Intel Corporation today reported third-quarter GAAP revenue of $15.8 billion, operating income of $4.5 billion, net income of $3.4 billion and EPS of 69 cents. Intel reported non-GAAP operating income of $5.1 billion, net income of $3.9 billion and EPS of 80 cents. The company generated approximately $5.8 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.2 billion, and used $457 million to repurchase 13 million shares of stock.

"It was an outstanding quarter, and we set a number of new records across the business," said Brian Krzanich, Intel CEO. "In addition to strong financials, we delivered exciting new technologies while continuing to align our people and products to our strategy. We're executing well, and these results show Intel's continuing transformation to a company that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected devices."

The Intel-Micron joint collaboration in the development of what is promised to be the next step in storage technology is inching ever closer to reality. According to Bench Life, which published a leaked specifications list for the upcoming Intel Optane Memory products, the first application for consumer-grade 3D XPoint technology straddles the line between an SSD and system RAM. Intel calls it a "System Accelerator" solution, and it's meant to operate as an intermediate caching solution between a system's RAM and storage. Codenamed "Stony Beach", Intel's 8000p (and entire 3D XPoint-based products) support is still up in the air, but it's expected that only Kaby Lake and subsequent platforms will be compatible with the technology - which, if true, is sure to limit the product's market penetration.

The consumer products will initially sport capacities of either 16GB or 32GB, leveraging the NVMe protocol at PCIe Gen 3.0 x2 bandwidth in the M.2 form-factor. Mirroring NAND technology, the greater capacity solution will sport the highest performance: with the 16GB part coming in at 1400 MB/s read and 300 MB/s write speeds, against the 32 GB's 1600 MB/s and 400 MB/s, respectively. We see similar results in regards to IOPS, with the 16GB solution offering up to 285,000 read and 70,000 write operations per second, against the 32 GB's solution respective 300,000 read and 120,000 write. As usual with new technologies, expect all these metrics to only go up in time.

As previously reported by TPU, in preparation for Intel's Kaby Lake architecture release, MSI published BIOS updates for its MSI 100 series chipset motherboards that (supposedly) guaranteed compatibility with Intel's upcoming platform. However, the new BIOS update seemingly disappeared from MSI's support webpages without any information as to why. According to ComputerBase, MSI representatives mentioned that an error was found in the code, and that a fix was currently being worked on. According to MSI, the fixed BIOSes should be made available shortly.

In any case, this scenario is better than the alternative of it having been users discovering the BIOS support to be defective. MSI did a good job in finding this ahead of Kaby Lake's launch and potential accompanying headaches from a not fully compatible CPU and motherboard combo.

Thanks to AMD's incorporation of an ARM-based "AMD Secure Processor" in their upcoming ZEN micro-architecture, the company is poised to offer something competitor Intel's microprocessors yet don't: memory encryption. This processor, and its underlying technologies, could prove to be a stepping-stone for AMD towards regaining lost server market share. Essentially, because in a market ever more steered by cloud computing considerations, it allows for the client's data to be encrypted at every moment of the work chain. Assuming all works as intended, for the first time not even cloud providers, with either hypervisor-level privileges or even physical access to the servers, will be able to carry out any malicious actions against their clients.

One only has to consider the writing on the wall: Morgan Stanley predicts that by 2018, 30% of Microsoft's revenue will stem from its cloud services; Amazon Web Services (AWS) generated $7.88B in revenue on Q4 2015, up 69% over 2014; and worldwide spending on public cloud services by itself will grow from $70B in 2015 to an estimated $141B in 2019. Cloud computing is here to stay, and with security being as important as it is for some businesses, this is an important area of investment for AMD. This "AMD Secure Processor" will work on essentially two fronts: SME (Secure Memory Encryption) and SEV (Secure Encrypted Virtualization), backed by an hardware-based SHA (Secure Hash Algorithm).

A major security vulnerability got uncovered, affecting Intel NUC (next-unit of computing) compact system boards featuring 5th and 6th generation Core processors. It involves a BIOS-level security hole, with which an attacker with local administrative privileges can make their malware access the "system management mode," a special BIOS-level user-state, and take full control of the platform.

