BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices today, is excited to introduce the MS-1315UE/MS-1315URE/MS-1345UE/MS-1345URE industrial application systems. The MS-1315UE/MS-1315URE/MS-1345UE/MS-1345URE systems are versatile solutions, offering two specifications with Intel Raptor Lake SoC Core i3 and i5 processors. They are designed to cater to a wide range of audiences, including system integration businesses, AIoT machines, industrial automation, edge computing, HMI, and digital signage Industries, ensuring superior adaptability to any specific requirements.

These application systems provide effective platforms for CRM SI builds. Users can utilize the efficient computing power they provide to seamlessly manage customer contact details, transaction history, accounts, and communications. BIOSTAR's MS-1315UE/MS-1315URE/MS-1345UE/MS-1345URE also support diverse processors for real-time control tasks and ensure reliable, high-speed communication for edge computing.

ASUS today announced ASUS NUC 14 Performance, a business-friendly barebones mini PC that offers a dynamic fusion of efficiency and raw power. Featuring Intel Core Ultra 9 or 7 processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or 4060 graphics, ASUS NUC 14 Performance delivers the computing prowess enterprises need for AI-based workloads.

New AI-enabled performance
The latest Intel Core 9 and 7 series CPUs employ new Intel processor technology that enhances computing performance by approximately 21.5% (versus previous-generation processors) while reducing power consumption by up to 40%. An integrated Neural Processing Unit (NPU) helps boost AI applications, giving the processor exceptional energy-efficiency and endurance for sustained AI computing tasks like image generation and facial recognition.

AMD reportedly plans to incorporate glass substrates into its high-performance system-in-packages (SiPs) sometimes between 2025 and 2026. Glass substrates offer several advantages over traditional organic substrates, including superior flatness, thermal properties, and mechanical strength. These characteristics make them well-suited for advanced SiPs containing multiple chiplets, especially in data center applications where performance and durability are critical. The adoption of glass substrates aligns with the industry's broader trend towards more complex chip designs. As leading-edge process technologies become increasingly expensive and yield gains diminish, manufacturers turn to multi-chiplet designs to improve performance. AMD's current EPYC server processors already incorporate up to 13 chiplets, while its Instinct AI accelerators feature 22 pieces of silicon. A more extreme testament is Intel's Ponte Vecchio, which utilized 63 tiles in a single package.

Glass substrates could enable AMD to create even more complex designs without relying on costly interposers, potentially reducing overall production expenses. This technology could further boost the performance of AI and HPC accelerators, which are a growing market and require constant innovation. The glass substrate market is heating up, with major players like Intel, Samsung, and LG Innotek also investing heavily in this technology. Market projections suggest explosive growth, from $23 million in 2024 to $4.2 billion by 2034. Last year, Intel committed to investing up to 1.3 trillion Won (almost one billion USD) to start applying glass substrates to its processors by 2028. Everything suggests that glass substrates are the future of chip design, and we await to see first high-volume production designs.

Taiwanese semiconductor giant TSMC is reportedly planning to increase its wafer prices by up to 10% in 2025, according to a Morgan Stanley note cited by investor Eric Jhonsa. The move comes as demand for cutting-edge processors in smartphones, PCs, AI accelerators, and HPC continues to surge. Industry insiders reveal that TSMC's state-of-the-art 4 nm and 5 nm nodes, used for AI and HPC customers such as AMD, NVIDIA, and Intel, could see up to 10% price hikes. This increase would push the cost of 4 nm-class wafers from $18,000 to approximately $20,000, representing a significant 25% rise since early 2021 for some clients and an 11% rise from the last price hike. Talks about price hikes with major smartphone manufacturers like Apple have proven challenging, but there are indications that modest price increases are being accepted across the industry. Morgan Stanley analysts project a 4% average selling price increase for 3 nm wafers in 2025, which are currently priced at $20,000 or more per wafer.

