ASUS, the leading IT company in server systems, server motherboards, and workstations today announced that ASUS servers achieved the highest rankings on the SPEC Power suite of benchmarks for energy efficiency performed by the Standard Performance Evaluation Corporation (SPEC). ASUS selected the Intel-based RS720-E9-RS8 and AMD-based RS500A-E10-PS4 rack servers for these benchmarks to show the power and performance characteristics of ASUS servers on both CPU platforms and to demonstrate to customers how they can achieve faster deployments and higher energy efficiency for their IT infrastructures. These servers were tested using both Windows Server and Linux — the most popular operating systems used in data centers — to ensure the benchmarks results are relevant to real-world performance and operating conditions. These results are current as of April 16, 2020.

According to the latest report by Windows Latest, Microsoft's Windows 10 2004 May update will bring a much-needed disk performance update. The underlying reason behind this improvement is the terrible performance of the Windows Search indexer, which in previous versions of Windows 10 had high disk usage and resulted in a slowdown of the system. However, Microsoft decided to improve that and found a way to optimize its performance. This improvement will be of much need to everyone who owns and runs Windows 10 on a Hard Drive.

In Windows 10 update 1909, Microsoft has decided to separate Cortana from the Windows Search and thus brought disk usage a bit lower. However, Microsoft's engineers have been fine-tuning the Search Indexer, and now the performance is significantly better while having a lot less disk usage. Previously, the Search Indexer was very aggressive and spared no resources for its process, so this is a welcome addition. This improvement will leave disk usage capacity to other processes and will result in a noticeably snappier system, which Hard Drive users will appreciate the most.

Audio-Technica is introducing four new high-performance Hi-Res Audio headphones. The over-ear ATH-AWKT and ATH-AWAS audiophile and over-ear ATH-WP900 portable headphones combine beautifully crafted woods with superb sound quality, and the ATH-IEX1 features an exclusive hybrid multi-driver system for an unmatched in-ear listening experience.

Like all the new wooden headphones, the over-ear ATH-AWKT is handcrafted at our factory based in Tokyo. The ATH-AWKT (SRP: US$1,899.00) features housings made from prized Kokutan (striped ebony) hardwood. Long used for woodwind instruments and pianos, Kokutan is distinguished by its attractive black and brown stripes, and the housings have a hand-applied semi-gloss finish that brings out the wood's natural beauty. In addition, the high density of the Kokutan wood suppresses unwanted resonances to contribute to the headphones' clear, natural sound.

AMD's upcoming Ryzen 4000 series processors will be based on the company's Zen 3 design, which will feature a deeply revised architecture aiming to offer increased performance (surprising no-one). AMD themselves have already said that Zen 3 will offer performance increases in line with the release of new architectures - and we all remember the around 15% increase achieved with the release of Zen 2 Ryzen 3000 series, which surprised even AMD on its performance capabilities. Several sources around the web are quoting an around 17% increase in performance, taking into account increased operating frequencies of Zen 3 (100 to 200 MHz at least for the enterprise solutions, which could pave the way for even higher increases in consumer-geared products) and increased IPC of its core design. The utilization of EUV in the 7 nm process shouldn't have much to do with the increased frequencies of the CPUs, and will mostly be used to reduce the number of masks that are required for production of AMD's Zen 3 CPUs (which in turn will lead to increased yields).

Sources are claiming an increase of up to 50% in Zen 3's Floating Point Units (FPU) compared to Zen 2, while integer operations should make do with a 10-12% increase. Cores should remain stable across the board - and with that increase in performance, I'd say an upper limit of 16 physical and 32 logic cores in a consumer-geared CPU is more than enough. Increased IPCs and frequencies will definitely make AMD an even better proposition for all markets - gaming in particular, where Intel still has a (slightly virtual) hold in consumer's minds.

