ASUS introduced a pair of new workstation motherboards based on the new C246 chipset, designed for Xeon E-2100 series socket LGA1151 processors. These include the WS C246 Pro (ATX form-factor) and WS C246 M Pro (micro-ATX). Both boards also support 8th generation Core, Pentium, and Celeron "Coffee Lake" processors. The cornerstone of both boards is a zero-bling design that focuses on features relevant to workstations. The WS C246 Pro draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and an optional 6-pin PCIe power. An 8-phase VRM conditions power for the CPU, which is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory with ECC support. Expansion slots include two reinforced PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots (x8/x8 with both populated), two additional x16 slots that are electrical gen 3.0 x4 and wired to the PCH; and two gen 3.0 x1 slots.

Storage connectivity on the WS C246 Pro includes eight SATA 6 Gbps, an two M.2 slots with PCIe gen 3.0 x4 wiring, each. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 gen 2 (one each type-A and type-C), and four USB 3.0 ports on the rear panel. Two USB 3.0 ports are put out as internal headers. There's also an internal type-A USB 3.0 port meant for USB TPMs and security keys. Display outputs include one each of D-Sub, DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort. There are two 1 GbE interfaces, both driven by Intel-made controllers. 8-channel HD audio makes for the rest of it.

Intel today announced the release of the new Intel Xeon E-2100 processor. The Intel Xeon E processor, successor to the Intel Xeon E3 processor, is designed for entry-level workstations that provide creators with powerful, single-threaded application performance with a platform optimized for reliability and affordability.

"With today's workloads, aging workstations impede productivity, collaboration and creativity. The release of the Intel Xeon E processor is intended to deliver the essential performance and visuals for entry workstations, as well as optimizing the innovative form factors, designs and diverse requirements of our customers," said Jennifer Huffstetler, vice president and general manager, data center product management, Intel Corporation.

Noctua today introduced three quiet CPU coolers for the LGA3647 socket of Intel's Xeon Scalable (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze) and Xeon-Phi processors. Coming in 140, 120 and 92mm form factors respectively, the new NH-U14S DX-3647, NH-U12S DX-3647 and NH-D9 DX-3647 4U cover all bases from large, ultra-high performance workstations all the way to compact 4U size servers. Thanks to their premium-grade Noctua fans, all three coolers are exceptionally quiet and ideally suited for use in noise-sensitive environments.

Latest leak confirms that Intel is preparing new Xeon processors targeted at the entry level market. These Xeon chips, which are based on Coffee Lake-S, have been rebranded from Xeon E3 to Xeon E. The Xeon E-2000 family consists of ten models featuring up to six cores. They differ from their consumer Coffee Lake counterparts in terms of features, memory support, operating frequencies, and TDP ratings. Seven of the ten processors come with iGPUs as denoted by the G suffix in the model number. The new Xeon E-2000 processors will be manufactured in Intel's Vietnam facility. The first batches of these processors are expected to ship sometime around June 25, 2018.

GIGABYTE has released a compelling new choice in storage servers with a unique combination of performance, capacity and flexibility: the S451-3R0. Powered by dual Intel Xeon Scalable processors and with a capacity of 36 x 3.5" + 2 x 2.5" SSD / HDD, the S451-3R0 provides the best balance of throughput and density, making it extremely suitable for block or object storage, streaming media and big data.

Dual Intel Xeon Scalable Processors
The S451-3R0 features dual Intel Xeon Scalable processors, with up to 28 cores per CPU, making it extremely suitable for storage applications where high performance or heavy workloads are required. Each CPU socket supports the highest CPU thermal design power requirement of 205W, as well as Intel's Omni-Path connection technology to eliminate CPU to network latency. Six memory channels per CPU with two DIMM slots per channel are supported for DDR4 memory. Maximum memory capacity will depend on your CPU model with a maximum of 1.5TB per CPU.

