MSI announced the WindTop AP1612 series compact all-in-one (AIO) PC. Built for basic personal computing such as internet access and office applications, the WindTop AP1612 is a 15.6-inch AIO PC driven by Intel Celeron B830 processor ("Sandy Bridge" architecture, dual-core, 1.80 GHz, 2 MB L3 cache). The processor is backed by Intel HM65 Express chipset, 2 GB of DDR3-1333 MHz memory (expandable to 4 GB), and Intel HD graphics. The 15.6-inch LED-backlit LCD screen features 1366 x 768 pixels resolution. It features a resistive touchscreen layer. A 250 GB SATA 3 Gb/s HDD is the only storage device.

The WindTop AP1612 has plenty of network and legacy connectivity. It features two gigabit Ethernet interfaces, an 802.11 b/g/n WLAN interface, 4 in 1 Card Reader (SD+MS+MMC+XD), and a smartcard reader. Legacy connectivity includes a pair of serial COM and parallel LPT interfaces. Its body embeds a 320p web-camera, and 3W stereo speakers. Wired keyboard and mouse come included. Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit comes pre-installed. The company did not give out pricing information.

GIGABYTE is working on a new mini-ITX form-factor motherboard for HTPCs and home servers. The H77N-WiFi, built for socket LGA1155 Core Sandy Bridge and Ivy Bridge processors, and based on Intel H77 Express chipset, features three network interfaces: two gigabit Ethernet, and an 802.11 b/g/n WLAN. Revving up its HTPC credentials, the board also features two HDMI display outputs, so you can plug your TV to one, and home theater receiver to the other (for multi-channel digital audio). Further, the 8-channel HD audio CODEC gives out an optical SPDIF (TOSLINK) output for 7.1 channel audio.

The GIGABYTE H77N-WiFi draws power from 24-pin ATX and 4-pin CPU power connectors. The LGA1155 socket is powered by a 4+1 phase VRM that appears to use common ferrite core chokes and LFPAK MOSFETs. The LGA1155 CPU is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory; and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16. The Intel H77 PCH gives out two SATA 6 Gb/s and two SATA 3 Gb/s ports, with support for Smart Response technology (SSD caching). Apart from dual-HDMI, the board supports DVI-I.

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) has announced a new series of motherboards - B75 Series. These three new PC motherboards based around Intel's B75 Express chipset support for the latest CPU technology: Intel Small Business advantage, as well as compatibility with older products and a future upgrade path. They offer an impressive range of features for home and business use, including SATA 3.0 hard drive connection at up to 6Gb/s, USB 3.0 for high speed external data transfer, plus PCI Express 3.0 and DirectX 11 for advanced graphics.

There are three motherboards in the ECS B75 series: the B75H2-D, the B75H2-M2, and the B75H2-M3. The B75H2-M2 and the B75H2-M3 are compact 244mm x 200mm Micro ATX format boards, while the B75H2-D is a DTX format board.

ISC'12 - NVIDIA Tesla K10 GPUs offer performance breakthroughs on popular high performance computing (HPC) applications -- ranging from seismic processing to life sciences to video processing -- according to new benchmarks NVIDIA released today.

Based on the new NVIDIA Kepler computing architecture, the Tesla K10 GPU delivers the industry's highest single precision performance (4.58 teraflops) and highest memory bandwidth (320 GB/sec) in a single accelerator. This is 12 times higher single precision flops and 6.4 times higher memory bandwidth than the latest-generation Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs.

Eurocom Corporation, a developer of High Performance Mobile Workstations and Hardcore Mobile Gaming Rigs is adding the AMD Radeon HD 7970M GPU to the Neptune 2.0 and Racer 2.0 high performance notebooks. The addition of the MXM 3.0b spec AMD Radeon HD 7970M offers gamers and enthusiasts a new level of ultra high performance GPU computing with AMD Enduro for insane battery life by taking advantage of AMD's existing ZeroCore Power and Power Gating battery-saving features.

"Hardcore gamers, enthusiasts, your dreams have come true! The AMD Radeon HD 7970M is the best graphics GPU in terms of overall price and performance on the market . The AMD Radeon HD 7970M, combined with Intel XTU and Intel XMP gives gamers and power users full control of their powerful EUROCOM super-notebooks " Mark Bialic, Eurocom President.

