Intel is giving final touches to its next-generation "Gemini Lake" SoC, which will be sold under the Celeron and Pentium brands, and will succeed the current-generation "Apollo Lake" SoC. Built on a refined 14 nm process, the chip features a TDP of just 6W for the mobile variant, and 10W for the SFF desktop, but boasts of improved performance-per-Watt than its predecessor, translating into direct performance gains.

To begin with, "Gemini Lake" will embed a dual-core or quad-core CPU based on Intel's "Goldmont Plus" micro-architecture. A Goldmont Plus core isn't physically different from the current-gen "Goldmont," but apparently doubles the L2 cache to 4 MB from the existing 2 MB, and takes advantage of process-level improvements to lower power-draw, which Intel is using to bump up the CPU clock speeds.

Akasa introduced a pair of fanless mini-PC cases for Intel's "Apollo Lake" and "Kaby Lake" NUC boards, the Newton S7 and Newton AC. The Newton S7 is designed to cope with the 15W TDP thermal loads of NUC boards with Core i3 and Core i5 "Kaby Lake" NUC boards, such as the NUC7i3BNK, NUC7i3BNH, NUC7i5BNK, and NUC7i5BNH. The Newton AC, on the other hand, is designed for Pentium and Celeron "Apollo Lake" based NUC boards, such as the NUC6CAYH and NUC6CAYS.

Measuring 176.5 mm x 200 mm x 53.5 mm (WxDxH), the Newton S7 features a chunky aluminium body that doubles up as a heatsink for the SoC. It offers one 9.5 mm-thick 2.5-inch drive bay. Its front-panel ports include two USB 3.0 type-A, HDA audio jacks, a hole for IR receiver, and two WLAN antenna holes at the rear end. The Newton AC, on the other hand, measures 140 mm x 111 mm x 51 mm, with one 2.5-inch drive bay, and cutouts for front IR receiver, USB type-A ports and HDA jacks. Both cases come with options for compatible power bricks.

Even though the NDA still isn't up on AMD's second volley of Ryzen-based CPUs, some lucky buyers are already running some of the upcoming Ryzen 5 processors after some sellers jumped the gun. Now, a YouTube video by user "Santiago Santiago." is making the rounds in which he compares gaming performance between the Ryzen 5 1400 (4-core, 8-thread part @ 3.2 GHz base, 3.4 GHz boost), Intel's i5 7400 (4-cores @ 3.0 GHz base, 3.5 GHz boost), and the Pentium G4560, a Kaby Lake dual-core CPU with Hyper Threading @ 3.5 GHz base clocks. The user even snapped a picture proving he has his hands on this chip.

At CES 2017, ASRock showcased one of the most interesting PCs in attendance - particularly if you think interest is inversely affected by size. The name they gave it was DeskMini, and it ushers in a Micro-STX form factor, measuring only 210 mm x 157.5 mm x 81.9 mm. But mini-PCs are many these days. What makes this one so interesting?

Well, it's the fact that this seems to embody the perfect proportions - and compromise - between a high-powered PC and a puny NUC or Mini-PC. For one, it carries any choice of a Celeron/Pentium/i3/i5/i7 Intel processor on the socket 1151 (up to a i7 7700K); supports up to a max of 32 GB DDR4 at 2400 MHz on 2x SO-DIMM slots; features 2x SATA III ports (with power connectors) and 3x M.2 ports (two of which support Type 2280/2260 M.2 PCIe Gen 3x4 or a SATA SSD, while the other supports only a PCIe Gen3x4-based SSD); and your choice of either an NVIDIA GTX 1060 (on the GTX series) or an AMD RX 460/470/480 on the (aptly named) RX series.

Intel Corporation has made a slight tweak to its product line: the addition of Hyper-Threading to some of its processors which, traditionally, didn't carry it. This includes the Pentium G4620 (3.7 GHz base frequency and integrated graphics HD 630, $93) and G4600 (3.6 GHz base frequency, $82), both at 51 W TDP; G4560 (54W TDP at 3.5 GHz and integrated HD 610 graphics, $64); and the Pentium G4600T (3 GHz, HD 630, $75) and G4560T (2.9 GHz, HD 610, $64) slot in as the low power Pentium offerings with a 35W TDP. All of these processors now carry 2 physical cores, which the system sees exposed as 4 logical cores due to their Hyper-Threading enablement.