Intel has since released corrective BIOS updates for its 6th generation "Swift Canyon," 6th generation "Grass Canyon" and "Pinnacle Canyon" boards; and 5th generation "Rock Canyon" boards. Even the performance-oriented "Skull Canyon" NUC, which features Intel's powerful onboard graphics core, isn't spared from this vulnerability. The latest BIOS update can be installed on affected platforms using the Intel Driver Update Utility.

The global gaming market is booting up dramatically, which will also widely increase the demand of high performance computer peripherals. Team Group has been continuously dedicated to satisfy the needs of our consumers in every aspect, and now it will integrate its gaming memory modules into T-Force product line which is specifically designed for people who pursuit extreme high speed and excellent performance. It is also the best and only choice for professional gamers as well as overclockers.

T-FORCE series line up with XTREEM, DARK, VULCAN, and NIGHT HAWK with breathing lights (LED) as sharp as hawk eyes, and the industry's first patented gaming combo package with T-FORCE DARK PRO and DARK 2.5" SSD inside. Leading the trend of high speed gaming, T-FORCE brings you the latest and top notch high speed experience. Whether it's the memory with ultimate performance or the LED memory with a cool look, they are definitely the best choices for gamers and modders.

ASUS today announced that all 100-series motherboards will now support next-generation Intel Core processors. A quick and easy UEFI BIOS update unleashes the full potential of the next-generation high-performance CPUs for socket LGA 1151, reaffirming ASUS as the BEST leading motherboard brand - Best Selling, Easy to Use, Stable and Trusted. Owners of ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG), Pro Gaming, Signature and TUF Z170, H170, B150 and H110 motherboards are able to take advantage of the easy upgrade to the award-winning ASUS UEFI BIOS, which is available today via the relevant ASUS Support web page.

All ASUS 100-series motherboards that include the ASUS USB BIOS Flashback feature allow users to apply UEFI BIOS updates with ease. For other ASUS 100-series motherboards the necessary UEFI BIOS update takes just one click in an easy-to-use Windows-based BIOS updater application, ASUS EZ Update, which is available to download from the ASUS website.

Research and Markets has announced the addition of the "Global PCle SSD Market 2016-2020" report to their offering. The report forecast the global peripheral component interconnect express (PCIe) SSD market to grow at a CAGR of 33.24% during the period 2016-2020. The report has been prepared based on an in-depth market analysis with inputs from industry experts. The report covers the market landscape and its growth prospects over the coming years. The report also includes a discussion of the key vendors operating in this market.

According to the report, need for managed service data centers will be a key driver for market growth. It is advantageous for an enterprise to operate a colocation facility rather than to build a data center. Data center colocation allows enterprises to rent computing storage, servers, and network. It enables minimal utilization of power and bandwidth and enhances the security of enterprise IT equipment.

Intel's silicon fabrication has evidently hit a huge roadblock. It turns out that not just "Kaby Lake," but its two successors "Cannon Lake" and "Coffee Lake" could also be built on the 14 nm node, at best with a few process-level improvements. "Coffee Lake" is the company's 9th generation Core architecture, which is two steps ahead of even the "Kaby Lake" architecture, which is due later this year. "Kaby Lake" makes its way to the 45W mobile (H-segment) and 15W mobile (U-segment), in Q4-2016 and Q3-2016, respectively. The 15W U-segment will be augmented by "Cannon Lake" (8th generation Core) in Q4-2017. By mid-2018, Intel plans to launch "Coffee Lake" across both H- and U-segments.

According to a "Hot Hardware" report, based on a job listing for a systems engineer at the company, Intel could be staring at the scary prospect of holding out on 14 nm for the next three years, only to be relieved by the stopgap 10 nm node, which makes its debut with the 10th generation Core "Tiger Lake" architecture, due for 2019. "Tiger Lake," its succeeding "Ice Lake," and one other architecture could be launched on 10 nm, before finally deploying 7 nm around 2022.

