MSI, world leading in gaming motherboard innovation, is thrilled to announce four new ARCTIC white GAMING motherboards, the Z270/H270 TOMAHAWK & H270M/B250M MORTAR ARCTIC, are added to the Arsenal GAMING Series. The second generation of ARCTIC models not only inherited the spirit of the unique ARCTIC design, it also adopted a plethora of features from other 200 series GAMING motherboards for an improved gaming experience. Enjoy never seen before low latency online gaming with MSI GAMING LAN, while benefiting from enhanced, studio grade sound with Audio Boost. Featuring heavy plated heat sinks, fully styled to perfectly match the ARCTIC look and feel, the new ARCTIC motherboards are ready to conquer the battlefield.

The two new quad-core processors Intel is fielding against AMD Ryzen, the Core i7-7740K and the Core i5-7640K, which we described in our older article, will be based on a refined (or at least relabeled) silicon, codenamed "Kaby Lake-X." The current i7-7700K and i5-7600K desktop chips are based on the same silicon as the rest of the 7th generation Core processor lineup, codenamed "Kaby Lake-S." It was also reported in the older article that the TDP of these chips will be rated at 100W. Turns out that they're rated even higher, at 112W, according to PC Games Hardware (PCGH). The top-dog AMD Ryzen R7-1800X features 95W TDP.

According to PCGH, what sets Kaby Lake-X apart from Kaby Lake-S appears to be Intel disabling the integrated graphics. You now need a graphics card to get going with these chips, and it will get trickier if you want to recover your graphics card from a bad BIOS flash. The chips also reportedly feature a high-performance thermal interface material (TIM) under the integrated heatspreaders (IHS). Compared to the i7-7700K and i5-7600K, these chips feature minor 100 MHz speed-bumps, but Intel could make them better overclockers.Update: Apparently these two chips are built in the new socket 2660 package, and will be launched around Gamescom, some time in August.

AMD's upcoming Ryzen chips probably represent the hardware world's most awaited shake-up in recent times (and I do know I've been mentioning this non-stop, but please, do bear with me here). The thought that the underdog could finally present an actual alternative - at least performance-wise - to its Goliath of a rival - and thus introducing renewed competition in a bogged-down hardware segment and the democratization of high-quality processing cores - is simply too good to not gobble down like water given to a desert nomad. I, for one, hope that AMD can deliver, prompting a better competitive - and pricing - environment for all of us.

And it would seem that Intel is looking to staunch an eventual bleeding that AMD's Ryzen chips might instill to their CPU line-up, with its expected 4-core, 8-thread, 6-core 12-thread, and 8-core, 16-thread Ryzen processors, by shaking up its - now ancient - line-up of Core processors. Intel has already introduced some changes to its line with the release of Kaby Lake - with some Celeron processors carrying Hyper Threading, previously locked to their i3 processors, and the first unlocked-multiplier Core i3-7350K processor, but apparently the company feels that isn't enough for Ryzen's expected performance - enter the Core i7-7740K and the Core i5-7640K.

Hot on the heels of AMD Ryzen, Intel is planning to launch the pro-consumer targeted Xeon Gold line of processors. The company is reportedly "freaked out" at the cost/performance of AMD Ryzen R7-1800X in creative productivity applications, and is preparing a new line of processors targeting that niche of the market, which uses MacPro desktops and media production workstations using HEDT processors, but needs a bit of "reliability." The Xeon Gold series will be based on the 14 nm "Skylake-EP" silicon, and will feature up to 18 CPU cores. The first model in the series is the Xeon Gold 6150.

The Xeon Gold 6150 features 18 CPU cores, with HyperThreading enabling 36 logical CPUs. Intel increased the L2 cache amount per core to 1 MB, from 256 KB found on other implementations of the "Skylake" architecture. The chip features 25,344 KB (24.75 MB) of shared L3 cache. The core clock speed is 2.70 GHz, with a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 3.70 GHz. The chip features a quad-channel DDR4 memory interface. Going by its specs, the Xeon Gold 6150 will clearly occupy a higher market segment than the Ryzen R7-1800X, but could lure orders from the likes of Apple, for its next-generation MacPro workstations.