GIGABYTE Technology, a leading creator of high performance products for IT professionals and an associate member of the Intel Internet of Things Solutions Alliance, is pleased to announce that its current line-up of EL-20 series IoT Gateway solutions will phase in new Intel Pentium and Celeron processors based on the Braswell D stepping.

The new Intel Pentium N3710 and Intel Celeron N3060 will be phased in to deliver higher performance on both compute tasks and graphics, while maintaining their current thermal and power envelopes, thanks to improvements of Intel's 14 nm process. The new D-stepping Braswell processors now fall under the Intel Embedded Options, delivering longer availability lifetime for those seeking to invest in a long-term platform.

Arctic unveiled a new fan-less CPU cooler for Intel LGA115x sockets, the Alpine M1 Passive. With a rated cooling capacity of 48W (TDP), the cooler is only recommended for dual-core LGA1150 and LGA1151 Core i3, Pentium, Celeron, or energy-efficient Core i5 processors. Its design couldn't get any simpler - a big chunk of aluminium that's ridged to make up fins of the heatsink, with a bulge near the CPU area, with pre-applied thermal paste. Measuring 95 mm x 95 mm x 69 mm (LxDxH), it weighs in at 508 g. Available now, it's priced at 13€. It could prove to be an interesting option for low-power builds that never game.

Intel started selling its first "complete" (not barebones) NUC based mini-PC, the NUC5PGYH. Priced at $255 a pop, this unit includes memory and storage besides the Pentium N3700 "Braswell" SoC based system board, the chassis; and comes with Windows 10 pre-installed. 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of SSD storage is included, you can opt for more of both. There's also a vacant 7 mm thick 2.5-inch SATA drive bay, so you could expand storage. Modern connectivity includes HDMI, USB 3.0, WLAN, gigabit Ethernet, and HD audio.

Intel's upcoming Core "Skylake-U" low-power processors, for ultra-portable notebooks, tablets, convertibles, and fan-less desktops, is where the fruition of Intel's 14 nm process takes shape. These dual-core chips, spanning all five brand extensions - Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium, and Celeron, offering TDP as low as 7.5W, and no more than 15W. The lineup is kept slim, with no more than 2 SKUs per extension. All three Core extensions feature Intel HD 520 graphics, clocked around 350 MHz, with 1000 to 1050 MHz boost, while the Pentium and Celeron models feature slimmer HD 510 graphics, ticking at 300/900 MHz.

The lineup is led by the Core i7-6600U and i7-6500U. Besides HyperThreading enabling 4 logical CPUs, these two chips feature 4 MB L3 cache, 1050 MHz iGPU boost frequency, and the highest CPU clock-speeds in the series. The Core i5 chips differ from their Core i7 counterparts with sub-3 GHz CPU clock speeds, 3 MB L3 cache, and maximum iGPU boost frequency of 1000 MHz. The Core i3 parts are almost identical to their Core i5 counterparts, except they lack CPU Turbo Boost. The Pentium processors feature very low CPU core speeds, and are almost identical to Core i3, but feature lower 950 MHz iGPU boost frequency, and 2 MB L3 cache. Celeron parts lack HyperThreading. Some of these parts will launch in 2015, others in 2016. Find the exact clock speeds for each SKU in the table below.

Industrial & embedded computer manufacturer Logic Supply has launched a preview of their upcoming ML600 Series of fanless and ventless industrial computer systems. Optimized for passive heat distribution, the new systems enable up to Intel i7 desktop processing without the need for a cooling fan, reducing a common failure point in commercial PCs and virtually eliminating noise.

"Logic Supply's goal is to offer our clients the ideal system to fit their needs," said Logic Supply Product Manager Logan Cooke. "While there are other systems on the market that may offer a certain number of COM ports, or i7 processing, or fanless cooling, or a ventless chassis, there was nothing available that combined all of these features into one system. With each of the ML600 systems we wanted to offer a computer that would offer users a unique combination of capabilities and connectivity."

MSI, world leading in motherboard design, debuts the first Intel Braswell based Mini-ITX ECO motherboards; the MSI N3050I ECO, N3150I ECO and N3700I ECO. With a rich feature set and all new onboard 14nm Dual & Quad Core Intel Celeron and Pentium Processor with next generation Intel HD graphics up to 2x faster, the new passively cooled MSI Braswell ECO motherboards are the perfect solution for HTPC or industrial devices. MSI's revolutionary power-saving design featured on its new ECO series motherboards, together with Intel's newly designed ultra-low power consuming SoC using only up to 6W, make these motherboards the next step in efficiency. Featuring a fully passive cooling solution, the new Braswell based ECO motherboards run cool, silent & efficient.