Intel Corporation and TPG today announced a definitive agreement under which the two parties will establish a newly formed, jointly-owned, independent cybersecurity company. The new company will be called McAfee following transaction close. TPG will own 51 percent of McAfee and Intel will own 49 percent in a transaction valuing the business at approximately $4.2 billion. TPG is making a $1.1 billion equity investment to help drive growth and enhance focus as a standalone business.

Through this transaction, TPG, a leading global alternative asset firm with demonstrated expertise in growing profitable software companies and carve-out investments, and Intel, a global technology leader that powers the cloud and billions of smart, connected computing devices, will work together to position McAfee as a strong independent company with access to significant financial, operational and technology resources. With the new investment from TPG and continued strategic backing of Intel, the new entity is expected to capitalize on significant global growth opportunities through greater focus and targeted investment.

Microsoft recently sparked a stir when it was reported that the company will support upcoming CPU architectures by Intel and AMD only on Windows 10, with the keyword being "support" and not "compatibility." This means that Microsoft will offer customer-support and likely serve updates to Intel "Kaby Lake" and AMD "ZEN" machines only running Windows 10 (and its enterprise variant Windows Server 2016, based on the NT 10 kernel), and not older versions of Windows. The processors themselves are compatible with any x86 operating system, Windows or *nix, 32-bit or 64-bit. HotHardware dug out the likely causes of this decision.

Apparently, new power-management and SMT features are behind the decision. With its "Kaby Lake" microarchitecture, Intel is introducing a new power-management feature called Speed Shift Technology. This lets the processor adjust its clock-speed to match processing loads at response time of 15 ms. This likely requires OS-level hooks, so the on-die power-management components can poll for processing loads and accordingly raise or lower clock-speeds 66.66 times each second, at no CPU cost. In its ZEN microarchitecture reveal, AMD too spoke about fine-grained, multi-domain clock-gating (≠ power-gating) on its "ZEN" based processors, such as "Summit Ridge."

Lenovo today launched the Yoga Book, the world's thinnest and lightest 2-in-1 tablet, designed for unmatched productivity while on-the-go. Built for mobility and to solve the most common challenge among tablet users - how to achieve productivity and entertainment in one device - the Yoga Book is a tablet that looks and acts like no other. Up until now, we've been using tablets in ways we weren't meant to: for productivity, for example, which becomes painful when typing or applying a stylus onto a touch screen that you're using on-the-go.

The Yoga Book removes that difficulty by taking the fundamental building blocks from the DNA of what makes a great tablet - namely portability, long battery life and a rich app ecosystem - and entwines it into a strand of creativity and productivity through a suite of powerful new hardware and software features, including: the instant halo keyboard, the dual-use stylus that writes on paper and screen, and the productivity-driven Book U.

Intel takes computing to the next level with the 7th Gen Intel Core processor family. The 7th Gen Intel Core processors are designed for the immersive Internet and built on a strong foundation of the Skylake microarchitecture. Intel's latest 14 nm processors deliver more responsive performance than ever, fantastic entertainment and gaming, robust security, and even more natural, intuitive interactions with your PC. With incredible improvements that transform the viewing experience with 4K UHD videos, 360-degree videos , multiple video streams, and premium content playback, the 7th Gen Intel Core processors for mobile platforms enable a new way to enjoy the sharp and engaging content across a range of form factors.

Intel scales 7th Gen Intel Core processors to a variety of PC designs at a wide range of price points, which may include features such as Thunderbolt 3 USB Type-C single-wire connection, low power premium audio and hassle-free facial recognition such as Windows Hello. Users can also expect to see PC designs based on 7th Gen Intel Core processors with a variety of intuitive input options such as touch, voice, and stylus.

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash products, today launched XPG FlameDDR4 memory modules. Featuring a sleek heatsink emblazoned with a flame design, XPG Flame DDR4 is available in 288-pin U-DIMM and 260-pin SO-DIMM. This marks the first XPG memory for notebooks, and makes XPG Flame an appealing choice for gamers, overclocking, and competitive benchmarkers on desktops, notebooks, and small form factor (SFF) PCs. XPG Flame uses the most carefully-sorted and assembled boards and chips for assured quality and stability. Customers can choose modules in 4 GB, 8 GB, and 16 GB densities, with speeds up to 3000 MHz on U-DIMM and 2800 MHz on SO-DIMM. All XPG Flame modules support Intel XMP 2.0 (Extreme Memory Profile) specifications and ship with a lifetime ADATA product warranty.