Mature nodes like 16 nm are unlikely to see price increases due to sufficient capacity. However, TSMC is signaling potential shortages in leading-edge capacity to encourage customers to secure their allocations. Adding to the industry's challenges, advanced chip-on-wafer-on-substrate (CoWoS) packaging prices are expected to rise by 20% over the next two years, following previous increases in 2022 and 2023. TSMC aims to boost its gross margin to 53-54% by 2025, anticipating that customers will absorb these additional costs. The impact of these price hikes on end-user products remains uncertain. Competing foundries like Intel and Samsung may seize this opportunity to offer more competitive pricing, potentially prompting some chip designers to consider alternative manufacturing options. Additionally, TSMC's customers could reportedly be unable to secure their capacity allocation without "appreciating TSMC's value."

Intel has released its latest version of Arc GPU Graphics drivers for A-series discrete GPUs and Arc Graphics iGPUs, version 101.5762 Beta. The new drivers bring Game On Driver support on Intel Arc A-series GPUs and Intel Core Ultra with Intel Arc GPUs for Once Human and Zenless Zone Zero games, as well as improve performance in Diablo IV under DirectX 12 by up to 35 percent at 1440p resolution and by up to 30 percent at 1080p resolution with Ray Tracing Ultra settings.

The new drivers also fix the issue seen in Plants vs. Zombies Game of the Year Edition when 3D acceleration is enabled on Intel Arc A-series GPUs and Core Ultra CPUs with Intel Arc GPUs, as well as issues with Endurance Gaming in games on Intel Core Ultra CPUs with Intel Arc GPUs. Intel also fixed an issue With Intel Arc Control where it may report incorrect Shader Model version in System Capabilities.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5762 Beta

The PC market gathered momentum in Q2 2024, with worldwide shipments of desktops and notebooks up 3.4% year-on-year, reaching 62.8 million units. Shipments of notebooks (including mobile workstations) hit 50 million units, growing 4%. Desktops (including desktop workstations), which constitute 20% of the total PC market, experienced a slight 1% growth, totaling 12.8 million units. The stage is now set for accelerated growth as the refresh cycle driven by the Windows 11 transition and AI PC adoption ramps up over the next four quarters.

"The PC industry is going from strength to strength with a third consecutive quarter of growth," said Ishan Dutt, Principal Analyst at Canalys. "The market turnaround is coinciding with exciting announcements from vendors and chipset manufacturers as their AI PC roadmaps transition from promise to reality. The quarter culminated with the launch of the first Copilot+ PCs powered by Snapdragon processors and more clarity around Apple's AI strategy with the announcement of the Apple Intelligence suite of features for Mac, iPad and iPhone. Beyond these innovations, the market will start to benefit even more from its biggest tailwind - a ramp-up in PC demand driven by the Windows 11 refresh cycle. The vast majority of channel partners surveyed by Canalys in June indicated that Windows 10 end-of-life is likely to impact customer refresh plans most in either the second half of 2024 or the first half of 2025, suggesting that shipment growth will only gather steam in upcoming quarters."

The recent launch of Copilot+ PCs, a collaboration between Microsoft and Qualcomm, has taken an unexpected turn in the market. While these devices were promoted for their artificial intelligence capabilities, a Bloomberg report reveals that consumers are primarily drawn to them for their impressive battery life. The Snapdragon X-powered Copilot+ PCs have made a significant impact, securing 20% of global PC sales during their launch week. However, industry analyst Avi Greengart points out that the extended battery life, not the AI features, is driving these sales. Microsoft introduced three AI-powered features exclusive to these PCs: Cocreator, Windows Studio Effects, and Live Captions with Translation. Despite these innovations, many users find these features non-essential for daily use. The delay of the anticipated Recall feature due to privacy concerns has further dampened enthusiasm for the AI aspects of these devices.

The slow reception of on-device AI capabilities extends beyond consumer preferences to the software industry. Major companies like Adobe, Salesforce, and SentinelOne declined Microsoft's request to optimize their apps for the new hardware, citing resource constraints and the limited market share of AI-capable PCs. Gregor Steward, SentinelOne's VP for AI, suggests it could take years before AI PCs are widespread enough to justify app optimization. Analysts project that by 2028, only 40% of new computers will be AI-capable. Despite these challenges, Qualcomm remains optimistic about the future of AI PCs. While the concept may currently be more on the marketing side, the introduction of Arm-based Windows laptops offers a welcome alternative to the Intel-AMD duopoly. As the technology evolves and adoption increases, on-device AI features may become more prevalent and useful. The imminent arrival of AMD Ryzen AI 300 series and Intel Lunar Lake chips promises to expand the Copilot+ PC space further. For now, however, it appears that superior battery life remains the primary selling point for consumers.