NVM Express, Inc., the organization that developed the NVM Express specification for accessing solid-state drives (SSDs) on a PCI Express (PCIe) bus, today announced the results of its recent board elections. Elected to Promoter positions were Facebook, Micron, Microsoft, Samsung, Seagate, Toshiba, and Western Digital. Facebook and Toshiba are new to the Promoter level, and the others are incumbents. The election winners join existing Promoters Cisco, Dell EMC, Intel, Microsemi, NetApp and Oracle, whose current terms expire at the end of 2017.

Representatives from the 13 Promoter companies form the NVM Express, Inc. Board of Directors, which governs the organization, including setting strategic direction. All Contributor and Promoter member companies are eligible to run for Promoter positions, where there are elections each year for roughly half the positions.

"We're very pleased to welcome Toshiba and Facebook to the NVM Express, Inc. Board, to help shape the future direction of NVM Express technology and the organization," said Amber Huffman, NVM Express President. "In 2016, we marked major milestones, such as publishing the NVM Express over Fabrics specification. We look forward to publishing revision 1.3 in the first half of this year - with much more to come later in 2017."

It's always a dance between rumours, expectations and "theorycrafting" when it comes to the launch of any particularly exciting product. And with AMD's Ryzen chips currently being the most hotly anticipated development (and product launch) in the hardware world, well, let's just say that anticipation is really building up to enormous levels, with any possible details surrounding AMD's line-up being the cause, in some cases, of heated debate.

Case in point: with AMD's CCX (CPU Complex) being indivisible, this would mean a blow not only to budget-conscious consumers, but also to AMD's ability to engender its product line. Flexibility has always been the name of the game with AMD (discounting their CMT-based Bulldozer and derived architectures), with the company offering triple-core processors in the past (and weren't those the good old days of processor unlocking). However, now reports have come in that Ryzen's CCX are actually divisible, which could open up possibilities for some theoretically value-breaking hexa-core Ryzen chips.

Intel today announced their quarterly earnings for Q4 of the 2016 fiscal year. The company set a new record for revenue for this quarter, coming in at $16.4 billion (up 10% from a year ago, which stood at $14.9B). For the year, Intel brought in $59.4 billion, up 7% from their 2015 results. Intel's gross margin fell, though, by 1.7 points down to a still hugely respectable 60.9%, with operating income of $12.9 billion, down 8% from a year ago. Net income was down 10% to $10.3 billion, and earnings per share fell 9% to $2.12. Intel announced a record annual cash flow from operations of $21.8 billion, with solid earnings with GAAP net income of $10.3 billion, and non-GAAP net income of $13.2 billion.

Leaving the corporate numbers talk behind us for a moment, this means that Intel managed to have another astounding year, with solid execution and even more solid margins and revenues. However, take a peek under the hood, and Intel's wins are based on consumer losses: lower volumes in almost all channels were offset by higher average selling prices (ASP), meaning that Intel is (like any company on the top would) keeping its revenue streams up by charging more for its products.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), one of the most regarded research and consulting firms for graphics and multimedia, today announced that the global PC Gaming Hardware market has breached the $30 billion mark for the first time (let that sink in for a moment).

Comprised of pre and DIY built gaming computers, upgrades, and accessories such as input devices and audio/communication systems, the market exceeded $30 billion in 2016 and is forecast to grow at a 6% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) through 2019. Due of an entrenched PC gaming culture, large population, and a lack of significant console traction, the Asia Pacific Region is noted as leading the world in both growth and market size with a forecasted 7% CAGR to 2019 from a TAM (total addressable market) of almost $11.3 billion in 2016. However, North America and Western Europe both individually lead Asia Pacific for High-End hardware, albeit at lower growth rates of 5.78% and 6.63% vs. 9.61% respectively. The western appetite for PC gaming systems costing thousands of dollars is indeed strong (though we didn't need a JPR report to tell us that, now did we?).

BIOSTAR is proud to announce its line-up of new motherboards based on the Intel B250 chipset as part of the 2nd-generation RACING series family of products with the announcement of the BIOSTAR RACING B250GT5 and B250GT3. Both motherboards support Intel's 7th-generation Core processors as well as native support for Intel Optane Memory technology for next-generation high-speed storage.

At this year's CCC hacker congress, researchers from Positive Technologies have released information, which documents vulnerabilities in Intel's Skylake and Kaby Lake series processors' handling of USB 3.0-based debugging - which could be used to attack, corrupt, and even subvert a user's system.

This vulnerability allows attackers to bypass typical security mechanisms - both at the hardware and at the OS level - by using a new debugging interface, which could allow them to install malware and/or rewrite the system's firmware and BIOS. The exploit is currently undetectable using existing security tools, and according to the researchers, this mechanism can be used on a hacked system regardless of the OS installed.

