Intel's next-generation NUC (next unit of computing) compact desktop, believed to be based on the company's Core "Broadwell" processor, was spotted on the company website. Pictures reveal that the next NUC could be pocketable, yet have the computing power of a full-blown desktop. The NUC system board features some of the newer connectivity, such as DDR3L SO-DIMM slots, M.2 slots, an mPCIe slot, an additional SATA 6 Gb/s port, and processors from the Core i3 and Core i5-5000 series. Intel could unveil the next-gen NUC in January 2015, likely at CES 2015.

KINGMAX, a leading memory brand, showcased its DDR4 memory module during COMPUTEX Taipei, held in June 2014. After a period of integration, KINGMAX now officially announces its DDR4 application solution has entered mass production. In response to market trends, four types of memory clock speeds have been launched: 1866/2133/2400/3200MHz, with speeds that meet 14.9GB/s to 25.6GB/s requirements, and have exceptionally high transmission efficiency. With the setting of memory standards for the next-generation DDR4 RAM by JEDEC, many companies have taken a wait-and-see approach for the right opportunity. With the launch of Intel's Haswell-E processor platform, which supports DDR4, it is believed that computer products with DDR4 will gradually appear in the market, triggering a rapid increase in a spectacular rise in usage of DDR4 in 2015.

The transition between DDR2 and DDR3 system memory types was slower than the one between DDR and DDR2. DDR3 made its mainstream debut with Intel's X38 and P35 Express platforms, at a time when the memory controller was still within the domain of a motherboard chipset, at least in Intel's case. The P35 supported both DDR2 and DDR3 memory types, and motherboard manufacturers made high-end products based on each of the two memory types, with some even supporting both.

Higher module prices posed a real, and higher latencies, posed a less real set of drawbacks to the initial adoption of DDR3. Those, coupled with the limited system bus bandwidth, to take advantage of DDR3. DDR3 only really took off with Nehalem, Intel's first processor with an integrated memory controller (IMC). An IMC, again in Intel's case, meant that the CPU came with memory I/O pins, and could only support one memory type - DDR3. Since then, DDR3 proliferated to the mainstream. Will the story repeat itself during the transition between DDR3 and the new DDR4 memory introduced alongside Intel's Core i7 "Haswell-E" HEDT platform? Not exactly.

Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions, such as the world-renowned XPC Mini PC Barebones, today introduces two new 3-litre models for fourth-generation Intel Core processors. The XH81 and the XH81V are available on the European market with immediate effect. The Shuttle Barebones XH81 and XH81V are based on an Intel H81 Express Chipset and designed for current Intel processors for socket LGA1150 up to a maximum TDP of 65 W. Two SO-DIMM slots can be equipped with up to 16 GB of DDR3 memory. An efficient heatpipe cooling with two 60 mm fans channels waste heat directly to the outside. An external 90 W power supply is present to drive the system.

The flat case barely measuring 24 x 20 x 7.2 cm (DWH) can be equipped with up to three drives. Installation options for 3x 2.5" HDD/SSD drives or alternatively 2x 2.5" HDD/SSD drives plus an optical slimline drive are available. A 3.5" drive can also be installed using the PHD4 accessory which is sold separately. 3x SATA 6 Gbit/s and 1x SATA 3 Gbit/s are available. There are also two Mini-PCIe 2.0 slots inside which can be used for expansion cards, e.g. for a WLAN or an mSATA SSD drive. Neither the Shuttle Barebone XH81 nor the XH81V skimps when it comes to connections - with DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 3.0 Gigabit LAN, RS 232 and 5.1 Audio, for example, high connectivity can be found on the front and the back panel.

ASRock rolled out the H81TM-ITX R2.0 thin mini-ITX motherboard for SFF PCs and AIO desktops. The socket LGA1150 motherboard is based on Intel's entry-level H81 Express chipset, and draws power from an external 2-pin DC power source. It features a 3-phase CPU VRM, a PCI-Express 2.0 x4 slot, apart from an mPCIe; two SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots. Connectivity includes DVI and HDMI display outputs; two USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, stereo HD audio, and a couple of USB 2.0/1.1 ports.

ASRock unveiled a pair of new motherboards based on Intel's new Pentium J2900 quad-core "Bay Trail" SoC. These include the Q2900-ITX (mini-ITX) and the Q2900M (micro-ATX). Both feature the 10W J2900 chips cooled by a fan-less chunky aluminium heatsink. The J2900 features four cores, nominal clock speeds of 2.40 GHz, with 2.66 GHz Turbo Boost, 2 MB of cache, 688-896 MHz Intel HD Graphics, and a dual-channel DDR3 memory controller.