DFI, the world's leading brand in embedded motherboards and industrial computers, introduces its latest innovation: the ASL9A2 System-on-Module (SoM). With an Intel Atom processor, the ASL9A2 achieves speeds up to 3.6 GHz and is based on Intel's Gracemont architecture. Designed for high-performance, low-power, and ruggedized edge applications, the ASL9A2 is perfect for continuous 24/7 operation, supporting a wide range of Internet of Things (IoT) solutions at the edge.

As reported by The Business Research Company, the SoM market has experienced robust growth, increasing from 2.22 billion in 2023 to 2.43 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 9.6%. From DFI's business viewpoint, a variety of SoM projects are yielding positive results. Furthermore, DFI enhances its Intel x86 COM Express modules with value-added enhancements to improve customers' applications efficiency, earning praise from customers.

ASUS today announced the ASUS NUC 14 Pro+, an ultracompact PC that offers best-in-class performance thanks to the power of the new Intel Core Ultra processor, which gives it the ability to locally run generative AI workloads. The machine's robust computing capabilities are further boosted by certified Bluetooth dongle-free connectivity, energy-efficient WiFi Sensing, and three AI engines (GPU, NPU, and CPU) that enable high throughput, low power consumption, and fast response. The eye-catching 5 x 4-inch anodized aluminium chassis is perfect for corporate or home office settings, and it features toolless access for fast, safe, and easy upgrades.

Style meets AI-driven performance
Available with Intel Core Ultra 9, 7, or 5 CPUs, the Intel Arc GPU for enhanced graphics, and Intel AI Boost (NPU), the ASUS NUC 14 Pro+ meets most computing needs and combines style with powerful performance. Together, its three AI engines - GPU, NPU, and CPU - enable higher throughput, lower power consumption, and faster response to locally run generative AI workloads. The Intel Core Ultra processors represent Intel's most power-efficient client processors to date. Compared to its predecessor, the NUC 13 Pro Mini PC, the ASUS NUC 14 Pro+ offers significantly enhanced AI processing performance, offering unmatched stability and up to 35% faster local computing, especially noticeable in tasks such as text-to-image generation using stable-diffusion software.

Intel has reportedly chosen the TSMC 4 nm EUV foundry node for its next generation Arc Xe2 discrete GPUs based on the "Battlemage" graphics architecture. This would mark a generational upgrade from the Arc "Alchemist" family, which Intel built on the TSMC 6 nm DUV process. The TSMC N4 node offers significant increases in transistor densities, performance, and power efficiency over the N6, which is allowing Intel to nearly double the Xe cores on its largest "Battlemage" variant in numerical terms. This, coupled with increased IPC, clock speeds, and other features, should make the "Battlemage" contemporary against today's AMD RDNA 3 and NVIDIA Ada gaming GPUs. Interestingly, TSMC N4 isn't the most advanced foundry node that the Xe2 "Battlemage" is being built on. The iGPU powering Intel's Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake" processor is part of its Compute tile, which Intel is building on the more advanced TSMC N3 (3 nm) node.

Intel's upcoming Arrow Lake "S" Desktop and "HX" laptop CPUs are reported to launch without dedicated NPU hardware. NPUs will be limited to Arrow Lake-H/U and Lunar Lake chips, with Core Ultra 200V chips offering up to 48 TOPS of AI performance. Currently, AMD is the only manufacturer offering desktop chips with dedicated NPUs in their Ryzen 8000G "Hawk Point" series for the AM5 platform. However, according to Jaykihn, an active Intel-related leaker, Intel may be planning to incorporate NPUs in future Arrow Lake-S and Arrow Lake-HX refreshes.