Intel Corporation has made a slight tweak to its product line: the addition of Hyper-Threading to some of its processors which, traditionally, didn't carry it. This includes the Pentium G4620 (3.7 GHz base frequency and integrated graphics HD 630, $93) and G4600 (3.6 GHz base frequency, $82), both at 51 W TDP; G4560 (54W TDP at 3.5 GHz and integrated HD 610 graphics, $64); and the Pentium G4600T (3 GHz, HD 630, $75) and G4560T (2.9 GHz, HD 610, $64) slot in as the low power Pentium offerings with a 35W TDP. All of these processors now carry 2 physical cores, which the system sees exposed as 4 logical cores due to their Hyper-Threading enablement.

At CES 2017, ECS showcased a number of ultra-compact form-factor PCs. basically building upon their previous LIVA family releases, the new LIVA feature either Intel's Apollo Lake SoCs (with Celeron Processors N3350 / N3450 / N4200 and 6 W TDP) on the Z and ZE, or Intel's Kaby Lake-U processors (Intel Core i3-7100U / i5-7200U / i7-7500U and 15W TDP) on the Z Plus.

The Z Plus is obviously the most powerful of the lot, supporting DDR4 memory (the Z and ZE support only DDR3), having better integrated graphics (Intel's HD 620 versus the Intel HD 500/500 on the Z and ZE models), and having an expected extra energy consumption (an external 65 W adapter on the Z Plus versus a 40 W external adapter on the other two models).

At CES 2017, Digital Storm made sure to showcase the computer case to devour all others: the Aventum 3 stands tall and deep with 28" height and more than 25" front-to-back, this is a truly massive tower, with room for more fans (it has about 20), cables (more than can be sanely counted), and custom liquid cooling than two or three mid-tower-size typical desktops.

GIGABYTE showed off four socket AM4 motherboards, designed for the upcoming AMD Ryzen processors and 7th gen. A-series APUs, at its 2017 CES booth. The lineup begins with the AB350M-D3H, an entry-level micro-ATX board based on the mid-tier B350 chipset; the mid-range AB350-Gaming 3, the mid-high segment AX370-Gaming K5, and the AX370-Gaming 5. The AB350-D3H covers the basics, with a 7-phase VRM, one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot wired to the AM4 socket, a second x16 slot that's electrical x4 and wired to the B350 chipset, one legacy PCI slot; one 32 Gb/s M.2 slot and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports (from which two are directly wired to the AM4 socket); and connectivity that includes 6-channel HD audio, gigabit Ethernet, two USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) ports, DVI, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort.

Moving up the ladder, the AB350-Gaming 3 is a gaming-grade board in the ATX form-factor, featuring a red+black color scheme. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors; conditioning it for the CPU with a 7-phase VRM. The APU is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, and one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot. Other expansion slots include two x16 slots that are electrical x4, and two x1 slots. Storage connectivity includes one 32 Gb/s M.2 and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports (from which two are low-latency ports). Display outputs include DVI, DisplayPort, and HDMI. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) ports, and six USB 3.0 ports. GIGABYTE deployed its gaming-grade AMPUp! onboard audio solution with a 115 dBA SNR CODEC, ground-layer isolation, audio-grade capacitors, a headphones amp, and gold-plated audio jacks. Network is care of an Intel-made gigabit Ethernet controller.

Today, Intel is announcing a new modular compute platform called the Intel Compute Card along with a range of partners who will be working with Intel to help accelerate the ecosystem of solutions based on the Intel Compute Card. Intel has been a leader in delivering technology to help realize the benefits of the Internet of Things and enable more smart and connected devices. The Intel Compute Card is being developed with that in mind, to transform the way compute and connectivity can be integrated and used in future devices.

Colorful Technology Company Limited, professional manufacturer of graphics cards and motherboards, is proud to announce its latest motherboard for enthusiasts and gamers featuring the latest Intel Z270 chipset to support LGA1151 processors including the newly announced 7th generation Core processors from Intel with their new iGame Z270 Gamer. Customization motherboard. This latest products joins the family of iGame enthusiast and performance series of motherboards and graphics cards which focuses on not just the needs of gamers for a faster and robust system but serves as a canvas to promote their creativity and idea with great customization options.