G.SKILL, the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is pleased to announce the release of new high-performance and high-capacity quad-channel memory kits for the latest Intel X299 and AMD TRX40 high-end desktop (HEDT) platforms, including the high-capacity DDR4-3600 CL16-19-19-39 256 GB (32 GB x8), DDR4-4000 CL18-22-22-42 256 GB (32 GB x8), and the high-speed, low-latency DDR4-4000 CL15-16-16-36 64 GB (8 GB x8) specifications. By bringing ultra-high 32 GB memory module capacity into the realm of HEDT computing, powerful workstations are now truly able to achieve a complete combination of high core count processor with high-speed, high-capacity memory for heavy workloads or for running more virtual machines than ever.

AMD today announced the AMD Radeon Pro W5700, the world's first 7 nm professional PC workstation graphics card. It delivers new levels of performance and advanced features that enable 3D designers, architects and engineers to visualize, review and interact with their designs in real time, dramatically accelerating decision-making processes and product development cycles.

The AMD Radeon Pro W5700 workstation graphics card features the high-performance, energy-efficient AMD RDNA architecture and state-of-the-art GDDR6 memory to handle large models and datasets, and is the first PC workstation graphics card to support high-bandwidth PCIe 4.0 technology. It is ideal for professionals who push performance beyond traditional 3D design by generating photorealistic renders of their concepts and reviewing virtual prototypes of their designs in virtual reality (VR) environments.

Antec Inc., leading provider of high-performance computer components and accessories for the gaming, PC upgrade and Do-It-Yourself market, show off the latest model of the renowned Performance Series, the P120 Crystal. The chassis is commercially available from US$99.99.The P120 Crystal is the latest addition to Antec's Performance Elegant Series. This award-winning chassis series is synonymous with performance, silence, and build quality. The new P120 Crystal measures 475 x 232 x 480 mm. This elegant case is expertly combined with 0.8 mm and 1 mm steel and tempered glass front and side panel which enable a sturdy and durable build.

The mid-tower model features large interior space for powerful installations and support E-ATX, ATX, micro-ATX and ITX motherboards. The isolated power supply chamber and drive cages are positioned on top of the chassis. The sleek tower offers space for two 2.5" or 3.5" HDDs and two 2.5" SDDs and seven horizontal and three vertical expansion slots. To keep its cool, the P120 Crystal offers space for three 120 mm or two 140 mm case fans at the bottom, one 120 or 140 mm fan in the rear as well as up to three 120 mm or two 140 mm case fans on the side of the chassis.

Intel at the Intel Developer Conference 'IDC' 2019 in Tokyo revealed their performance projections for mobility Xe GPUs, which will supersede their current consumer-bound UHD620 graphics under the Gen 11 architecture. The company is being vocal in that they can achieve an up to 2x performance uplift over their previous generation - but that will likely only take place in specific scenarios, and not as a rule of thumb. Just looking at Intel's own performance comparison graphics goes to show that we're mostly looking at between 50% and 70% performance improvements in popular eSports titles, which are, really, representative of most of the gaming market nowadays.

The objective is to reach above 60 FPS in the most popular eSports titles, something that Gen 11 GPUs didn't manage with their overall IPC and dedicated die-area. We've known for some time that Intel's Xe (as in, exponential) architecture will feature hardware-based raytracing, and the architecture is being developed for scalability that goes all the way from iGPUs to HPC platforms.

EK, the premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer is launching its newest fan on the market, the EK-Meltemi 120ER. It is a 38 mm thick extreme high-static pressure computer cooling fan, designed purely for highest-performance computer liquid cooling systems. Developed in-house on the basis of renowned EK-Vardar fans, they have a wide PWM range of operation. Due to a 38 mm thick frame, there is space for an upgraded motor and far superior performance compared to any standard 25 mm thick fan at the same RPM range.

The Meltemi family of cooling fans carries the name of a type of strong, dry northern winds of the Aegean Sea. The name Meltemi is derived from Italian mal tempo meaning "bad weather", while we can say that the EK-Meltemi is "bad news" for high temperatures.