The Q2900-ITX offers two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, a single PCI-Express 2.0 x1, a miniPCIe 2.0, two-each of SATA 6 Gb/s and SATA 3 Gb/s ports, four USB 3.0 ports, display outputs that include DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI; 8-channel HD audio, and gigabit Ethernet. The Q2900M, on the other hand, features much of the same features, except full-size DIMM slots, an additional PCI-Express 2.0 x16 and PCIe 2.0 x1 slots; and 6-channel HD audio instead of 8-channel.

ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., will be displaying a complete industrial, commercial and server grade storage solutions, which includes customizable ISSS312 SSD, wide temperature industrial storage and latest DDR4 server DIMMs at Flash Memory Summit. Starting from August 5th to 7th, ADATA invite you to experience the variety of fascinating innovations at booth #908, Santa Clara Convention Center, CA.

ADATA ISSS312 2.5 inch SATA III 6Gbps Solid State Drives (SSD) use the best quality hardware components and come with the most comprehensive internal support software. The product complies with JEDEC specifications, features a low-power design and is intended for industrial applications. Equipped with the capability of developing software, firmware and hardware, ADATA is dedicated to customize industrial products. Customers can request to customize a fixed BOM and firmware which ensure ADATA's products are stable and compatible.

MSI rolled out its third mobile workstation after the GT series and WS series, the WT series. Styled much like MSI's Gaming series notebooks, the WT series comes in four models, the WT70-20K, the WT70-20L, the WT60-20K 3K IPS, and the WT60-20J. The WT70 duo feature 17.3-inch full-HD (1920 x 1080 pixels) displays, while the WT60 ones feature 15.6-inch displays. A stand-out here is the WT60-20K 3K IPS, which features a 15.6-inch 3K (2880 x 1620 pixels) IPS display. The WT60-20J, on the other hand, features full-HD. All four feature bodies that are clearly inspired from the Gaming series notebooks, featuring illuminated keyboards.

All four models offer 4th generation Intel Core i7 "Haswell" processors, up to 32 GB (four DDR3 SO-DIMM slots) of memory, NVIDIA Quadro K3100M graphics with 4 GB memory on the WT70-20K and WT60-20K 3K IPS; Quadro K4100M graphics with 4 GB memory on the WT70-20L, and Quadro K2100M graphics with 2 GB memory on the WT60-20J. All four offer MSI SuperRAID SSD combinations of 3x 64 GB and 3x 128 GB, and storage HDD options of 750 GB and 1 TB. All four also offer Killer K2000 NIC (which can be used by Qualcomm drivers), and 802.11 ac WLAN. Measuring 428 x 288 x 55 mm (WxHxD), the WT70-20K and WT70-20L weigh 3.9 kg; the WT60-20K 3K IPS and WT60-20J measure 395 mm x 267mm x 55 mm, weighing 3.5 kg.

Super Talent Technology, a leading manufacturer of NAND Flash storage solutions, updates DDR3 SO-DIMM modules.

The updated W160SB4GSL and W160SB8GSL SO-DIMM modules have a lower power draw of 1.35V which allows laptop battery life to be extended. Lower power usage results in less heat generated in a scenario where heat dissipation may not be optimal due to the enclosure of laptops.

I'M Intelligent Memory, a Hong Kong based fabless DRAM manufacturer, announces availability of the world's first 8 Gigabit (Gb) DDR3 components with a single chip-select, doubling the amount of memory per chip compared to other DDR3 DRAM devices on the market. Based on these new 8 Gb components, I'M is also introducing the first 16 Gigabyte (GB) DDR3 UDIMM and SO-DIMM memory modules with optional ECC error-correction.

The JEDEC specification JESD79-3 has always allowed an 8 Gb density for DDR3 memory devices. While most DRAM manufactures are waiting for a 2x nm process to fit such high memory capacity into a single DRAM IC package, I'M has developed its own a revolutionary way to manufacture 8 Gb DDR3 components with single chip-select utilizing existing 30 nm manufacturing technologies.

