After Raja Koduri left AMD in a low-profile-turned-high-profile leave of absence, ending up as head for rival Intel's newly formed Core and Visual Computing Group, now it's time for another high-level player to leave the company. AMD's Chris Hook has been in the company for almost two decades, rising from the bottom up towards the enviable position (at times) to lead the entire AMD's Radeon Technologies' Group Marketing Department since October 2017.

In a Facebook post detailing his departure, Hook joked that when he first joined the company, "ATI still had a smoking room, there was only one TV in the office (a small 14" black and white version we crowded into a room to watch 9/11 on), transistor size was still measured in microns, and 320x240 was considered 'high res'." Chris Hook has led (or been in the next closest position) as the public-facing effort of ATI/AMD-RTG and AMD core marketing team for a while now, so him leaving the company at a time where the global GPU marketshare is better than it ever has been in years does give some food for thought. Some publications are speculating on a move from AMD to Intel, similar to Raja Koduri's, citing close relationships between both men and the need for Intel to eventually market some products originating from their Core and Visual Computing Group (maybe with Arctic Sound?)

Semiconductor manufacturers have been historically bullish when it comes to the introduction of new manufacturing technologies. Intel, AMD (and then Globalfoundries), TSMC, all are companies who thrive in investors' confidence: they want to paint the prettiest picture they can in terms of advancements and research leadership, because that's what attracts investment, and increased share value, and thus, increased funds to actually reach those optimistic goals.

However, we've seen in recent years how mighty Intel itself has fallen prey to unforeseen complications when it comes to advancements of its manufacturing processes, which saw us go from a "tick-tock" cadence of new architecture - new manufacturing process, to the introduction of 14 nm ++ processes. And as Intel, Globalfoundries and TSMC race towards sub 7-nm manufacturing processes with 250 mm wafers and EUV usage, things aren't getting as rosy as the ultraviolet moniker would make us believe.

HP Inc. today introduced HP Pavilion Gaming, a new lineup of notebooks, desktops and displays designed to meet the needs of mainstream gamers. The HP Pavilion Gaming lineup provides the ultimate combination of powerful gaming experiences, value and versatility for everyday use. Gaming is one of the fastest growing PC segments, with more than 1 billion gamers worldwide. Mainstream gamers represent 62 percent of this growing market. While HP's OMEN line is built for performance and enthusiasts gamers, the new HP Pavilion Portfolio is designed to meet the diverse needs of more casual users, who often want a single device to meet all their PC needs.

"By listening to gamers and understanding their needs, HP is building an industry-leading gaming ecosystem that appeals to all segments of the market, "said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager of consumer personal systems, HP Inc. "With HP Pavilion Gaming, casual gamers get the best of both worlds - powerful game play on a boldly designed device that's versatile enough to meet their everyday PC needs."

HP, Inc. today introduced its next generation Pavilion portfolio, infusing premium features and expressive designs into its convertible, notebook and desktop PCs. The latest Pavilion lineup includes refined materials and finishes, thin bezels, and stepped-up performance options that enhance the customer experience. It will debut this weekend at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, where festival-goers will use the power of Pavilion to create unique experiences at the intersection of art and music.

"Pavilion excels at delivering amazing customer experiences at exceptional value. Our new lineup, featuring the sleekest, thinnest and most powerful Pavilion devices ever designed, raises the bar and inspires new ways to create, connect and share," said Kevin Frost vice president and general manager of consumer personal systems, HP Inc. "Coachella is synonymous with creative expression and amazing experiences, making it the perfect venue to launch our new Pavilion line and enhance the event though technology."

BTO notebooks and portable workstation maker Eurocom is rather liberal at sharing confidential information on support forums. It was one of the first sources that foretold Intel developing the Z390 Express chipset, and that Intel is preparing to increase CPU core-counts on its MSDT (mainstream desktop) platform once again, in 2019.