Following the launch of bestselling XPG Z1 DDR4 memory and lucrative XPG Dazzle LED DDR4, XPG Flame brings a highly attractive option for desktop gamers, overclockers, and tuners. With a sleek low profile heatsink, XPG Flame U-DIMM modules use a 10-layer black PCB with 2oz of copper. All of these ensure stable performance and a long module lifespan in every situation, from the most system-stressing games to competitive overclocking and benchmarking. Stock clocks range from 2400 MHz to 3000 MHz, driven by 1.2V to 1.35V. Higher speeds are quite readily possible thanks to the premium chips, circuitry, and PCB materials employed. Intel XMP 2.0 support means users have more ways to access memory overclocking, including directly from the operating system rather than via more complex BIOS settings.

Someone with access to a Core i7-7700K "Kaby Lake" processor and an ASRock Z270-Extreme4 motherboard put the chip through SiSoft SANDRA 2015 CPU tests. Engineering sample or not, the clock speeds of the chip appear to check out with those of the lineup as we know it. The core ticks at 4.20 GHz, with a maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 4.50 GHz. You also get 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading. The benchmark confirms that Intel is working on a new platform refresh chipset, with the Z270 chipset succeeding the existing Z170. Existing LGA1151 could support the new chips, with BIOS updates.

At its stock speeds, the i7-7700K churns out a SANDRA 2015 "Processor Arithmetic" score of 151.94 GOPS. Its "Processor Multimedia" score yielded is 379.8 Mpix/s. To put things in perspective, a Core i7-6700K "Skylake" processor running at its stock speed of 4.00 GHz core with 4.20 GHz Turbo Boost typically yields 140.88 GOPS in "Processor Arithmetic" and 353.8 Mpix/s in "Processor Multimedia" tests, according to LegitReviews. Intel is expected to launch the 7th generation Core processor family, alongside the 200 series chipset, later this year. Kaby Lake is Intel's third CPU micro-architecture for the 14 nm process, after "Skylake" and "Broadwell."

Intel is preparing a broad lineup of enterprise CPUs based on the upcoming 14 nm "Kaby Lake" silicon, besides the first wave of its desktop lineup, with no less than 8 quad-core SKUs. What makes the lineup of the Xeon E3-1200 V6 family more comprehensive than previous generations is the fact that some of the SKUs feature integrated graphics. Predecessors of the E3-1200 V6 series generally lack integrated graphics. Intel denoted parts that feature integrated graphics with Xeon E3-###5 V6, and endowed them with the GT2 graphics available on the "Kaby Lake" common silicon shared between the Xeon E3-1200 V6 and 7th generation Core series.

All eight SKUs launched by Intel are quad-core and feature 8 MB of L3 cache, six of them feature HyperThreading. Three of the SKUs feature integrated graphics. The SKUs without integrated graphics have 74W TDP rating, the ones with it have 78W TDP rating. Some of the notable SKUs include the E3-1280 V6, with 3.90 GHz nominal clocks, E3-1275 V6 with 3.70 GHz clocks and GT2 integrated graphics; and E3-1225 V6, featuring 3.30 GHz clocks, and integrated graphics. The Xeon E3-1200 V6 series processors will be built in the LGA1151 package, and will be compatible with the C232 and C236 chipset motherboards. The company could launch these chips by the end of 2016.

Intel is reportedly planning launch its 7th generation Core "Kaby Lake" processors by Q4-2016. Its desktop variants, built in the existing LGA1151 package, will be the third Intel micro-architecture built on the 14 nm process (after "Skylake" and "Broadwell" architectures). With this generation, Intel is planning to sub-classify LGA1151 into three categories, to ensure people don't try to install higher-powered CPUs on low-power machines.