G.SKILL International Enterprise Co., Ltd., the world's leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and gaming peripherals, announces new high-speed DDR4 memory specifications designed for the latest 7th Gen Intel Core processors and Z270 motherboards under the extreme performance Trident Z series.

With 16GB (8GBx2) and 32GB (8GBx4) kits becoming the mainstream memory capacities in PC systems, 8GB-based kits are in greater demand for higher performance than ever. Upon the launch of Intel's latest Kaby Lake platform, G.SKILL bumps up the maximum frequency speeds to a blistering DDR4-4266MHz at CL19-19-19-39 for 16GB (8GBx2) kits and DDR4-4133MHz CL19-21-21-41 for 32GB (8GBx4) kits.

Intel has agreed to purchase a 15 percent ownership stake in HERE, a global provider of digital maps and location-based services, from HERE's current indirect shareholders: AUDI AG, BMW AG and Daimler AG. In conjunction with Intel's acquisition of a stake in HERE, the two companies also signed an agreement to collaborate on the research and development of a highly scalable proof-of-concept architecture that supports real-time updates of high definition (HD) maps for highly and fully automated driving. Additionally, the two companies plan to jointly explore strategic opportunities that result from enriching edge-computing devices with location data.

"Cars are rapidly becoming some of the world's most intelligent, connected devices," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "We look forward to working with HERE and its automotive partners to deliver an important technology foundation for smart and connected cars of the future." "A real-time, self-healing and high-definition representation of the physical world is critical for autonomous driving, and achieving this will require significantly more powerful and capable in-vehicle compute platforms," said Edzard Overbeek, HERE CEO. "As a premier silicon provider, Intel can help accelerate HERE's ambitions in this area by supporting the creation of a universal, always up-to-date digital location platform that spans the vehicle, the cloud and everything else connected."

Intel today announced availability of its first 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" desktop processors. All the processor SKUs being launched today are quad-core, across the company's Core i7 and Core i5 brand extensions. Leading the pack is the Core i7-7700K, priced at US $339, with a clock speed of 4.20 GHz, and 4.50 GHz Turbo Boost. This chip offers 8 MB of L3 cache, HyperThreading, and an unlocked base-clock multiplier, which enables easy overclocking. Next up, is the Core i7-7700 (non-K). This chip lacks an unlocked base-clock multiplier, and has lower clocks of 3.60 GHz, with 4.20 GHz Turbo, but offers 8 MB cache and HyperThreading. It is priced at $303.

The next chip which could interest PC enthusiasts is the Core i5-7600K. This chip features 3.80 GHz core, and 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost, 6 MB of L3 cache, and an unlocked base-clock multiplier, but like other Core i5 branded quad-core chips, lacks HyperThreading. It's priced at $242. The Core i5-7600 (non-K) lacks unlocked multiplier, and comes with lower clocks of 3.50 GHz core with 4.10 GHz Turbo Boost. It goes for $213. Priced below the $200 mark at $192, is the Core i5-7500, with its 3.40 GHz clock speed, and 3.80 GHz Turbo Boost. The i7-7700K and i5-7600K come with TDP rating of 95W. The non-K SKUs are rated at 65W. Intel also launched energy-efficient "T" Core i7 and Core i5 processors, with their TDP rated at just 35W.

Here are some of the first pictures of ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) Maximus IX Apex, the company's flagship motherboard based on the Intel Z270 Express chipset. The board has many first-in-segment features. To begin with, it features a non-rectangular PCB, which probably lets you quickly pull the board out of bench-tables. Designed for extreme overclocking, the Maximus IX Apex draws power from a 24-pin ATX, two 8-pin EPS, and one 4-pin Molex. The CPU is wired to three memory slots, two of these are DDR4, and make up the dual-channel DDR4 interface. The third slot is DDR3, and can be enabled at the flick of a switch, for troubleshooting the DDR4 memory OC.

The Maximus IX Apex features four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, from which two are wired to the CPU (topmost slot and third slot), and run at x8/x8 when both are populated. The second and fourth x16 slots are electrical x4 and wired to the Z270 PCH. Although not visible, it's likely that this board features one or two M.2 slots, at the reverse side of the PCB. 8-channel HD audio, Intel gigabit Ethernet, four USB 3.1 ports (including type-C), and display outputs that include DisplayPort and HDMI, make for the rest of the connectivity. The board appears to feature a great deal of onboard OC buttons and switches. ASUS will reveal these features when it launches the motherboard a little later this month.

