ASRock on Monday (25/11) announced that its Z890 chipset motherboards support the new Intel Platform Power Management (PPM) driver version 1007.20240913, which promises an up to 13.23% increase in performance with games and gaming benchmarks, hinting that this could be the much awaited "fix" to the lower-than-expected gaming performance of its Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processors, which was crushed by AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D "Zen 5." As ASRock's announcement was somewhat unclear and raised more questions than answers, we have updated the post accordingly. It turns out there's more to this story, and this PPM driver might not be the magic fix Intel has been touting.

The PPM driver, in theory, enables a closer collaboration between the software and the processor, so it can allocate more power budget to applications that could do with more performance, such as games. Given how much lower the gaming power draw of the Core Ultra 285K is, compared to its predecessor, the Core i9-14900K "Raptor Lake," the obvious vector to Intel to dial up performance for the 285K was expected to be better power budgeting, provided the thermals and physical stability of the processor permit.

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced a collaboration with Intel resulting in a power management solution that delivers best-in-class battery efficiency for laptops based on the new Intel Core Ultra 200V series.

Collaborating closely with Intel, Renesas has developed an innovative new customized power management IC (PMIC) that covers the entire power management needs for this newest generation of Intel processors. This advanced and highly integrated PMIC, combined with a pre-regulator and a battery charger, offers a complete solution for PCs leveraging the new Intel processor. The three new devices work together to provide a purpose-built power solution targeted at client laptops, particularly those running AI applications that tend to consume a lot of power.

Plasma 6 has come into its own over the last two releases. The wrinkles that always come with a major migration have been ironed out, and it's time to start delivering on the promises of the new Qt 6 and Wayland technology platforms that Plasma is built on top of. One of the outstanding issues has been to make Plasma a more artist-friendly environment by providing full support for the hardware that creative people need to get their work done.

For Digital Artists
Plasma 6.2 includes a smorgasbord of new features for users of drawing tablets. Open System Settings and look for Drawing Tablet to see various tools for configuring drawing tablets.

MSI is thrilled to introduce a groundbreaking feature on its X870(E) series motherboards. This innovative is designed with gamers and professionals in mind, provides the extra power required for AI computing and GPU-intensive applications. The supplemental PCIe Power feature, equipped with an integrated 8-pin PCIe power connector, delivers additional power for GPUs demanding higher wattage, ensuring they can achieve their peak performance. Paired with the ATX 3.1 power standard, which can hold up to a 2.5x power excursion for enhanced reliability and better power delivery, this feature ensures stable, efficient, and sustained performance, even under heavy loads. Whether gaming or tackling complex applications, this supplemental PCIe Power offers unmatched reliability and stability for the most demanding environments.

What is Supplemental PCIe Power?
Think of it as an extra battery pack for your motherboard. The system's 12 V power on the 24pin power connector from the motherboard basically handles all the PCIe interface, fans and RGB extensions. Still, the supplemental PCIe power ensures everything runs smoothly when your PC is pushed to the limit—like when running very intensive graphical games or maximizing all the fan dissipation for extreme performance.

Rambus Inc., a premier chip and silicon IP provider making data faster and safer, today announced the availability of its DDR5 Client Clock Driver (CKD) for next-generation, high-performance desktops and notebooks. The Rambus DDR5 CKD and SPD Hub are part of a new client memory interface chip product offering that brings server technology advancements to the client market. Leveraging over 30 years of memory system expertise, the Rambus DDR5 CKD enables new client DIMMs (CSODIMMs and CUDIMMs) to operate at state-of-the-art data rates of up to 7200 Megatransfers per second (MT/s), and deliver breakthrough performance in next-generation PCs.

"As advanced technologies first developed for the data center proliferate to the client space, increasingly powerful PCs will take gaming, content creation and AI to new levels," said Rami Sethi, SVP and general manager of Memory Interface Chips at Rambus. "This new DDR5 Client Clock Driver is the latest addition to our growing line up of chip solutions that enable breakthrough memory performance across the computing landscape, and bring more value to our customers."

Rambus Inc. (NASDAQ: RMBS), a premier chip and silicon IP provider making data faster and safer, today announced the availability of its new family of state-of-the-art DDR5 server Power Management ICs (PMICs), including an industry-leading extreme current device for high-performance applications. With this new family of server PMICs, Rambus offers module manufacturers a complete DDR5 RDIMM memory interface chipset supporting a broad range of data center use cases.