Intel released a new beta driver for processors with integrated graphics, for the Windows 8 Release Preview. Carrying the version number 15.28.0.64.2770, the driver supports Windows Display Driver Model Version 1.2 (WDDM 1.2), and enables features such as stereoscopic 3D, optimized screen rotation detection, and DirectX 11 (on select graphics controller models). It supports Intel HD Graphics 4000/3000/2500/2000 (Core "Sandy Bridge" and Core "Ivy Bridge"). Intel recommends use of its Windows 7 driver for reliability with OpenGL 3.3 applications.

DOWNLOAD: Intel HD Graphics Beta Driver for Windows 8 Release Preview

It's good to see GIGABYTE back to doing high-end motherboards with overkill CPU power designs. Its latest creation, the Z77X-UP7, was shown to sections of the media, at a private exhibition, ahead of Computex. The Z77X-UP7 is the company's first motherboard to feature its Ultra Durable 5 motherboard construction technology, which is basically Ultra Durable 4 augmented with higher current 60A chokes, and International Rectifier PowIRStage IR3550 ICs (a highly potent driver-MOSFET implementation). The Z77X-UP7 is based on the Intel Z77 Express chipset, and supports Core "Ivy Bridge" and "Sandy Bridge" processors in the LGA1155 package.

It looks like Sapphire wants slices of not just the performance and enthusiast pies, but also the high-volume mainstream one. Its latest creation is a motherboard based on Intel's small business-oriented B75 chipset, the Pure White B75M-MA. Built in the micro-ATX form-factor, this board doesn't add too much over the B75's feature set. To begin with, its LGA1155 socket, which supports current generation Core "Ivy Bridge" and previous generation Core "Sandy Bridge" processors, is powered by a 4+1 phase VRM, which draws power from an 8-pin EPS connector. That's a giveaway that a performance/enthusiast design team was behind this mainstream motherboard.

The LGA1155 socket is wired to two DDR3 DIMM slots, supporting up to 16 GB of dual-channel DDR3 memory; and a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Three PCI-Express 2.0 x1 slots that are wired to the B75 PCH, make up the rest of the all-PCIe layout. Storage connectivity includes one SATA 6 Gb/s, and three SATA 3 Gb/s ports. The board provides a total of four USB 3.0 ports (two on the rear-panel, two via headers). 6+2 channel HD audio, a number of USB 2.0 ports, a keyboard/mouse combo PS/2, and gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of the connectivity. Display outputs include DVI and D-Sub. Expect competitive pricing.

Eurocom Corporation, a developer of long lifespan, fully upgradable notebooks, Mobile Workstations and Mobile Servers is offering a full line of Ivy Bridge based notebooks with support for professional graphics from NVIDIA Quadro 5010M, 4000M and 3000M. Eurocom offers a complete line of NVIDIA Quadro powered Mobile Workstations from 15.6" to 17.3" that are specifically designed for professionals of all kinds.

Known more for its VIA Nano and Intel Atom-powered fanless IPCs (industrial PCs), Habey is readying BIS-6763, a new IPC model that is driven by a robust Core i3 "Sandy Bridge" dual-core processor. Measuring 190 x 190 x 67 mm, the IPC is made of a metal chassis, a portion of which is ridged, to double up as a heatsink. Beneath it is a pair of cylindrical heat pipes that transport heat to the top panel (heatsink), which cool the Core i3-2367M processor (dual-core, 1.40 GHz, 3 MB L3, 17W TDP), and Intel HM65 Express PCH.

Sadly, the IPC does not take advantage of the processor's dual-channel DDR3 IMC, there's just the one DDR3 SO-DIMM slot, supporting up to 8 GB of DDR3-1333 MHz memory. For expansion, there are two mini-PCIe slots. The sole storage option is a 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gb/s SSD/HDD bay. Connectivity includes one serial RS232 interface, six USB 2.0, gigabit Ethernet, and Intel HD 3000 graphics that gives out an HDMI, and a D-Sub display output. With 2 GB of DDR3 memory included, the BIS-6763 is expected to be priced at US $499. A variant that's powered by Intel Celeron 857 (dual-core, 1.20 GHz, 2 MB L3, 17W TDP), is also expected to be available, at US $299.

TechPowerUp today announced GPU-Z 0.6.1, and with it, a new graphics card giveaway in partnership with PowerColor, in which you could win some of the fastest and coolest Radeon HD 7000 series graphics cards in the industry. Version 0.6.1 of GPU-Z adds support for some new GPUs on the horizon, such as NVIDIA GeForce GTX 690, GeForce GTX 670, GeForce GT 640 (desktop), GeForce GT 630, GeForce 605, GeForce GTX 675M (mobile), and GeForce GTX 670M; AMD Radeon HD 7970M (mobile), and Radeon HD 7450 (desktop); Intel HD 4000 and HD 2500 "Ivy Bridge". GPU-Z 0.6.1 improves NVIDIA GPU Boost clock speed detection. A host of other stability and reliability changes were made (refer to the change-log below).