ADATA Technology Co., Ltd., is honorably invited by Intel as a strategic partner to the Grantley New Platform Workshop. During the 4 day event taking place on June 24th & 25th in Hillsboro, Oregon and July 9th & 10th in Hudson, Massachusetts, ADATA will proudly demonstrate the latest DDR4 server DIMMs, DDR3 LR-DIMMs, and complete product line of 2.5" SSDs and PCIe SSDs. One of the primary showcases will be server grade DDR4 R-DIMMs supporting the latest Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 v3 series with the features of up to 16 GB density, 1.2V low power consumption, and maximized 2133 MHz high speed transmission. ADATA's DDR4 product line includes DDR4 RDIMMs, VLP R-DIMMs, LR-DIMMs, and ECC SO-DIMMs.

In-memory computing stores data on memory chips rather than hard drives removes any performance bottleneck caused by traditional storage. ADATA DDR3 LR-DIMMs 64GB and R-DIMMs 32GB (with Invensas DFD technology) support In-memory computing with high capacity and outstanding performance. In Intel New Platform Workshop, ADATA will demonstrate DDR3 LR-DIMMs, which deliver up to 64GB capacity for Intel Xeon processor E5 V2 family-based servers, and increase total memory capacity by up to 1.5 TB to fulfill In-Memory Computing application.

French tech publication 01net noticed something odd about the ZBOX CI540 from ZOTAC it was reviewing. Even for a fan-less compact desktop, its Core i5-4210Y dual-core chip was idling around 80°C. The reviewer then opened it up to find that ZOTAC left the protective plastic film on the thermal pad which conducts heat from the CPU to the body intact. Temperatures dropped with that film peeled. The kicker? Reaching for that thermal pad voids your product warranty.

Even if the ZBOX CI540 is a barebones unit, in which you drop in your own 2.5-inch HDD/SSD and SO-DIMM memory, requiring you to unscrew its body; the storage and memory compartments are located on the reverse side of the motherboard. You're not supposed to unscrew the motherboard to reveal its obverse (front) side, as there's nothing for you to "upgrade" there. The CPU is in the BGA (ball-grid array) package, and hardwired to the motherboard. The screws that let you reveal the front side are capped with warranty seals. We're not sure if it's a one-off bad piece 01net got, or an entire batch hit by one lazy hand on the production line.Update Jun 24: We received following statement from ZOTAC:
ZOTAC has found the plastic film to be isolated to preproduction units. These preproduction units were only used for press sampling and are not representative of final units shipping to retail. However, the plastic film has very little impact on the cooling capabilities of our passive ZBOX C-series nano chassis since the cooling fins that are responsible for the majority of the heat dissipation duties is below the thermal pad. The thermal pad is only used to transfer heat to the secondary heat dissipation plate integrated into the chassis for added cooling capabilities.

Nevertheless, the temperatures observed while testing under load with the erroneous plastic film still in place is still within the thermal guidelines of Intel's 100°C maximum T Junction and does not cause instability. Temperatures observed by users can vary greatly depending on room temperature and system placement since the ZBOX CI540 nano is passive cooled. We apologize for the error but assure our mass production units are not affected.

ASrock has this week rolled out a new board equipped with Intel's Celeron J1900 (Bay Trail-D) quad-core SoC, a thin Mini-ITX model named Q1900TM-ITX. This mini PC/all-in-one motherboard has a fanless design and features two DDR3/DDR3L memory slots (for up to 16 GB of RAM), dual SATA 3.0 Gbps ports, one PCIe x1 and one mini PCIe slot, Qualcomm Atheros Gigabit Ethernet, one USB 3.0 and three USB 2.0 ports, one LVDS connector, and D-Sub and HDMI video outputs.

ASRock's Q1900TM-ITX can be found on sale for as low as €111.55.

HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the launch of HyperX Impact memory for gamers and enthusiasts who want to upgrade and boost performance in their laptops and small form factor PCs. HyperX Impact replaces the current SO-DIMM offerings under Genesis, PnP and LoVo into one family.

HyperX Impact achieved a world record for the fastest SO-DIMM frequency running at 2666 MHz. A video of that performance can be seen here. HyperX Impact is available in frequencies ranging from 1600 MHz to an industry-fastest 2400 MHz in capacities of 4 GB and 8 GB single modules and 8 GB to 16 GB kits of 2.