In order to help people understand the level of processor performance and make an informed purchase decision based on their needs, Intel Atom processors will now be offered in three distinct brand levels in a good/better/best construct - the Intel Atom x3, x5 and x7 processors. This change will start with the next generation of processors. Intel Atom x3 processor provides basic, but genuine Intel-level tablet, phablet and smartphone performance.

Intel Atom x5 processor has more capabilities and features for people who want an even better experience, and the flagship Intel Atom x7 processor provides the highest level of performance and capabilities for the Intel Atom family. The Intel Atom processor is designed to provide the best battery life with great performance for tablets, phablets, smartphones and other mobile devices. This infographic lists Intel's consumer brand portfolio for consumer devices including the Intel Core processor, Intel Core M processor, Intel Atom processor, Intel Pentium processor and Intel Celeron processor.

MSI, the leading brand of embedded computers recently released a new　industrial system, KingBOX MS-9A66. KingBOX MS-9A66 is a powerful yet fanless system featuring with its scalability, ruggedness, and versatile expansion capability. Outperforming other fanless systems with the powerful, scalable Intel 4th Gen scheme, KingBOX MS-9A66 meets demanding performance requirement while keeps the system cool with its superior heat radiation design that allows it work fanlessly and reliably. The high-performance and calm design along with its rich I/O and the versatility of expansion slots make it a perfect computing system for most of industrial scenes, such as intelligent transportation, facility management, environment monitoring, security automation, utility automation, and many more.

In addition to debuting the Chromebook 2, Toshiba today revealed another low-cost mobile machine, the Satellite Radius 11 convertible laptop running Microsoft's Windows 8.1. Seen below, Toshiba's device features a 11.6-inch display with a native resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels and 10-point touch support, an Intel Celeron and Pentium processor, 4 GB of DDR3L memory, a 500 GB hard drive, 802.11 b/g/n WiFi, Bluetooth 4.0, an SD card slot, and a HDMI output.

The Satellite Radius 11 is said to cost £329.

ECS today proudly announced the unmatched motherboard in the market for the Intel Pentium 20th anniversary edition processor, Z97-PK , has been released to all the fans that are searching for exciting overclocking performance within affordable price.

Since Intel Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition Processors was announced during COMPUTEX 2014, users have been looking for the best combination to cope with this processor series, especially Pentium G3258 processor, which has unlocked multiplier and better performance than i3 Processor when overclocked. ECS provides the best solution, Z97-PK , the ultimate OC performance with unbeatable value, to fulfill the unmet needs from users.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced its latest overclocking contest hosted on HWBOT.org, the GIGABYTE Z97-Pentium AE Beat the Heat Challenge. The main focus will be centered on the latest GIGABYTE 9 series motherboards and the G3258 Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition CPU. The challenge is open to all HWBOT.org overclockers and will be separated in 5 stages running various benchmarks on air/water cooling and LN2 cooling. A total of USD $2,000 in cash prizes and two GIGABYTE Z97X-SOC LN2 will be offered to the winners, as well as a lucky draw with 5 participants winning a GIGABYTE G-Powerboard kit.

Intel rolled out six new entry-level socket LGA1150 dual-core processors, based on the "Haswell" micro-architecture. These include four-each under the Pentium and Core i3 brands. Among the Pentium parts are the G3250 (3.20 GHz clocks, 1.10 GHz iGPU, 3 MB L3, 53W TDP, 2c/2t); Pentium G3250T (2.80 GHz clocks, 1.10 GHz iGPU, 3 MB L3, 35W TDP, 2c/2t); Pentium G3450T (2.90 GHz clocks, 1.10 GHz iGPU, 3 MB L3, 35W TDP, 2c/2t); and Pentium G3460 (3.50 GHz clocks, 1.10 GHz iGPU, 3 MB L3, 53W TDP, 2c/2t).