These are LGA1151-Standard Power; LGA1151-Low Power; and LGA1151-Ultra Low Power. These are defined by the TDP of the packages. Standard Power chips run at 95W TDP, Low Power at 65W TDP, and Ultra Low Power at 35W TDP. There could be motherboards and machines that, depending on their VRM setup, completely shut out Standard Power or even Low Power chips.

NVIDIA accused Intel of cheating in its ISC 2016 presentation, particularly in a performance-related slide, in which it claimed that its "Knights Landing" Xeon Phi HPC processor provides faster training of neural nets than NVIDIA "Maxwell" GPUs. In a slide, Intel claimed that a Xeon Phi HPC processor card is 2.3 times faster at training deep-learning neural nets, and 38 percent better scaling across nodes, than NVIDIA "Maxwell" GPUs, which triggered a swift response from the GPU maker, which made significant investments in deep-learning technologies over the past three years.

NVIDIA argued that Intel is using the classic technique of running outdated benchmarks to test its neural net training speeds. The company says that if Intel used the latest version of the same benchmark (Caffe AlexNet), the "Maxwell" GPU will be found to be 30 percent faster than the Xeon Phi at training neural nets. NVIDIA also notes that "Maxwell" is only its previous-generation part, and a "Pascal" based HPC processor would easily be 90 percent faster than the Xeon Phi. More importantly, NVIDIA notes that Intel compared 32 of its new Xeon Phi servers against four-year-old Nvidia Kepler K20 servers being used in ORNL's Titan supercomputer. The latest "Pascal" GPUs leverate NVLink to scale up to 128 GPUs, providing the fastest deep-learning solutions money can buy.

ASUS today unveiled the X99-E 10G WS workstation motherboard. Although based on the X99 Express chipset, this board supports Intel Xeon E5-1600 and E5-2600 (v3 and v4) processors, besides Core i7 "Haswell-E" and "Broadwell-E" processors in the LGA2011v3 package. The board's eight DDR4 DIMM slots support up to 128 GB of quad-channel DDR4 memory. The board is built in the SSI-CEB form-factor (305 mm x 267 mm). The board features seven PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots, and uses PLX PEX-8747 x48 bridge chips to provide either two x16 slots with direct wiring to the CPU, or four x16 slots running at full x16 bandwidth, or seven x16 slots in x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 configuration.

Storage connectivity includes one 32 Gb/s U.2 port, a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, and a total of ten SATA 6 Gb/s ports. The board derives its name from support for 10 Gbps Ethernet, and features a pair of 10 Gbps connections driven by an Intel X550-AT2 controller. Other modern connectivity includes two USB 3.1 ports (of which one is type-C), eight USB 3.0 ports, and 8-channel HD audio with a 115 dBA SNR CODEC. The board draws power from a 24-pin ATX, a 6-pin PCIe, and two 8-pin EPS connectors, and uses an 8-phase VRM to condition power for the CPU. ASUS didn't reveal pricing.

Intel is opening up its silicon manufacturing facilities to fabless chip-makers, beginning with the manufacture of ARM SoCs. The company entered a licensing deal with ARM that allows ARM SoC designers such as Qualcomm, Apple, and Samsung, to manufacture their SoCs at Intel fabs. Intel is among the first fabs with a working 14 nm node, and is on-track for sub-10 nm node development.

Intel had a crack at the market segments typically addressed by ARM SoCs, with its own x86 chips, which failed to see the kind of volumes ARM chipmakers were pushing. The company has now changed tactics to open its fabs up to those ARM SoC makers, letting them manufacture their designs on proven silicon-fabrication tech, in geographically important locations. Intel has its cutting-edge fabs located in Costa Rica and Malaysia.

TechPowerUp announces the latest version of GPU-Z, the graphics sub-system information, diagnostic, and monitoring utility that no power-user can leave home without. Version 1.10.0 introduces support for new GPUs, including AMD Radeon RX 470, RX 460; NVIDIA TITAN X Pascal, and 3 GB GTX 1060; and Intel Iris 550. GPU-Z can now correctly extract BIOS from AMD "Polaris" GPUs. Power-draw monitoring on "Polaris" GPUs has been improved, and a general shader count issue in ULPS mode has been fixed.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 1.10.0 | GPU-Z 1.10.0 ASUS ROG Themed

The change-log follows.