The potential refresh could include an NPU within the SOC tile, possibly increasing the die size by 2.8 mm compared to current Arrow Lake designs. The package size is expected to remain unchanged, maintaining socket compatibility, however, motherboard manufacturers would need to enable Fast Voltage Mode (FVM) on VccSA rails to support the NPU functionality. While it's early to discuss an Arrow Lake refresh before the initial launch, this development could impact Intel's roadmap and the "AI PC" market segment. Also, it could have possible implications for the release schedule of future architectures like Panther Lake.

ASUS Republic of Gamers today announced the launch of the ROG NUC gaming PC. The first-ever ROG NUC PC is packed with cutting-edge technology and performance for AAA gaming and more.

Gaming, redefined
Featuring Intel Core Ultra 9 or Intel Core Ultra 7 processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 or 4060 discrete graphics, the ROG NUC PC is a compact powerhouse that delivers unmatched gaming experiences. The high-performance hybrid architecture of Intel Core Ultra processors provides gamers with the power needed to stream, edit, record and play without skipping a beat. The 2.5-liter chassis is designed for quick system access to make upgrades and cleaning easy. Plus, the compatible ROG Raikiri Pro controller can be used to deliver a console-like experience for gamers seeking uncompromised performance and flexibility in a compact form factor.

What appears to be the full details of all of Intel's upcoming 800-series chipsets have leaked and although we've already seen what the Z890 chipset will offer, no details of the other SKUs have leaked to date. Maybe the biggest news is that there won't be an H870 chipset this time around, according to the leaker @jaykihn0 over at X/Twitter. The full range appears to be Z890, B860 and H810 for consumers, W880 for workstations and Q870 for corporate desktops. That said, the Z890 and W880 are identical in terms of slots and ports, but whereas the W880 gains full ECC support and Intel vPro and remote management, it loses the CPU and bus overclocking features of the Z890. The Q870 loses four chipset PCIe 4.0 lanes, one 20 Gbps or two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 ports, but is otherwise similar to the Z890, minus all the overclocking features, but with Intel vPro and remote management.

The B860 ends up on the chopping block as always and loses not only 10 chipset PCIe lanes compared to the Z890 chipset, but also four lanes from the CPU and four lanes on the DMI interface to the chipset. On top of that bifurcation goes out the window toigether with PCIe RAID and the chipset is only capable of having two 20 Gbps or four 10 Gbps USB 3.2 ports, but at least memory overclocking is still on the table. Finally, the H810 chipset is as basic as it gets, with no extra CPU PCIe lanes beyond the 16 lanes for a graphics card, but they are at least PCIe 5.0 this time around. The chipset itself is only equipped with a mere eight PCIe 4.0 lanes and it gets zero 20 Gbps and two 10 Gbps USB 3.2 ports. Note that all platforms support one or two Thunderbolt 4 / USB4 ports, but it's unclear if this is native support or via an add-on chip. Also note that the USB ports are shared and the maximum count is that for the 5 Gbps ports in the details below, so the Z890 for example, doesn't have 25 USB 3.2 ports in total, but rather only 10. All in all, we'll see a migration to PCIe 5.0 for the x16 slot across the entire 800-series chipset range and from the B860 and up, all chipsets will have a dedicated PCIe 5.0 x4 interface that will most likely be used for an M.2 slot. Also, the PCIe lane count is the maximum, but due to Intel's HSIO layout, some resources will be shared with SATA and Ethernet, which means not all PCIe lanes will be accessible.

Minisforum, a leader in mini PC innovation, today announces the launch of the UH125 Pro, a game-changing mini PC that redefines what's possible in compact computing. The UH125 Pro delivers a powerful blend of performance, efficiency, and versatility, making it the ultimate solution for professionals, gamers, and creators alike.

Unleashing the Power of Intel Core Ultra 5:
UH125 Pro lies the lightning-fast Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, featuring Intel 4 technology and a 3D high-performance hybrid architecture. This cutting-edge processor delivers a remarkable 65 W TDP 4, resulting in a dual improvement in performance and efficiency. With 14 cores (4 Performance Cores + 8 Efficiency Cores + 2 LP Efficiency Cores), 18 threads, 18 MB L3 Cache, and a maximum Turbo Frequency of 4.5 GHz, the UH125 Pro effortlessly handles even the most demanding tasks.