Apparently, the 300-series chipset, led by the Z390 Express, will support Intel's 9th generation, 10 nanometer "Ice Lake" silicon with 8 physical cores. The generational successor to the i7-8700K will hence be an 8-core/16-thread chip. This also presents Intel with an opportunity to make its next Core i5 parts either 8-core/8-thread or 6-core/12-thread, and Core i3 either 6-core/6-thread or 4-core/8-thread.

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.

HP, Inc. today unveiled the world's first Chromebook detachable packing all the productivity benefits of Chrome OS and popularity of Android into a sleek, versatile, powerful, and secure device. Chromebooks are one of the fastest-growing segments of the PC category, growing more than 50% over the past two years. HP is focused on delivering and evolving its Chromebook portfolio to meet this growing demand to have access to the Google ecosystem on exciting, flexible form factors.

"The HP Chromebook x2 hits a trifecta for customers, combining the productivity of the Chrome OS and power of the world's most-used app platform into a versatile form factor ideal for experiencing all the Google ecosystem has to offer," said Kevin Frost, vice president and general manager, consumer personal systems, HP Inc. "As the world's first Chromebook detachable, it will unlock new ways for people to create, collaborate and consume within Chrome and the Google Play Store."

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the Huracan (G21), a compact gaming desktop powered by up to an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics for extraordinary gaming. The Huracan has a unique magnetically-secured side cover that sets it apart from other gaming desktops. This foldable side cover can be opened to improve airflow into the system, and activate Aura lighting effects. The extra airflow provides the cooling needed for its high-performance components, so gamers can play the latest games at their most extreme settings.

Open up for More Performance
Opening the patented magnetically-secured side cover increases airflow into the system for better cooling. The sensors also activate the integrated Aura lighting effects. To ensure the very best gaming performance, the Huracan is powered by up to the latest 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor with up to 32GB of DDR4 2666MHz memory, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics. The Huracan is configurable up to a 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD and a 2TB HDD; and up to a 2TB HDD with Intel Optane Memory technology is also available. Intel Optane enables SSD-like performance from a large HDD, accelerating overall system performance and improving responsiveness for a blazing-fast computing experience.

ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) today announced the Zephyrus M, the world's slimmest gaming laptop to be powered by up to an 8th Generation Intel Core i7 processor and full-powered NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics. The Zephyrus M features an IPS-level display with a superfast 144Hz refresh rate, lightning-quick 3ms response time, and NVIDIA G-SYNC technology. It also features the new Active Aerodynamic System (AAS) to improve cooling performance under high load. ROG-exclusive software lets gamers switch between integrated and discrete GPU modes: the Optimus power-saving mode prolongs battery life, while the G-SYNC mode synchronizes frame delivery for smoother gameplay without tearing.

Elevating gaming performance to new heights
The ROG Zephyrus M brings gaming-desktop levels of performance to the gaming laptop scene, with up to an 8th Generation Intel Core i7-8750H processor with 16GB of DDR4 2666MHz dual-channel memory, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 graphics. It also features cutting-edge storage with a 256GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD and an additional 1TB Seagate FireCuda SSHD storage drive.

Samsung Electronics today announced the Samsung Notebook Odyssey Z, a strikingly thin and light laptop, that has been crafted with state-of-the art engineering and advanced thermal management to ensure a breathtaking gaming experience. It was launched in Beijing, China at Intel's Worldwide Launch Event of the 8th generation Intel Core i7 processor with 6 cores, which comes with the Samsung Notebook Odyssey Z.

Design
The Samsung Notebook Odyssey Z takes an entirely new approach to gaming. Redesigned with revolutionary thermal management hardware, the in-built Z AeroFlow Cooling System consists of three key components: the Dynamic Spread Vapor Chamber, the Z AeroFlow Cooling Design and the Z Blade Blower. They're all built to keep the Odyssey Z cool in the heat of battle, whilst remaining lightweight and portable, so you can take those powerful gaming experiences with you, wherever you need to go.