Intel is preparing to launch its next-generation NUC (next unit of computing) compact desktops between 2016-17. A leaked company roadmap and slides revealed that the line of NUCs based on the company's higher-performance 7th generation Core processors could be codenamed "Baby Canyon," and the one based on its low-power Celeron processors could be codenamed "Arches Canyon." The company is readying five "Baby Canyon" NUCs under the NUC7 series, and two models under the NUC6C series.

The NUC7 series are driven by 14 nm Core i3, Core i5, and Core i7 "Kaby Lake" dual-core processors, with support for dual-channel DDR4 SO-DIMM memory, and a unique USB type-C connector that routes 10 Gb/s USB 3.1, 40 Gb/s Thunderbolt 3, and DisplayPort 1.2. The platform's second USB 3.1 port is a front-facing type-A. The NUC6C series, on the other hand, is focused on legacy connectivity, and features an analog VGA port, besides HDMI 2.0, and a pair of USB 3.1 ports. The NUC6C series could make its debut within 2016, with the NUC7 following up in 2017.

Futuremark released the latest addition to the 3DMark benchmark suite, the new "Time Spy" benchmark and stress-test. All existing 3DMark Basic and Advanced users have limited access to "Time Spy," existing 3DMark Advanced users have the option of unlocking the full feature-set of "Time Spy" with an upgrade key that's priced at US $9.99. The price of 3DMark Advanced for new users has been revised from its existing $24.99 to $29.99, as new 3DMark Advanced purchases include the fully-unlocked "Time Spy." Futuremark announced limited-period offers that last up till 23rd July, in which the "Time Spy" upgrade key for existing 3DMark Advanced users can be had for $4.99, and the 3DMark Advanced Edition (minus "Time Spy") for $9.99.

Futuremark 3DMark "Time Spy" has been developed with inputs from AMD, NVIDIA, Intel, and Microsoft, and takes advantage of the new DirectX 12 API. For this reason, the test requires Windows 10. The test almost exponentially increases the 3D processing load over "Fire Strike," by leveraging the low-overhead API features of DirectX 12, to present a graphically intense 3D test-scene that can make any gaming/enthusiast PC of today break a sweat. It can also make use of several beyond-4K display resolutions.DOWNLOAD: 3DMark with TimeSpy v2.1.2852

Futuremark teased its first benchmark for DirectX 12 graphics, the 3DMark "Time Spy." Likely marketed as an add-on to the 3DMark (2013) suite, "Time Spy" tests DirectX 12 features in a silicon-scorching 3D scene that's rich in geometric, textural, and visual detail. The benchmark is also ready for new generation displays including high resolutions beyond 4K Ultra HD. Existing users of 3DMark get "Basic" access to "Time Spy" when it comes out, with the option to purchase its "Advanced" and "Professional" modes.

Under the hood, "Time Spy" takes advantage of Direct3D feature-level 12_0, including Asynchronous Compute, heavily multi-threaded CPUs (which can make use of as many CPU cores as you can throw at it), and DirectX explicit multi-adapter (native multi-GPU, including mixed setups). Futuremark stated that the benchmark was developed with inputs from AMD, Intel, NVIDIA, Microsoft, and other partners of the Futuremark Benchmark Development Program.A teaser trailer video follows.

Thecus today announced the release of the N2810PRO, an upgraded version of the N2810 that will come equipped with 4 GB of DDR3 RAM and the new Intel Celeron N3160 quad-core processor, allowing users to get improved speed and processing power. This high-performance 2-bay NAS server fulfills the demand for home and small office users who are eager for impregnable protection of their data, while enjoying enhanced Multimedia Playback with 4K video resolution.

Providing the ideal environment for immersive multimedia entertainment, the N2810PRO debuts a new arsenal of output alternatives to fulfill user's visual and audio desires. This NAS delivers superbly detailed images, with spectacular colour contrasts in 4K resolution playback, accessed through the HDMI output or the newly added DisplayPort output. To further cater to your multimedia setup, the option exists of connecting the audio via a SPDIF output to provide expansive sound through your sound system.