The HyperThreading-enabled Core i3 parts include the Core i3-4160 (3.60 GHz clocks, 1.15 GHz iGPU, 3 MB L3, 54W TDP, 2c/4t); Core i3-4160T (3.10 GHz clocks, 1.15 GHz iGPU, 3 MB L3, 35W TDP, 2c/4t); Core i3-4360T (3.20 GHz clocks, 1.15 GHz iGPU, 4 MB L3, 34W TDP, 2c/4t); and the Core i3-4370 (3.80 GHz clocks, 1.15 GHz iGPU, 4 MB L3, 54W TDP, 2c/4t), which is the fastest dual-core CPU money can buy.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards announced a new version of its overclocking assistant EasyTune has been released just in time for the new Intel Pentium Anniversary Edition CPU, an unlocked CPU designed to bring overclocking to the mainstream. The new EasyTune application allows users to get the highest level of overclocked performance from their CPU and GIGABYTE Z87 / Z97 series motherboard, and with one click automatic overclocking, even novice users can experience enhanced computing performance right from the start.

With a stock frequency of 3.2 GHz, the Intel Pentium AE can be easily overclocked using the revamped EasyTune application so that users can experience faster system performance without having to buy a more expensive CPU. The Smart Quick Boost function within EasyTune comes pre-configured with set overclocked profiles which have been tested by GIGABYTE's experienced engineers, to ensure no matter what the hardware configuration, users can enjoy 24/7 stable system performance. To enable different levels overclock, users just need to click "Light", "Medium" or "Extreme", with the expected CPU frequency being highlighted in the upper right corner of the settings tab.

The world's largest semiconductor manufacturer Intel officially announced the unlocked Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition G3258
processor (nicknamed Pentium K by enthusiasts) at the Computex Taipei 2014 where it was finally made available to the eagerly waiting commercial market. The world-renowned motherboard manufacturer MSI also officially released a new version of BIOS simultaneously, allowing all MSI Z97/H97 motherboards to fully support this new CPU. However, only the Z97 products can overclock this CPU. In addition, MSI persists in searching for the limit and has already broken the world record for the Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition G3258 processor by reach 6861.7 MHz.

Moreover, MSI also made optimized BIOS adjustments for three motherboards that are widely popular among consumers, including Z97 GUARD-PRO, Z97-G43 and Z97 PC Mate. These motherboards are equipped with six-phase power control components, which are able to stably overclock the Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition G3258 processor. They can automatically overclock the CPU to 4.3GHz from its original 3.2GHz through MSI's exclusive technology OC Genie 4, increasing its performance by 34%, so even a beginner will be able to overclock a computer stably to high performance through a single action without any complicated skills and configurations.

Following the official announcement of Intel Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition G3258 CPU at COMPUTEX 2014, today ASRock Inc. unveils Z97 Anniversary (ATX) and Z97M Anniversary (Micro ATX) correspondingly. ASRock also provides "Pentium Anniversary Boost" technology along with these two motherboards for the easiest overclocking ever, as users are able to experience better computing performance with only few keystrokes!

Pentium Anniversary Boost
Unlike other manufacturers that only update their BIOS for the new CPU, ASRock makes further efforts and offers "Pentium Anniversary Boost" technology exclusively. With Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition G3258 CPU installed on Z97 Anniversary or Z97M Anniversary motherboard, turn on your PC and press "P" to enter the selection page and choose the CPU frequency you would like to apply. "Pentium Anniversary Boost" will then automatically overclock the relative components and boost the CPU frequency from 3.2 GHz to a maximum of 4.2 GHz! How easy CPU overclocking can be? Now all it takes are just few keystrokes to boost your Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition G3258 CPU!

A set of leaked BIOS'es surfaced on the web, which apparently enable overclocking of Intel's Pentium Anniversary Edition unlocked dual-core chips, on three of MSI's motherboards based on Intel's H97 Express chipset (which is not supposed to support CPU overclocking). Among these motherboards are the H97M-G43, H97 Guard-Pro, and H97 PC-Mate. All three boards are apparently able to overclock the 3.20 GHz chip all the way up to 4.50 GHz, with a simple crank of the BClk multiplier up to 45.0x. Such a BIOS making it to the web is interesting, because the company released statements in the past, opposing overclocking on H87 and B85 chipset-based motherboards, when the likes of ASRock, ASUS, and Gigabyte released beta BIOSes to support it, before Intel cracked down on them. Given that MSI uses common PCB designs across some 8-series and 9-series chipset motherboards (eg: MS-7850), it will be interesting to see how MSI plugs the leak. For the time being, we've hosted the BIOSes for you, to use at your own risk.