GIGABYTE, an industry leader in server hardware for high performance computing, has released two new powerful 4U GPU servers to bring massive parallel computing capabilities into your datacenter: the 8 x SXM2 GPU G481-S80, and the 10 x GPU G481-HA0. Both products offer some of the highest GPU density of this form factor available on the market.

As artificial intelligence is becoming more widespread in our daily lives, such as for image recognition, autonomous vehicles or medical research, more organizations need deep learning capabilities in their datacenter. Deep learning requires a powerful engine that can deal with the massive volumes of data processing required. GIGABYTE is proud to provide our customers with two new solutions for such an engine.

Intel Corporation today reported first-quarter 2018 financial results. "Coming off a record 2017, 2018 is off to a strong start. Our PC business continued to execute well and our data-centric businesses grew 25 percent, accounting for nearly half of first-quarter revenue," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "The strength of Intel's business underscores my confidence in our strategy and the unrelenting demand for compute performance fueled by the growth of data."

"Compared to the first-quarter expectations we set in January, revenue was higher, operating margins were stronger and EPS was better," said Bob Swan, Intel CFO. "Our data-centric strategy is accelerating Intel's transformation, and we're raising our earnings and cash flow expectations for the year." In the first quarter, the company generated approximately $6.3 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.4 billion and used $1.9 billion to repurchase 41 million shares of stock.

MSI, a world leader in computer hardware, continues to innovate its workstation line with the Vortex W25 and updated WT75, WS63 and WE series of mobile workstations. The Vortex W25 is the world's first 2.5L desktop powered by NVIDIA's Quadro P5200 GPU. "The Vortex W25 is one of the smallest and most capable workstations on the market," said Andy Tung, President of MSI. "We first created the chassis for powerful gaming performance with the Vortex G25, but we believe the innovative design will translate easily to those who need desktop-grade power in a small form factor."

Vortex W25
The Vortex W25 is the world's first 2.5L desktop powered by the NVIDIA Quadro P5200 GPU. In addition to its powerful graphics card, the Vortex also comes equipped with the latest Intel 8th generation processor. The new processor with its six cores of computing power, is up to 30 percent more powerful than the previous generation. The Quadro GPU provides up to 40 percent more performance than its predecessor. These performance upgrades make the Vortex W25 ideal for high-end 3D or VR tasks.

Today, Intel is taking another step forward, with two new technology announcements: Intel Threat Detection Technology (Intel TDT), a set of silicon-level capabilities that will help the ecosystem detect new classes of threats, and Intel Security Essentials, a framework that standardizes the built-in security features across Intel processors. We are also announcing a strengthened academic partnership with Purdue University, to help accelerate the development and availability of cybersecurity talent.

Intel Threat Detection Technology leverages silicon-level telemetry and functionality to help our industry partners improve the detection of advanced cyberthreats and exploits. Today we are announcing the first two Intel Threat Detection Technology capabilities, including implementation plans by Microsoft and Cisco.

The first new capability is Accelerated Memory Scanning. Current scanning technologies can detect system memory-based cyberattacks, but at the cost of CPU performance. With Accelerated Memory Scanning, the scanning is handled by Intel's integrated graphics processor, enabling more scanning, while reducing the impact on performance and power consumption. Early benchmarking on Intel test systems show CPU utilization dropped from 20 percent to as little as 2 percent.

The Power Stamp Alliance (PSA) has posted some details on Intel's upcoming high-performance, 10 nm architecture. Code-named Ice Lake, the Xeon parts of this design will apparently usher in yet another new socket (socket LGA 4189, compared to the socket LGA 3647 solution for Kaby lake and upcoming Cascade Lake designs). TDP is being shown as increased with Intel's Ice Lake designs, with an "up to" 230 W TDp - more than the Skylake or Cascade Lake-based platforms, which just screams at higher core counts (and other features such as OmniPath or on-package FPGAs).

Digging a little deeper into the documentation released by the PSA shows Intel's Ice Lake natively supporting 8-channel memory as well, which makes sense, considering the growing needs in both available memory capacity, and actual throughput, that just keeps rising. More than an interesting, unexpected development, it's a sign of the times.