Intel very much does intend to make discrete gaming GPUs based on its Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture, which made its debut with the Core Ultra 200V "Lunar Lake-MX" processor as an iGPU. With its next generation, Intel plans to capture an even bigger share of the gaming graphics market, both on the notebook and desktop platforms. "Battlemage" will be crucial for Intel, as it will be able to make its case with Microsoft and Sony for semi-custom chips, for their next-generation consoles. Intel has all pieces of the console SoC puzzle that AMD does. A Xe2 "Battlemage" discrete GPU sample, codenamed "Churchill Falls," has been spotted making its transit in and out of locations known for Intel SoC development, such as Bangalore in India, and Shanghai in China.

Such shipping manifests tend to be incredibly descriptive, and speak of an Arc "Battlemage" X3 and Arc "Battlemage" X4 SKUs, each with 448 execution units (EU), across 56 Xe cores. Assuming an Xe core continues to have 128 unified shaders in the "Battlemage" architecture, you're looking at 7,168 unified shaders for this GPU, a staggering 75% increase in just the numerical count of the shaders, and not accounting for IPC increase and other architecture-level features. The descriptions also speak of a 256-bit wide memory bus, although they don't specify memory type or speed. Given that at launch, the Arc A770 "Alchemist" was a 1440p-class GPU, we predict Intel might take a crack at a 4K-class GPU. Besides raster 3D performance, Intel is expected to significantly improve the ray tracing and AI performance of its Xe2 discrete GPUs, making them powerful options for creative professionals.

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego, have unveiled a significant security vulnerability affecting Intel Raptor Lake and Alder Lake processors. The newly discovered flaw, dubbed "Indirector," exposes weaknesses in the Indirect Branch Predictor (IBP) and Branch Target Buffer (BTB), potentially allowing attackers to execute precise Branch Target Injection (BTI) attacks. The published study provides a detailed look into the intricate structures of the IBP and BTB within recent Intel processors, showcasing Spectre-style attach. For the first time, researchers have mapped out the size, structure, and precise functions governing index and tag hashing in these critical components. Particularly concerning is the discovery of previously unknown gaps in Intel's hardware defenses, including IBPB, IBRS, and STIBP. These findings suggest that even the latest security measures may be insufficient to protect against sophisticated attacks.

The research team developed a tool called "iBranch Locator," which can efficiently identify and manipulate specific branches within the IBP. This tool enables highly precise BTI attacks, potentially compromising security across various scenarios, including cross-process and cross-privilege environments. One of the most alarming implications of this vulnerability is its ability to bypass Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), a crucial security feature in modern operating systems. By exploiting the IBP and BTB, attackers could potentially break ASLR protections, exposing systems to a wide range of security threats. Experts recommend several mitigation strategies, including more aggressive use of Intel's IBPB (Indirect Branch Prediction Barrier) feature. However, the performance impact of this solution—up to 50% in some cases—makes it impractical for frequent domain transitions, such as those in browsers and sandboxes. In a statement for Tom's Hardware, Intel noted the following: "Intel reviewed the report submitted by academic researchers and determined previous mitigation guidance provided for issues such as IBRS, eIBRS and BHI are effective against this new research and no new mitigations or guidance is required."

Intel has released its latest version of Arc GPU Graphics drivers for A-series discrete GPUs and Arc Graphics iGPUs, version 101.5594 Beta. The new drivers bring a fix for Citrix Workspace application on both Intel Arc A-Series and Intel Core Ultra CPU with Intel Arc GPUs that have exhibited sluggish behavior when interacting with a virtual desktop.

Unfortunately, there are no further fixes or optimizations as the previous Arc GPU Graphics drivers version 101.5593 Beta already brought optimizations for Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail and The First Descendant games. There are still plenty of known issues on Intel Arc A-Series graphics products including ones with games like No Man's Sky, Enshrouded, Doom Eternal and application like Topaz Video AI. There are also known issues with Intel Arc Control Studio as well with corruption of the recording file when the mouse cursor is enabled during HDR capture and issues with schedule updates for drivers.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5594 Beta

LG Electronics USA (LG) is expanding its thinnest and lightest lineup of laptops with the LG gram SuperSlim in a crisp white colorway. The 2024 LG gram SuperSlim (15Z90ST-G.AAW4U1) stands out with an upgraded processor and sleek profile. Customers can now purchase the new LG gram SuperSlim for $799, a $600 savings from its retail price of $1399. Designed with ultra-portability in mind, the new 15.6-inch white model measures just 0.49-inches and weighs a scant 2.18lbs.