With GPU-Z 0.6.1, TechPowerUp is teaming up with PowerColor to present to you this year's first GPU-Z Giveaway, in which you could win some great graphics hardware. Up for grabs are PowerColor HD 7970 PCS+ Vortex II, PowerColor HD 7870 PCS+ Vortex II, and the yet-unannounced PowerColor HD 7770 PCS+ Vortex II. To participate in the Giveaway, simply run GPU-Z 0.6.1 (main version), click on the "PowerColor Giveaway" tab, and follow the instructions. Entries are open till June 01, 2012; multiple entries may lead to elimination. Good Luck!DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.1 | TechPowerUp GPU-Z 0.6.1 ASUS ROG Edition

The complete change-log follows.

Although at a much "smaller" scale, Raspberry Pi did to mini computers what iPad did to tablets (wake up a nearly dead product segment), and now a section of the market likes computers to be as small and potent as the ARM-driven Raspberry Pi. Although at a different end of the price and performance spectrum from the Raspberry Pi, Intel has reason to believe its NUC mini computer could achieve market success. NUC (Next Unit of Computing) is a mini box computer for the retail channel, which is roughly the size of a modern wireless router, but as powerful as a mainstream laptop.

The NUC owes its computing power to Intel Core i3/i5 "Sandy Bridge" dual-core processors (probably in the BGA-1023 package), with Intel HD 3000 graphics, and dual-channel DDR3 memory (SO-DIMMs). The logic board measures 100 x 100 mm, and has all the essential connectivity crammed into it, including umm...10 Gb/s Thunderbolt, USB 3.0, 802.11 b/g/n, and HDMI with multi-channel HD audio. This board is smaller than VIA's NANO-ITX (120 x 120 mm) form-factor. The rest of the ABS plastic enclosure's volume is spent housing the cooling assembly. Informed sources predict that while the NUC won't be priced in the hundereds or thousands of Dollars, it most certainly won't be priced at $25. A starting price of $100 seems realistic.

AVADirect, a leading custom computer manufacturer, announces newly added desktops and notebooks featuring the new Ivy Bridge architecture by Intel. What does this mean for AVADirect? The world-renowned custom computer manufacturer has strived on the ability to create truly customizable options at their customer's disposal. As opposed to a 32nm process, the Ivy Bridge processors are designed off of a 22nm process. The Ivy Bridge processors also have a lower power consumption rating of 77w, compared to the Sandy Bridge's 95w on average. Those interested in AVADirect's slim or compact custom computers, AVADirect Ivy Bridge solutions will allow end-users to have high-end systems with a smaller footprint. Ivy Bridge chipsets were designed behind the motivation of mobile solutions. This is great news for AVADirect considering they offer some of the best mobile solutions available within the custom computer industry. Ivy Bridge solutions designed by AVADirect will provide superior performance with very little or unnoticeable impact to pricing.

With the obvious intention of clearing out inventories of previous-generation Core i7-2600K and Core i7-2700K "Sandy Bridge" processors, Intel decided to cut prices of these chips. The cuts aren't exactly significant, but just enough to restore the two models' price-performance ratios post-Ivy Bridge. The Core i7-2600K gets a price cut of around 10€, sending it down to 255-260€. The Core i7-2700K, on the other hand, got a price cut of 15€, sending its price down to around 275€.

Giada also introduced a tiny nano-ITX system board based on Intel HM65 mobile-on-desktop platform, featuring a low-power "Sandy Bridge" Celeron/Core processor. The board is designed to run off external DC power input. The board can be used as a micro-server. Apart from a standard SATA 6 Gb/s port, it has two slots, a mini PCI-Express (for WLAN+Bluetooth cards), and an mSATA (to hold its OS SSD). SO-DIMM memory slots, we imagine, are on the reverse side of the PCB. The system can be programmed to run headless, or there is a host of connectivity options along the top of the board, including USB, HDMI, D-Sub, Ethernet, and stereo line-out. The PCI-Express interface below is for an additional PCB that expands connectivity.

The versatile new MI-HM65T Mini ITX motherboard from Giada is at home in all environments, including the factory floor, tough monitoring and control applications, embedded computing, office desks, and the home. Built around Intel's HM65 chipset and the Sandy Bridge platform, this motherboard brings users high performance and almost unlimited connectivity, with economical power consumption. It offers all the industry-standard features of a desktop PC in a tiny package, to support a wide range of applications.

