a YoY drop of 24.5%. As for 2023, the outlook on the performance of the notebook computer market remains uncertain at this moment. TrendForce expects the YoY decline to moderate to about 7.8%, but shipments are projected to total only 171 million units.

Because market demand was anemic in 4Q22, promotional activities related to the traditional year-end peak season did not generate a lot of sales momentum. Looking at regional markets, notebook brands (PC OEMs) slashed prices in the US and China, but their sales results still did not meet expectations. This development was mainly attributed to factors such as high inflation suppressing consumers' disposable income. Since the sales results for 4Q22 were lackluster, efforts to get rid of the existing stockpile of whole devices might continue through 2Q23. Furthermore, order placements from channels are going to be much more restrained.

TrendForce's latest analysis of the DRAM market finds that the inventory pressure on suppliers remain significant due to the persistently weak demand for consumer electronics. Among the top three DRAM suppliers, only Samsung has seen a slight drop in inventory level thanks to its highly competitive pricing strategy. To prevent DRAM prices as a whole from making another sharp dive, a few suppliers such as Micron have been cutting production. Therefore, the QoQ decline in DRAM prices are projected to shrink to around 13~18% for 1Q23. However, the slump will have yet to reach the bottom at that time. Regarding the QoQ changes in the prices of the major categories of DRAM products for 1Q23, PC DRAM and server DRAM are projected to again register a drop that is near 20%. Conversely, mobile DRAM will experience the smallest price decline because its profit margin is ready the thinnest.

Global market intelligence firm TrendForce states that Chinese memory manufacturer YMTC is now at risk of exiting the market for 3D NAND Flash products by 2024 following its formal placement on the Entity List of the US Commerce Department on December 15. From this point forward, the Commerce Department will be reviewing and approving individual transactions related to the exportation, re-exportation, and sales of equipment, technologies, and other related goods from the US to YMTC. With acquisitions of equipment parts and technical support from its US partners becoming very difficult and prolonged, YMTC is going to be severely constrained from raising its bit output. Hence, its foothold on the market for 3D NAND Flash products is expected to weaken as time goes by.

TrendForce points out that without the support of the key equipment providers, YMTC is now facing a huge technical obstacle in the development of its latest 3D NAND Flash technology known as Xtacking 3.0. In particular, raising yield rate for the 128L and 232L processes is going to be extremely challenging for the Chinese memory manufacturer. Taking account of this latest escalation in the US-China trade dispute, TrendForce has further corrected down its projections on YMTC's supply bit growth rate and the total NAND Flash supply bit growth rate for next year. YMTC supply bits were initially forecasted to grow by 60% YoY for 2023. However, there was a massive downward correction that put its growth rate at just 18%. Now, YMTC is forecasted to post a YoY decline of 7%, which is a complete reversal from the earlier projections.

In a new International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, the outlook for PCs and tablets continues to get worse. Worldwide PC and tablet shipments are forecast to decline 11.9% in 2022 with volumes shrinking to 456.8 million units, followed by a further decline in 2023. According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker, traditional PCs will see shipments drop 5.6% to 281 million units in 2023 while tablets will decline 6.7% to 148 million units.

Despite the sharp decline, shipment volumes will remain above pre-pandemic levels although the market will continue to be challenged by macroeconomic headwinds, excess channel inventory, and high levels of saturation. While the PC market is expected to fare better than tablets with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of just over 1% expected over the five-year forecast, tablets are expected to have a CAGR of -1.7% over the same period.

Lenovo started offering the Ryzen 9 7900 and Ryzen 7 7700 processors as options for its prebuilt desktops, confirming that the 7900 and 7700 will be OEM-exclusives, at least initially. That doesn't mean these chips won't make it to the retail channel, as OEM-only parts from AMD in the past have somehow found their way to retailers, who bought them in trays, and sold them piecemeal as combos with motherboards and CPU coolers. The 7900 is a 12-core/24-thread part, just like its retail-channel sibling, the 7900X. The 7700 is an 8-core/16-thread part, again, similar to the 7700X. Not much else is known about these chips, except for their base frequency of just 3.60 GHz (compared to 4.70 GHz for the 7900X, and 4.50 GHz for the 7700X). Both chips are expected to feature a lowered TDP, with just 65 W for the 7700 (down from 105 W for the 7700X), and possibly 65 W or 105 W for the 7900 (down from 170 W for the 7900X).

Based on the latest data and research, TrendForce has further corrected down the projected YoY growth rate of whole server shipments for 2023 to 2.8%. Three factors are behind this revision. First, lead time has started to return to its usual length for most orders related to server components from 3Q23 onward. Seeing this, server OEMs and cloud service providers (CSPs) have also begun to correct the component mismatch issue by lowering demand for items that are in excess while maintaining a constant inventory level for items that are still in tight supply. This development, in turn, has reduced the flow of server orders going to ODMs. Second, the wave of demand that was generated earlier from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic is dissipating. Hence, expansion activities have cooled off noticeably for services such as video streaming, e-commerce, etc. Among CSPs, Meta, Google, and ByteDance (TikTok) have lowered their server procurement quantities for next year. Lastly, the global economic outlook has remained fairly negative, so companies across most industry sectors have formulated a more conservative expenditure plan and scaled back IT-related spending for next year.

The SiSoft SANDRA user database has just been pinged by two new unreleased AMD Ryzen 7000 series "Zen 4" processor models, the Ryzen 7 7700 and Ryzen 5 7600. These chips have the same 8-core/16-thread and 6-core/12-thread core-counts as the 7700X and 7600X, respectively; but with lower clock speeds, and more importantly, a lower TDP of just 65 W. This would put their package power tracking (PPT) limit around 90 W, down from the 105 W and 140 W of the their "X" siblings.

The 7600 and 7700 come with a base frequency of 3.80 GHz, as detected by SANDRA. Every other specification, such as cache size, is the unchanged from the 7600X or 7700X. There's no word on the availability, but it's likely that AMD would debut these chips in the OEM channel first, especially given that the 7600 has the potential to undercut sales of the embattled 7600X. Things could get interesting as Intel debuts the lower end of its 13th Gen Core i5 series, which are rumored to be based on the "Alder Lake" microarchitecture, and 6P+4E SKUs.