Here's a strange thing: a case for a free, bundled software solution being better (in the metrics concerned and evaluated) than paid, third-party counterparts. We're writing of none other than Microsoft's own Windows Defender suite, which is bundled with Windows and offers a security solution integrated into your OS. While the "paid is always better" philosophy has been proven wrong time and again and isn't that much of a powerhouse behind users' thought process anymore, the fact is that Windows Defender has somewhat been taken for granted as an "undesirability" in users' computers. However, a comparison made by AV-Test, which pits many of the available cybersecurity solutions available on the market, has found Microsoft's Windows Defender to be worthy of a triad of perfect scores.

The results for Windows Defender include perfect (6.0) scores in the "Protection", "Performance" and Usability" categories. The testing period refers to May through June of this year, and only F-Secure SAFE 17, Kaspersky Internet Security 19 and Norton Security 22.17 managed to get the same perfect scores as Windows Defender Version 4.18. Check out the link for the score of your cybersecurity solution of choice. But it's clear that least where this period is concerned, Windows Defender walked circles around some paid solutions.

Intel has launched a software overclocking utility tool for their latest 9th Gen, unlocked CPUs that promises to take the guesswork and BIOS delving out of the overclocking equation. The Intel Performance Maximizer tries to do exactly what the name implies by automagically overclocking your unlocked (read, K-suffix CPU for unlocked multipliers) with no further user intervention needed. Intel describe this tool as the one that "(...) makes it easier than ever to dynamically custom-tune an unlocked Intel processor based upon its individual performance potential."

Intel says they will offer you a one-time, free CPU replacement in addition to your usual 3-year warranty on a company CPU, should anything wrong arise during this method of overclocking. Intel say's this is a way to maximize your CPU performance on a per-sample basis, so results may vary according to your CPU's thermal properties (as we know, some CPUs perform and overclock better than others due to slight variations in the manufacturing process). But if you don't want to get inside your BIOS for a dirty, hands-on approach, you can always use Intel's software, which has been released at a very conspicuous time indeed, considering AMD's Ryzen 3000 series release.

CORSAIR, a world leader in PC gaming peripherals and enthusiast components, today announced the launch of the NIGHTSWORD RGB and M55 RGB PRO, two brand-new gaming mouse designs that join the company's portfolio of high-performance gaming peripherals. The NIGHTSWORD RGB boasts the latest cutting-edge technology, including an 18,0000 DPI optical sensor and a smart tunable weight system that tracks the current mouse weight and center of gravity in real-time. The M55 RGB PRO is a new ambidextrous gaming mouse, with a symmetrical design optimized for multiple grip styles. The new mice broaden CORSAIR's already formidable lineup, adding even more options to suit players of all kinds, from esports professionals to newcomers to PC gaming.

UL Benchmarks via its 3DMark product have announced that they'll be introducing a new, comprehensive test that aims to test PCIe bandwidth across generations. Citing the introduction of PCIe 4.0 to the masses - soon available in the consumer market via AMD's Ryzen 3000 series release - UL wants users to be able to know what a difference this makes towards allowing for more complex games and scenarios that aren't data-constrained by PCIe 3.0.

The 3D Mark PCIe Performance Test will be made available this summer for free for 3DMark Advanced Edition and for 3DMark Professional Edition customers with a valid annual license.

AMD and Samsung today announced a key strategic partnership in high performance graphics technologies for the mobile space. The agreement means that Samsung will license AMD's Radeon graphics IP in its latest RDNA iteration, no less, for integration on smartphone graphics processing. Let me stress how impressive this can be: that AMD developed a graphics architecture that can scale from a high-performance GPU down to a nimble, fast, power-sipping module for mobile graphics processing.

This is a huge strategic win for AMD, in that more and more products will be infused with their technology. As Lisa Su puts it, the Radeon user base and development ecosystem will be greatly increased with this Samsung integration - as will AMD's revenue, for sure. Perhaps we'll see a "Powered by AMD Radeon" sticker or engraving in our future Samsung smartphones, as we do with Leica partnerships, for example.)