EK Water Blocks, the Slovenia-based premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer is announcing a dedicated EK-Annihilator EX/EP water block that is specifically developed for LGA 3647 (Socket P) Intel processors. The entire CPU block was designed from the ground up to fit the requirements of the new socket and to integrate multiple connectivity options for server rack requirements. With that said, the new server-grade CPU block is 1U chassis type compatible for use server and workstation type motherboards.

EK-Annihilator EX/EP
With Intel releasing the future generation of Skylake-based Xeon and Skylake-E HEDT CPUs with a larger LGA 3647 socket, came the need for a water block with a larger cold plate contact surface. The goal in designing of the new EK-Annihilator EX/EP CPU water block was to cover the entire IHS of Intel HEDT processors. An additional task was to make the new CPU block server ready with multiple connectivity options. The EK-Annihilator EX/EP water block features a total of 6 ports, which allow for versatile connectivity options. Two top ports are standard G1/4" threaded, while the side ports are G3/8" threaded.

Cloudfest is a summit of sorts, a running line of conferences and announcements that focus on the cloud side of computing. With the increasing market value and demand of cloud services and providers, it's no surprise that industry behemoths are in attendance. AMD is one such, and it took the opportunity to throw a slight jab at Intel. Making the best it can from its long-coming favorable position in the server market, AMD put up a banner with an EPYC pun, touting its 3.3x performance per dollar advantage versus the Xeon competition... and then some. Just take a look at the image for yourself. It's all in good sport... Right?

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, an industry leader in competitive, high performance server platforms & embedded solutions continues to expand its Intel Xeon Scalable product family by adding three new density optimized systems: H231-H60, H261-H60, and H261-H61, giving our customer a wider range of choices to meet their ever increasing needs for efficiency in the server room.

Today Wacom announced the Wacom Cintiq Pro Engine, a creative PC module available in two configurations that fully integrates into the Cintiq Pro 24-inch pen display (announced today in a separate release). Designed for professional illustrators, designers, engineers and motion graphics users who require professional computing power and graphics performance, the modular Cintiq Pro Engine slots into the back of the Cintiq Pro 24, eliminating the space, cable clutter and compatibility issues that often result from using external computers and laptops.

"It is our mission to help professionals create with the least amount of distraction and clutter and to give them the power to tackle the new spaces of creating content for AR, VR and MR. The Wacom Cintiq Pro Engine provides a beautiful, easy to use solution for creatives everywhere," said Faik Karaoglu, Executive Vice President of the Creative Business Unit at Wacom.

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a global leader in enterprise computing, storage, networking solutions and green computing technology, today announced several new additions to its edge computing and network appliance portfolio based on the new Intel Xeon D-2100 SoC (System-on-a-Chip) processor.

Leveraging its deep expertise in server technology, Supermicro is bringing customers some of the first Intel Xeon D-2100 System-on-a-Chip (SoC) processor-based solutions. The company's X11SDV series motherboards offer infrastructure optimization by combining the performance and advanced intelligence of Intel Xeon processors into a dense, lower-power system-on-a-chip. Supermicro is introducing a wide range of new systems to the market including compact embedded systems, rackmount embedded systems, as well as multi-node MicroCloud and SuperBlade systems.

Compulab is introducing Airtop2 - a high-performance ruggedized fanless PC for edge computing and industrial applications that require deployment in harsh conditions. Based on Intel Xeon Processor E3-1275 v6 with an optional NVIDIA Quadro P4000 - both passively cooled using Compulab proprietary Natural Airflow technology and with a volume of just 7.5 liter - Airtop2 redefines the performance level of compact fanless PCs.

Other remarkable features of Airtop2 are up to 64 GB DDR4, high-performance storage sub-system with 2x NVMe + 4x 2.5" SATA SSDs / HDDs, tool-free service and a broad selection of FACE Module extensions. Airtop2 is available at an industrial temperature range of -40°C to 70°C and ships with 5 year warranty.