ASUS is introducing the new Prime family of motherboards positioned between its Pro Gaming series and its mainline series. These are motherboards that share their feature-set from the company's mainline series, but feature black PCBs, and black+red product styling reminiscent of some of its premium ROG motherboards. Here are some of the first pictures of the Prime B250 Pro, an ATX form-factor motherboard priced around the $100 mark. The board could share its PCB design with the Prime Z270 Pro. Based on the Intel B250 Express chipset, the board lacks NVIDIA SLI support, or the kind of CPU overclocking features the Z270 chipset does.

The Prime Z270 Pro draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and conditions it for the CPU with a 7-phase VRM. Expansion slots include one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 wired to the CPU, a second x16 (electrical x4) slot wired to the PCH, and two each of PCI-Express 3.0 x1 and legacy PCI slots. Storage connectivity includes two M.2 slots, from which one is 32 Gb/s (bottom), and the other 16 Gb/s (top); and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The board offers two USB 3.1 (10 Gb/s) ports, one USB 3.0 type-C port, two USB 3.0 type-A ports on the rear panel, and four USB 3.0 ports by headers. Display connectivity includes HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub. ASUS also has a stripped-down variant of this board, called the Prime B250 Plus. It lacks USB 3.1 ports, and the heatsink over the CPU VRM.

Intel's Core i3-7350K, the little dual-core that could, is going to be absent from the company's launch line-up, multiple sources have reported. Considering Intel's other expected, already pretty well-known parts and respective pricing which will be making up its Kaby Lake market launch, the absence of Intel's only "innovative" product (if you can really call an unlocked multiplier an innovation) surely presents itself as sad news for the extreme value-conscious consumer - at least if non-K overclocking of Intel's processors is, this time around, properly shut-down by the company as intended.

Expected to be priced at $175, the Core i3-7350K is expected to carry a base clock of 4 GHz, with 5 GHz on air being the expected OC potential of the chips. Apparently, Intel is delaying the launch of this part (as well as its entry-level Celeron and Pentium families of processors) by several weeks. This could be a way for Intel to prevent early cannibalization of its i5 7400 processors by a small chip that could, in the right scenario, provide much higher performance due to its 1 GHz extra base core clock speed (also being the only Core i3 desktop SKU to feature Turbo Boost, with a frequency of up to 4.2 GHz).

ZOTAC International, a global manufacturer of innovation, is pleased to bring 10 years of design excellence to CES 2017 and showcase innovative VR and
commercial solutions. A strong lineup including ZOTAC's first Thunderbolt 3 Mini PC, External VGA box, and what's being touted as "the world's smallest GeForce GTX 1080" will be on show at One-Story Sky Villa, Palms Casino Resort.

"We believe the future of computing should be flexible," says Tony Wong, CEO, ZOTAC International. "Our next generation of computing products enables users to get the best of mobile and stationary experience."

Lenovo has recently released the specifications for their 2017 Thinkpad series line-up, with several models (T470p, L470, L570, T470, T570, X270 and Yoga 370) featuring the usual, evolutionary hardware improvements, such as being equipped with Intel's latest generation Kaby Lake processors and increased screen resolutions. However, one of the hardware announcements for the new Thinkpad series goes a little further than your usual, run-of-the-mill updates: these solutions will feature what is expected to be the first consumer-level adaptations of Intel's Optane technology.

It may have practically no IPC gains over its predecessor, but Intel's 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" unlocked processors are shaping up to be an overclocker's delight. A Core i7-7700K sample tested by professional overclocker Allen "Splave" Golibersuch was able to breach the 7 GHz barrier. To achieve this feat however, HyperThreading was disabled, and two of the four CPU cores were also disabled.

Paired with an ASRock Z170 OC Formula motherboard, the i7-7700K was bench-stable at 7022.96 MHz, at the chip's maximum base clock multiplier of 69x, and a base-clock of 101.78 MHz. The Vcore voltage was set at a scorching 2.00V. The chip crunched PiFast in 9.02 seconds, SuperPi 32M in 4 minutes 20.25 seconds, wPrime 32M in 2.953 seconds, and wPrime 1024M in 1 minute 33.171 seconds. Paired with an ASUS GeForce GTX 1080 STRIX OC graphics card, it scored 643,316 points in Aquamark, and 86,798 points in 3DMark 05.