Powered by Intel's fast Core i7, i5, i3 or Celeron 867 CPUs, supported by up to 4GB of memory, with onboard integrated graphics and video support, the Giada MI-HM65T can easily take care of almost any task you throw at it. This tough but tiny powerhouse handles industrial control, monitoring and automation applications as well as office and productivity, or home entertainment.

PC enthusiasts with Ivy Bridge engineering samples, and reviewers at large have come to the consensus that Ivy Bridge is a slightly warmer chip than it should be. An investigation by Overclockers.com revealed a possible contributing factor to that. Upon carefully removing the integrated heatspreader (IHS) of an Ivy Bridge Core processor (that nickel-plated copper plate on top of the processor which makes contact with the cooler), the investigator found common thermal paste between the CPU die and the IHS, and along the sides of the die.

In comparison, Intel used flux-less solder to bind the IHS to the die on previous-generation Sandy Bridge Core processors in the LGA1155 package. Attempting to remove IHS off a chip with flux-less solder won't end well, as it could rip the die off the package. On the other hand, the idea behind use of flux-less solder in CPU packages is to improve heat transfer between the die and the IHS. Using thermal paste to do the job results in slightly inferior heat transfer, but removing IHS is safer. One can be sure that making it safe for IHS removal couldn't have been the issue behind switching back to conventional thermal paste, as everything under the IHS isn't user-serviceable anyway, and off limits for them. Perhaps Intel kept extreme overclockers in mind.

CyberpowerPC Inc., a global leader in custom gaming machines, today announced new desktop gaming systems based on 3rd Generation Intel Core i7-3770K (3.50 GHz), Core i5-3570K (3.40 GHz) and other 3000 Series Ivy Bridge processors.

CyberpowerPC customers can configure the ultimate gaming platform based on the new Ivy Bridge CPUs paired with recently released Intel Z77 chipset motherboards. The combination provides a 10-15% performance boost over Sandy Bridge 2000 series CPUs and offers advanced overclocking; native USB 3.0 and PCI-Express Gen 3.0 support; Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0; and next gen DirectX 11 ready Intel HD 4000 graphics along with quick sync technology.

Intel finally got the ball rolling on its third generation Core processor family codenamed "Ivy Bridge", which will go into making most of the company's client processor portfolio for 2012. These chips are characterized as being the world's first microprocessors built on the 22 nanometer silicon fabrication process. Intel aided miniaturization of circuits to such tiny scale thanks to 3D Transistor technology, a space-efficient nano-scale transistor design that enables chip-designers to achieve higher transistor densities, and come up with ever more powerful chips.

The third-generation Core processor family is based around a single die design (pictured below), from which it will carve out numerous SKUs in the client market in May-June, and enterprise market (under its Xeon brand, towards the end of June). These SKUs will be carved out by toggling the various parallel components (such as x86 cores, cache banks, processor graphics cores, and of course clock-speeds). The new Core processor family is expected to feature higher performance per clock-speed, and higher efficiency. Intel's Kirk Skaugen has been quoted by the BBC as saying "This is the world's first 22 nm product and we'll be delivering about 20% more processor performance using 20% less average power."

Barebones mini PCs expert Shuttle Computer launched its first barebones featuring Intel Z77 Express chipset, ready for 3rd generation "Ivy Bridge" Core processors in the LGA1155 package, while retaining support for every LGA1155 "Sandy Bridge" processor launched till date. Shuttle also launched an Intel X79-based mini PC barebone, which supports Core i7 "Sandy Bridge-E" processors.

Called the SZ77R5, the Z77 barebone features four DDR3 DIMM slots supporting 32 GB of dual-channel DDR3-1600 MHz memory, expansion slots that include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16, one PCI-Express 2.0 x4 and one mPCIe; two SATA 6 Gb/s, two SATA 3 Gb/s ports, one eSATA 3 Gb/s, and one mSATA; four USB 3.0 ports, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio. Its chassis features two 5.25" and one 3.5" drive bays, front-panel that includes two of the four USB 3.0 ports, a USB 2.0 port with "fast charging" (high current), and front-panel HD audio. To power the machine, a 500W 80 Plus-compliant PSU is included. The SZ77R5 measures 332 x 216 x 198 mm (WxDxH). It will be priced around 32,800 JPY (US $404).