The Pentium brand is so important for Intel, that it continues to exist, and the company celebrated its 20th anniversary by launching a special edition dual-core socket LGA1150 Pentium chip that comes with unlocked multipliers. Trouble is, people who buy it would have to opt for expensive motherboards just to overclock it, and would rather balance their expenses with Core i3 and cheaper motherboards, instead. To address that, and bring a bottle to Intel's celebrations, ASRock launched the Anniversary series, with the ATX Z97 Anniversary, and the micro-ATX Z97M Anniversary. As their names suggest, the two are based on Intel's overclocking-ready Z97 Express chipset. The idea behind the two could be to combine the Z97 chipset with a basic VRM that's just about enough to push the Pentium Anniversary Edition chip to its limits.

The Z97 Anniversary is a highly space-optimized ATX motherboard. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and 4-pin Molex power connectors. It uses a 5-phase VRM to condition power to the CPU, cooled by a heatsink. The CPU is wired to four DDR3 DIMM slots, and the lone PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Three PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and two legacy PCI make for the rest of its expansion. Storage connectivity includes six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Networking is care of an Intel-made gigabit Ethernet controller. The onboard 6-channel HD audio is handled by an ALC887 CODEC, but backed by electrolytic capacitors. HDMI is its only display output.

Intel's next socket LGA1150 quad-core processors for overclockers, namely the Core i7-4790K and the Core i7-4690K, codenamed "Devil's Canyon," could be exclusive to motherboards based on the 9-series chipset. For overclockers, the choices would hence narrow down to motherboards based on the Z97 Express chipset. Marketing material distributed to retailers ahead of the processors' mid-June launch, mention "Devil's Canyon" to be supported by "new Intel 9 series chipset," while the same material detailing unlocked Pentium 20th Anniversary Edition mention it to be supported by "both Intel 8 and 9 series chipset."

Intel not mentioning that for "Devil's Canyon" is leading some to speculate that it won't be supported by motherboards running 8-series chipset, notably Z87 Express. For overclockers with expensive Z87 motherboards such as the ASUS Maximus VI Extreme, Gigabyte Z87X SOC, and MSI Z87 MPower MAX, this could spell trouble. Based on binned "Haswell Refresh" silicon, "Devil's Canyon" chips are special, in that they feature enhanced on-package electricals that can tolerate higher current; an enhanced thermal interface material between the die and the integrated heatspreader (IHS), enhanced LGA contact points, and increased voltage and thermal limits.

Several online retailers began listing Intel's next wave of unlocked socket LGA1150 processors, ahead of their June 2014 launches. Among these are the Core i7-4790K, the Core i5-4690K, and the Pentium G3258. The series begins with the i7-4790K and the i5-4690K, which bear an exclusive codename, "Devil's Canyon." These are special hand-picked "Haswell" dies that feature higher voltage limits, and a higher-grade package, with special high-current LGA contact points, and a superior thermal interface material between the die and integrated heatspreader (IHS).

The i7-4790K is a quad-core chip, featuring HyperThreading (8 logical CPUs), HD 4600 graphics, 8 MB of L3 cache, and clock speeds of 4.10 GHz, with Turbo Boost frequencies of a staggering 4.40 GHz. The i5-4690K, on the other hand, is a quad-core chip that lacks HyperThreading, and features 6 MB of L3 cache, but respectable clock speeds of 3.50 GHz, with 3.90 GHz Turbo Boost. Both chips feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, support for higher memory frequencies, uncore clocks, etc. The Core i7-4790K is priced around US $370, on the stores it's up for pre-order. The i5-4690K, on the other hand, is listed around $250.

Without any real fanfare Intel has now kicked off sales and shipments of processors part of 'Haswell Refresh' line. An official launch for the updated Haswell offering, complete with motherboards based on the 9 Series LGA1150 chipsets, is reportedly planned for next month but since the CPUs got the go-ahead you can expect them to reach stores shortly.

A total of 44 chips have been introduced by Intel, 27 of which are for desktops while the rest are for mobile devices. There's nothing really new about the CPUs as they are still based on the Haswell architecture (which debuted last year) but they do have slightly higher (100 MHz in most cases) frequencies than the models they aim to replace (speed bump at no added cost).