Acer today unveiled the latest addition to its Nitro 5 gaming series, lauded for its refined styling and outstanding performance targeting casual gamers. Powered by up to the latest 8th Generation Intel Core i7 and Intel Core i7+ processors, the newest 15-inch Nitro 5 offers improved speed and threading efficiency to gives users the ultimate thrill as they battle with friends online.

"Acer is excited to be among the first to offer the new Intel Core i7+ processors with our new Nitro 5 gaming notebook," said Jerry Hou, General Manager, Consumer Notebooks, IT Products Business, Acer. "The new Nitro 5 provides exceptional performance at an accessible price point which exceeds the needs of most casual gamers, and also professional users that need to power through their tasks on the go."

AORUS, the high-end gaming enthusiast brand, announces the greatest update ever. Introducing the 8th generation of X7 DT and X5 laptops with 8th gen Intel i7-8850H overclockable CPU. What's more, introducing the X9 DT, now with NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 graphics with G-SYNC and the 8th gen Intel i9-8950HK extreme overclockable CPU.

8th Gen CPU's | i7-8850H and i9-8950HK
With the introduction of the all new 8th gen CPU's from Intel comes to the next generation of AORUS gaming laptops. The update includes the X5 v8, X7 DT v8 and X9 DT. With both the v8 versions opting for the 8th gen Intel Core i7-8850H and the X9 DT taking flagship specs with the first ever Intel i9 series CPU to be fitted in a laptop. The Intel Core i9-8950HK makes the X9 DT the world's first to equip an extreme edition CPU and creating one of the most powerful gaming laptop ever.

Today, Alienware and Dell are launching six new Windows 10 gaming laptops based on the new 8th Gen Intel Core high performance processors, with significant enhancements over prior generations. Continuing Dell's commitment to provide the ultimate gaming experience for everyone, Dell is also debuting Dell G Series, revitalizing the Dell Gaming portfolio. This suite of PCs, starting at $749, is designed and engineered for the gamer who prioritizes performance and excellent gameplay.

Further expanding its more than a decade long legacy in esports, Alienware is forging new partnerships with the NBA 2K League, Miami HEAT and Misfits Gaming, and taking its partnership with Team Liquid into unchartered territory for North American esports. These organizations and teams have turned to Alienware for a competitive advantage.

Intel on their latest Microcode Revision Guidance Guide has apparently stopped development of mitigations for some of its processor families that still haven't been updated to combat the threat of Spectre. The odyssey for the return to form of security on Intel products has been a steep, and a slow one, as the company has struggled to deploy mitigations for speculative code execution on its processor families that run it. Updates for some families of products, however - such as Penryn, Wolfdale, Bloomfield and Yorkfield, among others - are apparently not going to get an update at all.

The leading global motherboard manufacturer, ASRock, is pleased to announce the launch of the latest motherboards in the company's extensive series of products based on Intel 300 series chipsets. With these new releases, ASRock completes its Intel 300 series line up, and is now able to offer a complete range of Intel 300-based motherboards suitable for all users and market sectors.

To support the increase of core count on the 8th Generation Intel Core Processors, ASRock has upgraded its CPU VRM design to provide more power phases than ever for maximum stability. On the other hand, these motherboards also support Key-E Type M.2 WiFi expansion cards, ensuring a fast and stable connection.

One of the biggest tech stories of the 2000s was Apple's transition from the PowerPC machine architecture to Intel x86, which brought the Mac closer to being the PC it so loathed. The transition wasn't smooth, as besides the operating system, practically every third-party software developer (eg: Adobe), had to rewrite their software for the new architecture, with new APIs, and new runtime environments. Apple could be bringing about a similar change before the turn of the decade.

Apple already builds its own application processors for iOS devices, and some of the newer chips such as the A11 Bionic and A10 Fusion have already reached the performance levels of entry-level x86 desktop processors. It's only a matter of time before Apple can build its own SoCs for Macs (that's not just iMac desktops, but also Mac Pro workstations, MacBook, MacBook Air, and MacBook Pro). That timeline is expected to be around 2020. Since these chips are based on the ARM machine architecture, they will mandate a major transformation of the entire software ecosystem Apple built over the past decade and a half. Intel shares dropped by as much as 9.2 at the first reports of this move.