With Intel Evo Edition powered by Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processors, the 15Z90ST-G.AAW4U1 delivers improved performance for more productivity, content creation and entertainment. Powered by an Intel Core ️ Ultra Processor with an integrated AI Boost, this LG gram SuperSlim is faster than previous-generation CPU-only systems. Intel Core Ultra processors include a specialized AI processing unit alongside supercharged performance to support advanced, innovative use cases and demanding applications. The architecture enables smooth graphics and power efficiency for improved battery life.

Intel's first three generations of client processors implementing hybrid CPU cores, namely "Alder Lake," "Raptor Lake," and "Meteor Lake," have them arranged along a ringbus, sharing an L3 cache. This usually sees the larger P-cores to one region of the die, and the E-core clusters to the other region. From the perspective of the bidirectional ringbus, the ring-stops would follow the order: one half of the P-cores, one half of the E-core clusters, iGPU, the other half of E-cores, the other half of the P-cores, and the Uncore, as shown in the "Raptor Lake" die-shot, below. Intel plans to rearrange the P-cores and E-core clusters in "Arrow Lake-S."

With "Arrow Lake," Intel plans to disperse the E-core clusters between the P-cores. This would see a P-core followed by an E-core cluster, followed by two P-cores, and then another E-core cluster, then a lone P-core, and a repeat of this pattern. Kepler_L2 illustrated what "Raptor Lake" would have looked like, had Intel applied this arrangement on it. Dispersing the E-core clusters among the P-cores has two possible advantages. For one, the average latency between a P-core ring-stop and an E-core cluster ring-stop would reduce; and secondly, there will also be certain thermal advantages, particularly when gaming, as it reduces the concentration of heat in a region of the die.

Intel's upcoming Core Ultra "Arrow Lake-S" desktop processor introduces a new socket, the LGA1851, alongside the new Intel 800-series desktop chipset. We now have some idea what the 151 additional pins on the new socket are used for, thanks to a leaked platform map on the ChipHell forums, discovered by HXL. Intel is expanding the number of PCIe lanes from the processor. It now puts out a total of 32 PCIe lanes.

From the 32 PCIe lanes put out by the "Arrow Lake-S" processor's system agent, 16 are meant for the PCI-Express 5.0 x16 PEG slot to be used for discrete graphics. Eight are used as chipset bus, technically DMI 4.0 x8 (these are eight lanes that operate at Gen 4 speed for 128 Gbps per direction of bandwidth). There are now not one, but two CPU-attached M.2 NVMe slots possible, just like on the AMD "Raphael" and "Granite Ridge" processors. What's interesting, though, is that not both are Gen 5. One of these is Gen 5 x4, while the other is Gen 4 x4.

Intel today released the latest version of its Arc GPU Graphics drivers for its A-series discrete GPUs and Arc Graphics iGPUs powering its Core Ultra processors. Version 101.5593 Beta comes with optimization for "The First Descendant" and "Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail," which includes support for ray tracing in the former. The company did not fix any issues with this release, but identified a few new ones to fix in future releases. These include application crashes with "No Man's Sky" and "Enshrouded," intermittent flickering and display corruption in the game menu of "Doom Eternal," and Topaz Video AI throwing up errors when exporting videos after using some models for video enhancements. Grab the drivers from the link below.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5593 Beta

Cable Matters, a leader in providing top-tier connectivity solutions, today announced the launch of its groundbreaking Thunderbolt 5 cable manufactured by Lintes Technology Co., Ltd. The cable is available in 3 different lengths: 1 foot, 1.6 feet and 3.3 feet. This latest innovation delivers unparalleled performance, supporting up to 80 Gbps of bi-directional data transfer and up to 120 Gbps of video bandwidth, a substantial leap from the previous Thunderbolt 4 technology.