Apple has advised users that they should disable Intel's Hyper-Threading feature on the company's computers due to the recently exposed MDS vulnerabilities. Citing internal testing, Apple said that users can expect an up to 40% performance loss in such a scenario (depending on system and workload, naturally) in various benchmarks and multithreaded workloads. The performance loss is understandable - you're essentially halving the number of threads available for your CPU to process data.

Like Intel said, it becomes an issue of how much users value their performance compared to the security risks involved: a classic risk/benefit scenario, which shouldn't ever be in the equation, after all. If users buy a system with a CPU that has known performance levels, they will obviously expect those to be valid for the longevity of the product, unless otherwise stated and considering operational variances that fall within a margin of error/product obsolescence. Halving your performance because of a design flaw that resulted from an effort to achieve higher and higher IPC increases doesn't strike as a way to inspire confidence in your products.

AMD today released the latest in their driver suite, which brings about improved performance and support for Mortal Kombat 11 - that means gory details in full GPU-acceleration for the best possible gaming experience. Apart from that, not much to see here: there's a fixed issue relating to AMD Link and Radeon Settings sometimes displaying incorrect parameters. The list of known issues is slightly larger, and follows after the break. Follow the link below for your latest AMD driver download.DOWNLOAD: AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 19.4.3

Much like NVIDIA's MX150 graphics cards before them, the new MX 2250 have been silently separated into two different SKUs. The difference, which is almost impossible to tell by comparing two MX250-powered solutions in a brick-and-mortar store (let alone in an online marketplace), can only be differentiated via their version ID (unless the vendor specifies what wattage version they're using, which isn't very likely). A low-power, 10 W MX250 carries the '1D52' ID, while the faster, 25 W rated part carries the '1D13' identification.

The power envelope difference on these parts means that performance is being gated at the clock speed level, and if the MX250 SKUs go any way close to their MX150 predecessors, we're looking at some 30% difference between parts. Now, if vendors do discriminate which version they've installed - the 10 W or the 25 W one - then all is good - the consumer knows what he's buying (or at least has the info to do a quick Google check), and manufacturers are free to choose which version to implement on their designs, whether favoring performance or battery longevity. If not, well... You should use GPU-Z on your laptop as soon as you can, because you might be carrying a 10 W part while counting on 30% more performance. And not knowing that before purchase really is a light kick in the proverbial for users, especially if it's done only via version number,s which the majority of prospective PC buyers won't be aware of.

Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) announced today that the 2019 COMPUTEX International Press Conference will be held with a Keynote by AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su. The 2019 COMPUTEX International Press Conference & CEO Keynote is scheduled for Monday, May 27 at 10:00 AM in Room 201 of the Taipei International Convention Center (TICC) in Taipei, Taiwan with the keynote topic "The Next Generation of High-Performance Computing".

"COMPUTEX, as one of the global leading technology tradeshows, has continued to advance with the times for more than 30 years. This year, for the first time, a keynote speech will be held at the pre-show international press conference," said Mr. Walter Yeh, President & CEO, TAITRA, "Dr. Lisa Su received a special invitation to share insights about the next generation of high-performance computing. We look forward to her participation attracting more companies to participate in COMPUTEX, bringing the latest industry insights, and jointly sharing the infinite possibilities of the technology ecosystem on this global stage."

Let's give credit where it is due- Microsoft was quick in admitting that their Windows 10 update (KB4482887) from March 1 had a detrimental effect on performance, especially as it related to specific gaming scenarios. Under a week later, we now have a public fix available as well. The latest update from today, March 12, is version KB4489899 (OS Build 17763.379) and claims to address "an issue that may degrade graphics and mouse performance with desktop gaming when playing certain games, such as Destiny 2, after installing KB4482887", among other things.