Intel is expected to start shipping Xeon E3 processors based on 22 nm "Ivy Bridge" silicon within June, according to a DigiTimes report. A key feature of the new Xeon chips driving its advent is support for PCI-Express 3.0, which could greatly increase bandwidth for compatible add-on cards and controllers. Ivy Bridge allows PCI-Express lanes from the processor root complex to be split into x16, x8, and even x4 links, which greatly increase bandwidth from previous-generation PCI-Express 2.0 bus. Built in the LGA1155 package, the new Xeon chips will be compatible with existing platforms that run Xeon Sandy Bridge processors, as well as new lines of server/workstation motherboards that feature PCI-Express 3.0 expansion. We know from a slightly older report that Intel will launch low-voltage Xeon processors around this time.

Here are the first pictures of retail boxes of Intel's Core i7-3770K "Ivy Bridge" processors in the LGA1155 package. Pictured below are boxes sourced from a Chinese distributor. Regional branding aside, the box-art hasn't changed from that of the 2nd Generation Core processor family, even the die-shot CGI in the center hasn't changed, which is a missed opportunity. Intel could have used art inspired by the Ivy Bridge silicon, which could have helped identify the new chips easier. The box simply marks the model number "3770K" and socket type "LGA1155" on the key sticker.

The side sticker is where the action is. We know from countless earlier reports, including Intel's RetailEdge marketing material that the TDP rating of "Ivy Bridge" quad-core parts, including the i7-3770K, was rated to be 77W. The sticker on retail i7-3770K, however, tells a different story. The TDP is rated at 95W, on par with previous-generation parts such as i7-2700K. The S-spec number is revealed to be "SR0PL". Before such an important CPU launch as "Ivy Bridge", it's hard to control pre-launch proliferation of retail parts to people who are not NDA signatories. Such people have put the i7-3770K through overclocking, and voices are getting louder that the i7-3770K is a worse overclocker than previous-generation "Sandy Bridge". The chip was found to get too hot, too soon, when overclocking.

Intel's upcoming Core "Ivy Bridge" processors for overclockers, namely the Core i7-3770K, and Core i5-3570K, feature multiplier values previously unavailable for Core "Sandy Bridge" series. Chinese proverclocker x-powerx800pro scraped 6.616 GHz utilizing a base clock multiplier value of 63.0x, a clock speed of 6584.86 MHz (104.52 x 63) was validated using the same setup. These clock speeds were backed by core voltages such as 1.056V, and cooled by extreme cooling. The test-bench included a GIGABYTE Z77X-UD5H, 2x 2 GB G.Skill DDR3-2133 MHz memory, and Corsair AX1200W PSU. These clock speeds were found to be Pi-stable, with 6.511 GHz yielding SuperPi 1M timing of 5.585s.

With the 14 nm "Broadwell" architecture, Intel will take a new step towards integration of the platform-controller hub (PCH) with the CPU, by designing it to be a multi-chip module (with the CPU+northbridge in one die, and PCH on the other). This would make "Broadwell" a true System-on-chip (SoC), which allows over 90 percent of the system's I/O to be routed to the processor socket, including memory, PCI-Express, SATA, USB, etc. Although not the first to the industry with single-chip chipsets and integrated memory controllers, Intel rapidly reshaped the arrangement between CPU and core-logic, over the past four years.

It began with transfer of memory controller from northbridge to CPU die (45 nm "Bloomfield"), and transfer of the entire northbridge to the CPU die (45 nm "Lynnfield"). The graphics northbridge transferred a little more gradually, first as multi-chip module with a separate CPU die (32 nm "Clarkdale"), then complete integration with the CPU die (32 nm "Sandy Bridge"). All through, the southbridge, or I/O controller hub (ICH) remained outside the CPU package, with the addition of a display output logic, it transformed into a "platform controller hub" (PCH), which is still just a glorified southbridge. Naturally then, such a drastic relocation of system components will warrant a socket change.

After last weekend's launch of Z77 chipset-based motherboards, several Japanese BTO (built to order) desktop PC makers jumped the gun, and announced new desktops that use Z77 chipset motherboards, but driven by current generation Core i5/i7 "Sandy Bridge" LGA1155 processors. Third-generation Core i5/i7 "Ivy Bridge" processors, at least to the retail channel, aren't too far away. They are slated for the end of this month. Yet, many of these desktops launched today offer processors such as the Core i5-2500K and Core i7-2700K as standard options.

Pictured below (in order), are machines by Mouse Computer (Core i5-2500K comes standard), SHG Galleria (Core i7-2700K and GeForce GTX 680 graphics come standard), G-Gear, and EX Computer AeroStream (Core i7-2700K and Radeon HD 7970 come standard). It is noted that Z77 chipset motherboards haven't significantly altered prices from Z68-based models.