The new Thunderbolt 5 cable by Cable Matters represents a significant advancement in connectivity technology, offering increased bandwidth and power delivery capabilities. The Bandwidth Boost technology enables the cable to transmit up to 120 Gbps for the best display experience, providing up to 3 times increase over Thunderbolt 4's maximum bandwidth. This enhancement is particularly beneficial for demanding applications such as high-resolution video streaming, extensive data transfer, and high-speed gaming.

Intel and Aible, an end-to-end serverless generative AI (GenAI) and augmented analytics enterprise solution, now offer solutions to shared customers to run advanced GenAI and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) use cases on multiple generations of Intel Xeon CPUs. The collaboration, which includes engineering optimizations and a benchmarking program, enhances Aible's ability to deliver GenAI results at a low cost for enterprise customers and helps developers embed AI intelligence into applications. Together, the companies offer scalable and efficient AI solutions that draw on high-performing hardware to help customers solve challenges with AI and Intel.

"Customers are looking for efficient, enterprise-grade solutions to harness the power of AI. Our collaboration with Aible shows how we're closely working with the industry to deliver innovation in AI and lowering the barrier to entry for many customers to run the latest GenAI workloads using Intel Xeon processors," said Mishali Naik, Intel senior principal engineer, Data Center and AI Group.

Intel Corporation has achieved a revolutionary milestone in integrated photonics technology for high-speed data transmission. At the Optical Fiber Communication Conference (OFC) 2024, Intel's Integrated Photonics Solutions (IPS) Group demonstrated the industry's most advanced and first-ever fully integrated optical compute interconnect (OCI) chiplet co-packaged with an Intel CPU and running live data. Intel's OCI chiplet represents a leap forward in high-bandwidth interconnect by enabling co-packaged optical input/output (I/O) in emerging AI infrastructure for data centers and high performance computing (HPC) applications.

"The ever-increasing movement of data from server to server is straining the capabilities of today's data center infrastructure, and current solutions are rapidly approaching the practical limits of electrical I/O performance. However, Intel's groundbreaking achievement empowers customers to seamlessly integrate co-packaged silicon photonics interconnect solutions into next-generation compute systems. Our OCI chiplet boosts bandwidth, reduces power consumption and increases reach, enabling ML workload acceleration that promises to revolutionize high-performance AI infrastructure," said Thomas Liljeberg, senior director, Product Management and Strategy, Integrated Photonics Solutions (IPS) Group.

During Computex 2024, Intel announced the next-generation compute platform for the notebook segment in the form of the Core Ultra 200V series, codenamed Lunar Lake. Set for release in September 2024, these processors are generating excitement among tech enthusiasts and industry professionals alike. According to the latest leak by VideoCardz, Intel plans to unveil nine variants of Lunar Lake, including Core Ultra 7 and Core Ultra 5 models, with a single high-end Core Ultra 9 variant. While exact specifications remain under wraps, Intel's focus on artificial intelligence capabilities is clear. The company aims to secure a spot in Microsoft's Copilot+ lineup by integrating its fourth-generation Neural Processing Unit (NPU), boasting up to 48 TOPS of performance. All Lunar Lake variants are expected to feature a hybrid architecture with four Lion Cove performance cores and four Skymont efficiency cores.

This design targets low-power mobile devices, striking a balance between performance and energy efficiency. For graphics, Intel is incorporating its next-generation Arc technology, dubbed Battlemage GPU, which utilizes the Xe2-LPG architecture. The leaked information suggests that Lunar Lake processors will come with either 16 GB or 32 GB of non-upgradable LPDDR5-8533 memory. Graphics configurations are expected to include seven or eight Xe2 GPU cores, depending on the model. At the entry level, the Core Ultra 5 226V is rumored to offer a 17 W base power and 30 W maximum turbo power, with performance cores clocking up to 4.5 GHz. The top-tier Core Ultra 9 288V is expected to push the envelope with a 30 W base power, performance cores boosting to 5.1 GHz, and an NPU capable of 48 TOPS. You can check out the rest of the SKUs in the table below.