Today, Intel announced the Intel SSD DC P4510 Series for data center applications. The P4510 Series uses 64-layer TLC Intel 3D NAND to enable end users to do more per server, support broader workloads and deliver space-efficient capacity. The P4510 Series enables up to four times more terabytes per server and delivers up to 10 times better random read latency at 99.99 percent quality of service than previous generations. The drive can also deliver up to double the input-output operations per second (IOPS) per terabyte. The 1 and 2TB capacities have been shipping to cloud service providers (CSPs) in high volume since August 2017, and the 4 and 8TB capacities are now available to CSPs and channel customers. All capacities are in the 2.5-inch 15 mm U.2 form factor and utilize a PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 connection.

To accelerate performance and simplify management of the P4510 Series PCIe SSDs and other PCIe SSDs, Intel is also delivering two new technologies that work together to replace legacy storage hardware. Intel Xeon Scalable processors include Intel Volume Management Device (VMD), enabling robust management such as surprise insertion/removal and LED management of PCIe SSDs directly connected to the CPU. Building on this functionality, Intel Virtual RAID on CPU (VROC) uses Intel VMD to provide RAID to PCIe SSDs. By replacing RAID cards with Intel VROC, customers are able to enjoy up to twice the IOPs performance and up to a 70 percent cost savings with PCIe SSDs directly attached to the CPU, improving customer's return on their investments in SSD-based storage.

Intel today introduced the new Intel Xeon D-2100 processor, a system-on-chip (SoC) processor architected to address the needs of edge applications and other data center or network applications constrained by space and power. The Intel Xeon D-2100 processor extends the record-breaking performance and innovation of the Intel Xeon Scalable platform from the heart of the data center to the network edge and web tier, where network operators and cloud service providers face the need to continuously grow performance and capacity without increasing power consumption.

"To seize 5G and new cloud and network opportunities, service providers need to optimize their data center and edge infrastructures to meet the growing demands of bandwidth-hungry end users and their smart and connected devices," said Sandra Rivera, senior vice president and general manager of the Network Platforms Group at Intel. "The Intel Xeon D-2100 processor allows service providers and enterprises to deliver the maximum amount of compute intelligence at the edge or web tier while expending the least power."

At SOLIDWORKS World, HP today announced it will power its bestselling performance workstation, the HP Z4, with a choice of Intel Xeon or Core X processors and support dual extreme graphics. HP's latest technology was showcased at SOLIDWORKS World, where it also unveiled its low-cost, full-color 3D printers -- highlighting the company's comprehensive end-to-end solutions for product developers.

"The revamped Z4 workstation, along with our latest HP Windows Mixed Reality Headset and new customer-friendly VR solutions and services, will transform the way products across industries are developed," said Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, Z Workstations, HP Inc. "Over the past year, HP has launched the world's most powerful workstation, the most powerful detachable PC and the first-ever professional VR backpack. Today's news reflects our focus on continuously raising the bar with a portfolio of workstations and VR capabilities that will enable amazing new experiences and define the future of computing."

ASUS expanded its socket LGA2066 workstation-class motherboard lineup with the WS C422 Pro SE. The board is physically identical to the WS X299 Pro SE, but is based on the Intel C422 chipset. Designed for single-socket Intel Xeon W ("Skylake-W") processors, this board is targeted at workstation builders who require ECC memory support.

"Skylake-W" is an enterprise variant of the "Skylake-X" silicon, with support for up to 512 GB of ECC quad-channel DDR4 memory. It features up to 18 CPU cores, and is different from the Xeon Scalable "Skylake-SP" silicon. The board supports up to 512 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory with support for ECC, over its eight memory slots. The rest of its feature-set is identical to that of the WS X299 Pro SE.

GE Healthcare today announced an expanded partnership with Intel that aims to enhance patient care and reduce costs for hospitals and health systems using digital imaging solutions, deployed via edge and cloud. Together, the companies anticipate their solutions will offer greater hospital efficiency through increased asset performance, reduced patient risk and dosage exposure - with faster image processing - and expedited time to diagnosis and treatment.