Gigabyte's entry-level BRIX desktop which leverages Intel Celeron "Bay Trail" SoC, the GB-BXBT-2807, was taken apart, revealing its fan-less innards, and the absolute lack of any moving parts. Gigabyte is using a chunky aluminium heatsink to cool the Celeron N2807 SoC, with a rated TDP of just 4.3W. The chip embeds a dual-core x86-64 CPU clocked at 1.57 GHz, with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 2.17 GHz, full HD graphics, and a single-channel DDR3L IMC. The GB-BXBT-2807 offers one DDR3L SO-DIMM slot, supporting DIMMs of up to 8 GB in density, a half-size mPCIe slot for wireless NICs, a 2.5-inch drive bay with SATA 3 Gb/s connection, one USB 3.0, two USB 2.0, stereo HD audio, D-Sub and HDMI display outputs, and gigabit Ethernet. The unit measures 56 mm x 107 mm x 114 mm (HxDxW), and features VESA mounts.

Shuttle Computer Handels GmbH, the European subsidiary of Shuttle Inc., one of the leading developers and manufacturers of compact PC solutions such as the world-renowned XPC Mini-PC Barebones, again shows its commitment to fanless solutions as the Shuttle Barebone DS437T hits the shops today.

This 36 mm thin steel barebone comes already fitted with a hard-wired Intel Celeron 1037U processor (dual-core, 2 MB cache, 1.80 GHz). The DS437T's two SO-DIMM slots together support up to 16 GB DDR3 memory. The SATA 6 GBit/s port offers rapid connection for 2.5" SSDs and hard disks. With the easy-to-open back cover, it is simple to install memory modules and a drive.

Axiomtek, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of innovative, high performance and reliable PC-based industrial computer products, announces the new arrival of the PICO121, its extremely compact fanless Pico-ITX SBC with ultra-low power AMD G-Series Embedded SoC GX-210JA dual core 1.0GHz onboard. The PICO121 is built to withstand wide temperature conditions, ranging from -20°C to +70°C (-4°F to +158°F). This embedded board supports DirectX 11, Open GL4.2, and Open CL1.2 to provide great graphics performance and features dual-view compatibility through VGA and LVDS with AMD Radeon HD8180 graphics controller. In addition to graphics rich, the PICO121 supports DASH (desktop and mobile architecture for system hardware) for convenient remote management, which means this board can be used as a client device, controlled and managed by a console remotely via a Gigabit LAN port on the rear I/O. Moreover, the single board computer is equipped with one high-speed board-to-board connector that integrates PCIe x1, USB 3.0 and DisplayPort to fulfill various application needs.

ASRock rolled out the Q1900DC-ITX, a low-power computing motherboard based on Intel Celeron J1900 "Bay Trail" SoC. The chip embeds a quad-core x86-64 CPU clocked at 2.00 GHz, with Turbo Boost speeds of up to 2.42 GHz. The board is designed to draw power from an external power brick, over 2-pin DC-in. It uses a chunky fan-less heatsink to cool the SoC, which is wired to two DDR3L SO-DIMM slots. Expansion includes one PCI-Express 2.0 x1, and an mPCIe. Storage connectivity doesn't let down, and includes two each of SATA 6 Gb/s and SATA 3 Gb/s. The board offers legacy connectivity such as LPT and COM over headers. Display outputs include DVI, HDMI, and D-Sub. 8-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, two each of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0/1.1, and PS/2 mouse/keyboard connectors make for the rest of it.

G.SKILL International Co. Ltd., the leading high performance memory designer and manufacturer, is proud to announce the release of an even higher performance, higher capacity DDR3L SO-DIMM memory kit at 2133MHz! This time with a massive 32GB (4x8GB) capacity! Operating at a low voltage of 1.35V and at a timing of 11-11-11-31, this new Ripjaws SO-DIMM memory kit will elevate the performance of your extreme performance gaming laptop to new heights. Desktop performance and capacity on a laptop is now a reality!

The following is a test screenshot completed on the MSI GT70 2OC gaming laptop, exhibiting stability under extreme load. "As a world leading gaming brand, MSI Notebook's goal is to become the most trusted name in gaming and e-sport. We stand by our principles of breakthroughs in design, the pursuit of excellence, and technological innovation as we have continued to raise the bar for ourselves and have accomplished a great deal of pioneering work in the industry," commented Sam Chern, marketing director at MSI.

G.SKILL International Co. Ltd., the leading high performance memory designer and manufacturer, is excited to announce the release of a high performance, high capacity DDR3L SO-DIMM 16GB (2x8GB) memory kit at 2133MHz! Requiring only 1.35V of low operating voltage with a timing of 11-11-11-31, this Ripjaws SO-DIMM memory kit will provide a much needed performance boost to your small form factor PC or high performance laptop.