Intel today expanded its 8th generation Core desktop processor family, to include xx new models across its Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 brand extensions. The company also introduced entry-level Pentium Gold and Celeron processors. The chips are based on the 14 nm "Coffee Lake" silicon, and are compatible with socket LGA1151 motherboards based on Intel 300-series chipset. Intel has relegated dual-core to the Celeron and Pentium Gold brands. The Celeron series includes 2-core/2-thread chips with 3 MB L3 cache; while the Pentium Gold series includes 2-core/4-thread chips with 4 MB L3 cache.

The company is launching the 8th generation Celeron series with two models, the G4900 and the G4920, clocked at 3.10 GHz, and 3.20 GHz, respectively. The Pentium Gold family has three parts, the G5400, the G5500, and the G5600, clocked at 3.70 GHz, 3.80 GHz, and 3.90 GHz, respectively. The 8th generation Core i3 family of 4-core/4-thread parts receives a new member, the i3-8300. Endowed with 8 MB of L3 cache, this chip is clocked at 3.70 GHz, and sits between the i3-8100 and the i3-8350K, but lacks the unlocked multiplier of the latter.

Acer has expanded its all-in-one desktop offering in the United States with the new award-winning 23.8-inch Aspire S24, its slimmest ever featuring a side profile of only .235 inches. Built with a dual focus on design and premium functionality, it makes a stylish, yet practical addition to any room.

A black and matte gold color scheme lends the ultra-slim S24 a luxurious appeal. The Full HD IPS screen delivers a vivid and crisp viewing experience with accurate colors up to 178-degrees. An ultra-narrow .106 inch bezel provides a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio, meaning more viewable space for seeing digital images, spreadsheets, movies and more.

Samsung Electronics today announced the Samsung Notebook 5 and Notebook 3, completing the Notebook portfolio. With a seamless, fluid design and embedded with the latest hardware balancing speed, power and usability, these Notebooks are made for the everyday computing experience that fuses comfort, performance and style.

Design
Both Notebooks feature a slim, sleek, zero-screw contemporary finish continuing Samsung's design heritage. The Samsung Notebook 5 and Notebook 3 measure just 19.6mm and 19.9mm wide respectively, making them easy to use, carry, and transport - whatever your lifestyle. Designed to blend into any environment, the Samsung Notebook 3 is available in 15 inches and 14 inches, as well as, four unique colors - Misty Gray, Night Charcoal, Deep Peach, and Pure White, while the Samsung Notebook 5 is available in 15 inches and comes in a timeless and sophisticated Light Titan color, wrapped in a stylish metal body.

MSI, the world-leading gaming motherboard brand, is proud to release new BIOS updates that allow MSI Intel motherboards to support CPU-Attached RAID. By using CrystalDiskMark 6.0.0, CPU-Attached RAID can provide better read/write speeds, which improves storage performance for RAID. MSI also created M.2 Genie, a brilliant feature to make setting up RAID 0 for M.2 much easier and less time consuming with fewer steps to connect the M.2 devices and enjoy higher speed.

Before experiencing unmatched transfer speed using CPU-Attached RAID, make sure your compatible MSI motherboards has been updated to the latest BIOS version. Updated BIOS version as below could support CPU-Attached RAID. Downloads are available on the motherboards' product pages.

A filed patent by Intel has shed some light on the company's idea to somewhere, along the fuzzy lines of the future, introduce a Bitcoin mining hardware "accelerator" to the market. The application itself, for a "Bitcoin Mining Hardware Accelerator With Optimized Message Digest and Message Scheduler Datapath" was originally submitted in September 2016, so it's not exactly a novel idea. However, the fact that it has just now been published doesn't really mean there hasn't been work behind closed doors at Intel towards development of working silicon of this technology.