Other listed improvements and fixes include improved HoloLens tracking and device calibration, solving a bug that caused some users to get "Error 1309" when dealing with some .MSI and/or .MSP files, and a host of general security updates to various Microsoft software solutions. There remain some issues with this update, however, which are listed in the source page linked below. The update should be available for download and install automatically via Windows Update, as of the time of this post.

Microsoft has confirmed that their latest Windows 10 update (KB4482887), which released on march 1st, can actually degrade graphics and mouse performance in some games. As Microsoft themselves put it, "After installing KB4482887, users may notice graphics and mouse performance degradation with desktop gaming when playing certain games (eg: Destiny 2)."

There's no word yet on a definitive listing of games that suffer this performance degradation, but Microsoft is hard at work fixing this for the next Windows release. Until then, users facing graphics and mouse performance degradation can simply uninstall the KB4482887 update.

Plugable, the leading developer of USB, Thunderbolt, Bluetooth and power-related devices, launches the 10Gb USB-C (USB 3.1 Gen 2) NVMe SSD Enclosure, the first high performance NVMe enclosure to feature a completely tool-free, spring-loaded design for inserting and removing a compatible SSD, along with advanced thermal management to maximize performance and device lifespan.

With a sleek and slim profile, a rugged aluminum body for improved heat dissipation, and USB Type-A and Type-C host compatibility, the Plugable USB-C NVMe Enclosure is an optimal solution for safeguarding SSDs when moving from the workplace to the home office and achieving maximum transfer performance speeds on PCs, Macs and Linux devices.

NVIDIA is in the process of rolling out the first implementations of its RTX 2000 series GPUs in mobile form, and if the going is as is being reported, it's going to be a little rough for users to actually extrapolate their performance from product to product. This is because manufacturers are apparently getting a whole lot of leeway in how to clock their products, according to their solution's thermal characteristics and design philosophy.

What this means is that NVIDIA's RTX 2080 Max-Q, for example, can be clocked as low as 735 MHz, which is a more than 50% downclock from its desktop counterpart (1,515 MHz). The non-Max-Q implementation of NVIDIA's RTX 2080, for now, seems to be clocked at around 1,380 MHz, which is still a close to 200 Mhz downclock. Of course, these lowered clocks are absolutely normal - and necessary - for these products, particularly on a huge chip such as the one powering the RTX 2080. The problem arises when manufacturers don't disclose clockspeeds of the GPU in their particular implementation - a user might buy, say, an MSI laptop and an ASUS one with the exact same apparent configuration, but GPUs operating at very different clockspeeds, with very different levels of performance. Users should do their due research when it comes to the point of choosing what mobile solution sporting one of these NVIDIA GPUs they should choose.

G.SKILL, the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, is delighted to announce high-frequency, high-capacity RGB memory kits at DDR4-4266MHz CL18-22-22-42 with 64GB (8x8GB) capacity. These ultimate specification memory kits are built with high performance Samsung B-die components and will be available under both Trident Z RGB and Trident Z Royal series.

INNO3D, a leading manufacturer of pioneering high-end multimedia components and various innovations including the recent addition high performance gaming iCHILL Memory. Its introduction to the market has been very well received due to the various capacities that the iCHILL memory series offers including 4GB to 16GB at speeds of 2400MHz to 4000MHz and with ultra-low latencies up to 15CL.

INNO3D has done wonders with the iCHILL series over the last decade in the graphics department so wanted to apply the same principles, intricacies and devotion to creating a series of performance gaming memory with the ice cool touch. The iCHILL memory modules are equipped with a unique heat spreader design that optimizes system performance for smoother gaming experience with that extra kick to your PC.

It would appear AMD's 7nm Vega 20 has been benchmarked in Final Fantasy XV. While the details are scarce, what we do know is the hardware device ID 66AF:C1 can be linked to Vega 20 via the Linux patches back in April. Now considering AMD has not confirmed any 7nm Vega graphics cards for consumers, It is more likely this version is an engineering sample for the new Radeon Instinct or Pro series cards.