Through the expanded partnership, GE Healthcare will use the new Intel Xeon Scalable platform with an aim towards lowering the total cost of ownership for imaging devices by up to 25 percent. Paired with GE Healthcare's imaging solutions, the Intel Xeon Scalable platform may improve radiologists' reading productivity compared to the prior generation by reducing first image display down to under 2 seconds and full study load times down to under 8 seconds.

"Radiologist workdays can be enhanced by use of real-time data analytics and increased performance," said Jonathan Ballon, vice president Internet of Things Group at Intel. "The combination of innovative imaging solutions from GE Healthcare with the breakthrough speed of Intel processors promises great advances in imaging that could make a real difference in patient care."

The fiftieth TOP500 list of the fastest supercomputers in the world has China overtaking the US in the total number of ranked systems by a margin of 202 to 143. It is the largest number of supercomputers China has ever claimed on the TOP500 ranking, with the US presence shrinking to its lowest level since the list's inception 25 years ago.

Just six months ago, the US led with 169 systems, with China coming in at 160. Despite the reversal of fortunes, the 143 systems claimed by the US gives them a solid second place finish, with Japan in third place with 35, followed by Germany with 20, France with 18, and the UK with 15.

Intel Xeon Scalable processors are deployed by today's cloud service providers to deliver disruptive performance efficiency across a diverse range of cloud workloads. Today, Intel announced Amazon Web Services' (AWS) public cloud customers can now harness the workload-optimized performance that the Intel Xeon Scalable platform delivers in Amazon's latest cloud instance. Available now, the Amazon EC2 C5 instances are AWS' latest generation, most powerful compute-optimized instances with the best price-to-compute performance.

Intel Xeon Scalable processors are highly agile, high-performance compute engines that allow public cloud environments to seamlessly transition among general purpose compute, high-performance computing (HPC) and AI/deep learning compute. This agility provides public cloud users a wide range of options for their target workloads. Intel Xeon Scalable processors are uniquely architected for today's evolving cloud data center infrastructure, offering energy efficiency and system-level performance that average 1.65x higher performance over the prior generation Xeon processors.

Kontron, a leading global provider of Embedded Computing Technology (ECT), introduces a new member of its high-end industrial computer platforms for control cabinet environments - the Kontron KBox C-102-4. The new model allows the integration of up to four PCIe expansions slots and is thus ideally suited for users requiring a large number of additional interfaces, industrial I/Os, or fieldbuses.

The KBox C-102 series is now available in four alternative design variants: the compact KBox C-102-0 without additional expansion slots, the KBox C-102-1 and KBox C-102-2 with one or two PCI(e) expansion slots respectively, and the new KBox C-102-4 with four PCI(e) expansion slots. The industrial computers are used mainly for control, visualization, and inspection in the production process.

Intel Corporation today reported third-quarter 2017 financial results. "We executed well in the third quarter with strong results across the business, and we're on track to a record year," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "I'm excited about our progress and our future. Intel's product line-up is the strongest it has ever been with more innovation on the way for artificial intelligence, autonomous driving and more." "In the third quarter, we delivered record earnings, exceeded our EPS expectations, and increased our profit expectations for the full year," said Bob Swan, Intel CFO. "We feel great about Intel's transformation and where we are nine months into our three year plan." In the third quarter, the company generated approximately $6.3 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.3 billion, and used $1.1 billion to repurchase 31 million shares of stock.

In the third quarter, Intel saw strength across the business. The data center, Internet of Things and memory businesses all achieved record quarterly revenue, and Intel extended its performance leadership with the launches of 8th Gen Intel Core and Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Intel's FPGA business, the Programmable Solutions Group, is experiencing strong momentum, winning designs with automotive and cloud service provider customers that advance Intel's position in artificial intelligence. The company also furthered its autonomous driving efforts with exciting customer wins and the completion of the Mobileye tender offer, four months earlier than expected.