In the filing, it appears it's Intel's intent to create a chip that could augment the existing Bitcoin mining process by increasing energy efficiency. As they themselves put it, "Because the software and hardware utilized in Bitcoin mining uses brute force to repeatedly and endlessly perform SHA-256 functions, the process of Bitcoin mining can be very power-intensive and utilize large amounts of hardware space. The embodiments described herein optimize Bitcoin mining operations by reducing the space utilized and power consumed by Bitcoin mining hardware."

The Japanese cooling expert Scythe extends its product portfolio by a new Top-Flow CPU Cooler model. The new Choten CPU Cooler is able to effectively cool the CPU as well as the surrounding components thanks to the Top-Flow design by pushing the air towards the motherboard. This air circulation has a positive effect on system stability and life span of the components. Great performance along with unrestricted compatibility to high-end memory modules have been among the key factors when designing the Choten. This has been achieved by applying the asymmetric heatsink design combined with high precision manufacturing and high quality materials. The Choten CPU Cooler is bundled with the Scythe Kaze Flex 120 PWM fan and assures an easy fit into the majority of PC chassis thanks to a total height of only 120 millimeters.

Scythe Choten utilizes a total of four high-quality 6 mm copper heatpipes which are connecting the solid copper-baseplate with the fin-stack. The copper parts, such as the baseplate and heatpipes are covered by a layer of nickel, which prevents corrosion and improves the quality further. Aligning the aluminium heatsink parallel to the baseplate has the advantage that the airflow of the attached fan is guided toward the mainboard. In result, all the components surrounding the CPU socket are able to benefit from this air circulation. Outstanding memory module compatibility is achieved thanks to the asymmetric heatsink design as well as the big clearance between the heatsink and the motherboard.

Consumers' video expectations are being shaped by the brilliant images promised by 4K Ultra High Definition (UHD) video and beyond. However, the technical-based hurdles and data demands of higher quality video mean that the majority of users only have access to full HD or lower video technology. For nearly three years, the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia) has been working in lock-step with its members, the world's best-known leaders in video, to develop a better quality internet video technology that benefits all consumers. Today, the Alliance is proud to announce the public release of the AOMedia Video Codec 1.0 (AV1) specification, which delivers cross-platform, 4K UHD or higher online video, royalty-free - all while lowering data usage.

Whether watching live sports, video chatting with loved ones, or binging on a favorite show, online video is becoming a bigger part of consumers' daily lives. In fact, video is so important to users that by 2021, 82 percent of all the world's internet traffic will be video, according to the Cisco Visual Networking Index , 2016-2021. To remove many of the hurdles required by older, optical disc-era, video technologies, AOMedia developed AV1 specifically for the internet video-era, paving the way for companies to make more of the royalty-free, 4K UHD and higher video devices, products, and services that consumers love.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries and changing how data is managed, interpreted and, most importantly, used to solve real problems for people and businesses faster than ever.

Today's Microsoft's Bing Intelligent Search news demonstrates how Intel FPGA (field programmable gate array) technology is powering some of the world's most advanced AI platforms. Advances to the Bing search engine with real-time AI will help people do more and learn by going beyond delivering standard search results. Bing Intelligent Search will provide answers instead of web pages, and enable a system that understands words and the meaning behind them, the context and intent of a search.

At the Open Compute project Summit, Intel previewed their upcoming Optane SSD DC P4801X, the company's true M.2, Optane-based SSD for enterprise deployments. Intel has managed to reduce the footprint for their flagship, U.2 form-factor Optane SSD DC P4800X, while increasing the available NAND capacity from their current caching solutions (800p and 900p Optane SSDs).

The new, upcoming M.2 SSD's controller features a 7-channel architecture to improve performance as much as possible, deployed in 375 GB drives, through use of seven quad-die packages of 3D XPoint memory. For the moment, there are no pricing or performance metrics to be talked about. However, this solution marks the first in a general consumer-available form-factor, and could be prototyped for a future, mainstream-hitting Optane SSD.