The following is a test screenshot completed on the GIGABYTE BRIX Pro (GB-BXi7-4770R), showing fast processing and stable performance. Dubbed the F3-2133C11D-16GRSL, this Ripjaws DDR3L SO-DIMM memory kit is best used with the latest Intel i5 and i7 Haswell processors. Let the overclocking begin!

ASUS announced the J1800I-C, a completely fan-less motherboard based on Intel's "Bay Trail" low-power platform, running a Celeron J1800 SoC. The J1800 integrates a dual-core 64-bit x86 CPU clocked at 2.40 GHz, with Turbo Boost frequencies as high as 2.58 GHz. Built in the mini-ITX form-factor, the board features a chunky aluminium heatsink cooling the SoC. The board draws power from 24-pin ATX connector, and a 4-pin CPU connector.

ASUS productively utilized the scarce real-estate of the mini-ITX PCB - a sizable portion of which is consumed by the heatsink - providing two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, a conventional PCIe x1, an mPCIe with mSATA pins, two conventional SATA 3 Gb/s ports, and a healthy mix of modern and legacy connectivity, that includes headers for LPT, an RS-232 COM at the rear panel, a mixed-mode PS/2 port, one USB 3.0 SuperSpeed port, a number of USB 2.0/1.1 ports, gigabit Ethernet, HDMI, D-Sub, and 6-channel HD audio. The board is driven by AMI UEFI BIOS.

G.SKILL International Co. Ltd., the leading high performance memory designer and manufacturer, is proud to announce that its Ripjaws SO-DIMM 1.35V high performance DDR3 memory series for laptops & small form factor PCs reached a whopping 2600MHz on ASRock's latest barebone system "M8".

As high end desktops slowly evolve itself into small form factor, G.SKILL spared no time expanding its best-in-class quality & overclocking legacy from desktop memory to SO-DIMM memory, by overclocking its "Ripjaws" 2133MHz C11 8GB(4GBx2) 1.35V memory kit to a whopping 2600MHz under dual channel operation on ASRock M8!

Gigabyte introduced one of the first mini-ITX motherboards based on Intel's new quad-core Celeron J1900 SoC, the J1900N-D3V. The chip integrates a quad-core x86-64 CPU clocked at 2.00 GHz. The SoC is passively cooled by a heatsink. It's wired to two DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, which can hold up to 8 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1333 MHz memory. A legacy PCI slot, along with a mini-PCIe 2.0 x1 slot, make up its expansion options. The board features quite a few legacy connectivity options, which make it an ideal choice for POS (point of sale) and kiosk PC builds.

The J1900N-D3V features two SATA 3 Gb/s ports as its storage connectivity. It draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors. Among its legacy connectivity options are an LPT parallel port (by header), two RS232 serial COM ports, PS/2 keyboard/mouse ports, and D-Sub display output. Among its more modern connectivity options are 6-channel HD audio, two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, four USB 3.0 SuperSpeed ports, and DVI digital display output. The best part? The board runs AMI UEFI BIOS, with Gigabyte's Dual-UEFI technology that protects against BIOS failures. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Axiomtek, one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of innovative, high performance and reliable PC-based industrial computer products, announced the arrival of the PICO880, the most advanced, high-performance and extremely compact single board computer in the marketplace. Created with the most advanced 4th Generation Intel Core technology, the PICO880 is designed to support the needs of systems integrators who require a compact, high-performance, versatile and reliable single board computer.

The PICO880 is built to withstand wide temperature conditions, ranging from -20°C to +70°C (-4°F to +158°F). Designed with expandability in mind, the tiny embedded board has a full-size PCI Express Mini Card slots with mSATA support. The PICO880 also provides two flexible board-to-board connectors that integrate audio, four USB 3.0, four USB 2.0, one PCIe x1, one DisplayPort, two UARTs, LED, and power on/off interfaces. It is a perfect fit for vehicle PCs, small media entertainment systems, industrial automation systems, medical imaging, gaming and small electronic devices customers.

Joining Biostar with its Celeron J1800-based motherboard is Gigabyte, with the J1800N-D2H. The SoC features a dual-core 64-bit x86 CPU clocked up to 2.53 GHz, wired to a pair of DDR3 SO-DIMM slots, a PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slot, and a mini PCI-Express card slot. Display connectivity includes HDMI and D-Sub. Two SATA 3 Gb/s ports, a USB 3.0 port, four USB 2.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, and PS/2 mouse/keyboard ports make for the rest of the connectivity. Gigabyte didn't reveal pricing details.