"Advanced data center workloads like generative AI require the highest bandwidth and capacity server RDIMMs tailored to meet ever-increasing memory needs of a growing data pipeline," said Sean Fan, chief operating officer at Rambus. "With the addition of this new family of server PMICs, we expand our foundational technology and offer customers a comprehensive memory interface chipset that supports multiple DDR5 server platform generations."

Montage Technology, a leading data processing and interconnect IC company, today introduced its 4th-gen DDR5 Registering Clock Driver (RCD), also called DDR5 RCD04, to the industry. Designed for DDR5 RDIMM memory modules, this chip supports blazing-fast data rates up to 7200 MT/s, a 50% increase over the 1st-gen DDR5 RCDs.

As a leader in memory interface technologies, Montage has led the development of JEDEC standards for DDR5 RCD chips and sustains high R&D investments to enable continuous product iterations and upgrades. Since debuting its 1st-gen DDR5 memory interface and memory module supporting chips in 2021, the company successfully released the second and third generation DDR5 RCD chips in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

AMD released its latest PMC (power management controller) driver patches for the Linux kernel, which reference a yet unreleased "Family 1Ah" processors. Phoronix believes this is the first reference to AMD's next generation "Zen 5" microarchitecture in the PMC driver. We've already seen AMD EPYC "Turin" server processors based on "Zen 5" in the flesh, and it's likely that AMD is handing these out to some of its biggest data-center customers for testing and evaluation, before giving them some final touches and green-lighting mass-production in 2024. The patches themselves are barely two new lines of code, and talk about a new sleep state called "s2idle." This is a software-defined system sleep state. The EPYC "Turin" processor comes in two packages, one with up to 128 "Zen 5" cores, and another with up to 192 "Zen 5c" cores for cloud applications.

According to SemiAccurate, Qualcomm is currently navigating through many challenges with its Oryon SoC for laptops. The current problem is that Qualcomm is insisting on integrating its own PMICs (Power Management Integrated Circuits), which are inherently designed for cell phones, causing significant compatibility and efficiency issues. This approach is reported to have led to escalated costs and disagreements with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers), seemingly hindering Qualcomm's foothold in the laptop sector. These PMICs are highlighted as unsuitable and highly priced, requiring the adoption of high-density interconnect (HDI) PCBs engineered explicitly for cell phones, thus not designed to meet the current requirements of laptops optimally. The subsequent spike in production costs has ignited conflicts with OEMs, with several contemplating withdrawing from the project.

In response to the rising tensions, Qualcomm is allegedly providing financial compensation to the OEMs, potentially leading to selling SoCs at cost. The only good thing is the reported success of Nuvia-based Oryon SoC. The silicon is perfect at A0 stepping, and performance is reportedly good. However, power usage and efficiency are still in question. Forcing OEMs to use proprietary PMICs will likely have far-reaching impacts on Qualcomm's market strategies and relationships with OEMs. With disputes like this, we expect that Qualcomm-powered laptops are nearing availability, and we could see them in the coming months.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of ThrottleStop by Kevin Glynn, a utility that gives you fine control over your processor's power-management, letting you squeeze the most performance out of it without having to overclock it. This utility is particularly useful to override processor power-management by OEMs in notebooks, although it's just as useful for desktops. Version 9.6 of ThrottleStop adds support for 13th Gen Core desktop and mobile "Raptor Lake" processors. A bug that caused stability issues with AVX512 has been fixed. The maximum possible IccMax values for 12th Gen and 13th Gen Core processors has been increased. FIVR-PL4 reporting has been fixed for some CPUs. There are several aesthetic updates to the user interface with this release.

DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp ThrottleStop 9.6 by Kevin Glynn

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."

One of the world's leading PC components & peripheral manufacturers is proud to announce the grand launch of the DDR5-8000 16 GB x 2 CL38-48-48-90 1.45 V ultra-speed modules will be available in Q1, 2023. GeIL DDR5 lineup includes EVO V and Polaris RGB are tailor-made for hardcore gamers and hardware enthusiasts to deliver unparalleled performance and stability. In addition, GeIL Dyna 5 has created a comprehensive and efficient automated testing process for grading and sorting every DDR5 IC. As a result, GeIL ensures the bandwidth data transmission, compatibility, reliability, and integrity to meet all the demands of gamers and overclockers using Intel's latest platforms.

GeIL DDR5-8000 MHz series has passed the required burn-in tests using the latest ASUS ROG MAXIMUS Z790 APEX motherboard. The following screenshots indicate those test results. GeIL is a brand committed to offering memory products with a wider range of overclocking potential to PC enthusiasts and gamers. The latest GeIL DDR5-8000 memory modules are built with the advanced PMIC (Power Management IC), which can effectively obtain and control a wider range of localized voltage adjustments. The PMIC is used to enhance the overall stability and performance of the memory module and can effectively unlock additional overclocking headroom.

The Australasian Gaming Expo (AGE), which has been postponed for two years by the worldwide pandemic, officially returns this year. Apacer, the world's leading industrial storage and memory brand, will return to participate in the AGE in Sydney, Australia from August 9th to 11th, to celebrate the return of the AGE and demonstrate its long-term research and development capabilities in the casino gaming application market. Ultra-high-performance industrial PCIe SSDs and DDR5 memory solutions, which meet the high-definition image and data processing requirements of new gaming machines, will be displayed on-site. Aiming at durability, data integrity and power stability, which are the most important aspects of gaming applications, Apacer's latest software, firmware and hardware technologies will also be shown, and they are expected to become key players in the global gaming market.

Extending device management technology to gaming industry applications, Apacer developed the CoreSnapshot 1-second backup and recovery technology, as well as the Transformed SSD module with Scheduled Power Management. CoreSnapshot can perform remote recovery when the SSD operational status is abnormal, reducing customer complaints caused by sudden game interruptions. The Transformed SSD module with Scheduled Power Management integrates the real-time scheduling management function of power cycling with a simple and effective management interface, reducing the amount of time that operators need to check, maintain and confirm the power status of a gaming machine and effectively saving operating costs.

Due to material shortages caused by insufficient semiconductor supply, to date, power management IC (PMIC) prices remain on an upward trend, according to TrendForce's latest investigations. Average selling price (ASP) for 1H22 is forecast to increase by nearly 10%, reaching a record six year high.

In terms of the global supply chain, in addition to the production capacity of major IDM manufacturers including TI, Infineon, ADI, STMicroelectronics, NXP, ON Semiconductor, Renesas, Microchip, ROHM (Maxim has been acquired by ADI and Dialog by Renesas), IC design houses such as Qualcomm and MediaTek (MTK) have obtained a certain level of production capacity from foundries. Of these, TI is in a leadership position and the aforementioned companies possess a combined market share of over 80%.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced three of its latest automotive chip solutions: the Exynos Auto T5123 for 5G connectivity, the Exynos Auto V7 for comprehensive in-vehicle infotainment systems, and the ASIL-B certified S2VPS01 power management IC (PMIC) for the Auto V series.

"Smarter and more connected automotive technologies for enriched in-vehicle experiences including entertainment, safety and comfort are becoming critical features on the road," said Jaehong Park, Executive Vice President of System LSI Custom SOC Business at Samsung Electronics. "With an advanced 5G modem, an AI-enhanced multi-core processor, and a market-proven PMIC solution, Samsung is transfusing its expertise in mobile solutions into its automotive lineup and is positioned to expand its presence within the field."

AMD is slowly preparing the launch of the latest and greatest Ryzen processor family based on the Zen 4 CPU core design. Among various things that are getting an overhaul, the Raphael processor generation is now getting revamped temperature reading and better power management circuitry. According to an Igor's Lab report, AMD has prepared a few new improvements that will make temperature reading and power management easier for PC enthusiasts. Currently, the reported CPU temperature is called Tcontrol (Tctl), which is what the cooling solution sees. If Tctl is high, the fans spin up and cool the system. If Tctl is low, the fans slow down to reduce noise.

With Raphael, the CUR_TEMP (current temperature) output part of Tctl has been upgraded to reflect a much smoother curve, and avoid jittering with fans as they are not spiking so suddenly anymore. This is helping contribute to the noise output and has made it run at a consistent fan speed in the system. Another note about Raphael is a new power management technique. AMD has designed the AM5 platform to avoid sudden power spikes, to maintain maximum efficiency over time. It is a design decision made from the very start, and the CPU will try to constrain itself in the TDP range that it is configured for. For more details about the circuitry, please head over to the Igor's Lab article.