Compact desktop maker Shuttle is giving final touches to its XPC SH170R6 compact desktop barebones system. Designed to support 6th generation Intel Core "Skylake" processors, the SH170R6 gets you started with a custom-design motherboard based on the Intel H170 Express chipset, with two expansion slots (one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and one PCI-Express 3.0 x4); four DDR4 DIMM slots, a 32 Gb/s M.2 slot, four SATA 6 Gb/s ports; a heat-pipe based CPU cooler, and an 80 Plus Bronze rated 300W power supply.

The case itself offers room for a 5.25-inch optical drive, and two 3.5-inch drives (one of which is an externally accessible bay). The system board offers external connectivity of two DisplayPort 1.2 connectors (supports one Ultra HD display), an HDMI port, six USB 3.0 ports, an eSATA 6 Gb/s port, gigabit Ethernet, and 8-channel HD audio. There's provision for an mPCIe WLAN card. Slated for release later this month, the SH170R6 is expected to be priced at 258€ excluding VAT (around 307€ with 19% VAT).

QNAP, Inc. has sprung another surprise on the enterprise storage marketplace with the announcement of the new TVS-ECx80U-SAS-RP unified NAS-SAS storage solution. This new system bridges the gap between all three different types of drives: speedy all-SSD storage, large capacity SATA drives and cost-effective SAS HDD systems.

The new TVS-ECx80U-SAS-RP series marries high-performance 12 Gbps SAS drives with built-in ultra-high performance 256 GB SSD caching. Powered by QNAP's new QTS 4.2 management software along with the new Qtier automated data-tiering technology, the system keeps frequently accessed data readily accessible and infrequently accessed data close at hand in less-costly HDD storage, significantly improving the overall performance while reducing data warehousing costs.

EK Water Blocks, Ljubljana based premium liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is proud to introduce its first solid-state drive water block - the EK-FC I750 SSD for Intel Solid-State Drive 750 Series. EK-FC I750 SSD is a Full-Cover water block for water cooling the Intel SSD 750 Series solid-state drive. Designed in cooperation with Intel, we followed the overall look of the original passive cooler and made sure the entire PCB is covered, thus delivering the best possible cooling performance.

The water block features a high flow design allowing it to be easily used with systems using weaker water pumps. The base is made of nickel-plated electrolytic copper while the top cover is made of stainless steel. Screw-in brass standoffs are pre-installed and allow for safe, painless installation procedure. Enclosed is the additional EK-FC Terminal with two G1/4" threaded ports on the side (right picture below). Customers might need it if there isn't enough space to install the fittings on a regular pre-installed terminal (left picture below).

Microsoft acquired Havok Physics, the industry's most popular in-game physics API, from Intel. Microsoft intends to add Havok's IP to its existing tools and platforms, including DirectX 12, Visual Studio, and Azure. Havok will continue to remain accessible to all its existing licensees and partners, including Activision, EA, Ubisoft, Nintendo, and Sony. It currently features in more than 600 AAA game titles across major platforms, such as the PC, PlayStation, Wii, and Xbox.

AMD "Zen" CPU micro-architecture has a design focus on significantly increasing per-core performance, particularly per-core number-crunching performance, according to a 3DCenter.org report. It sees a near doubling of the number of decoder, ALU, and floating-point units per-core, compared to its predecessor. In essence, the a Zen core is AMD's idea of "what if a Steamroller module of two cores was just one big core, and supported SMT instead."

In the micro-architectures following "Bulldozer," which debuted with the company's first FX-series socket AM3+ processors, and running up to "Excavator," which will debut with the company's "Carrizo" APUs, AMD's approach to CPU cores involved modules, which packed two physical cores, with a combination of dedicated and shared resources between them. It was intended to take Intel's Core 2 idea of combining two cores into an indivisible unit further.

Arctic announces the i32/A32 semi-passive coolers. The Freezer i32/A32 is the first semi passive Arctic cooler. The smaller and lighter successor of the Freezer i30/A30 is the perfect gadget for PC enthusiasts looking for an ultra-quiet but efficient solution for the CPU cooling. It is the first ARCTIC cooler which comes with the new fan controller developed in Germany.

Arctic cooler are well-known for optimum cooling performance at a low noise level. By semi passive performance the Freezer i32/A32 provides again a special feature. A sophisticated fan controller enables that the CPU is completely passively cooled during typical Windows operation. The F12 PWM fan only start up at a higher temperature (from 40% PWM).

According to a new market report published by Transparency Market Research "Solid State Drive Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends and Forecast 2015 - 2022," the global Solid State Drive (SSD) market was valued at US$15.1 billion in 2014 and is expected to reach US$229.5 billion by 2022, expanding at a CAGR of 40.7% from 2015 to 2022.

Asia Pacific was the largest revenue contributor in 2014 and accounted for 57.0% of the global solid state drive market. The higher performance requirement in enterprise applications and consumer mobile devices is fueling the demand for solid state drives. Features such as lower power consumption, cooler computing, low form factor, and reduced latency are cementing the demand for solid state drives. The solid state drive market has witnessed rising demand for client SSDs, owing to their use in devices such as notebooks, tablets, and mobiles. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest-growing market for solid state drive in terms of revenue during the forecast period. Growth in this region is mainly attributed to an expanding customer base and high IT infrastructure spending in countries such as Japan, China, and Taiwan. Competition in the market is paving way for the development of novel technologies in the solid state drive market. Furthermore, benefits offered by SSDs over HDDs, and the resulting replacement demand, are expected to drive the growth of solid state drive market during the forecast period.

Introducing the B150M Night Elf and Z170I Gaming Pro AC. A great gaming rig doesn't have to be large anymore. The Z170I GAMING PRO AC is the next-generation ITX GAMING model featuring Wi-Fi AC while the B150M NIGHT ELF motherboard is the unique mATX GAMING choice featuring an imprinted NO.1 IN GAMING RED LED highlight to add style to gaming. The new B150M NIGHT ELF and Z170I GAMING PRO AC motherboards are the perfect foundation for a portable yet powerful system. MSI managed to pack the most advanced gaming features into these small sized powerhouses, ideal for gamers on the go.

The B150M NIGHT ELF has gaming in its looks but also in its DNA. This Micro-ATX motherboard is based on the Intel B150 chipset supporting 6th Gen Intel Core processors for LGA1151, combined with four DDR4 memory slots. DDR4 Boost technology provides maximum stability and compatibility while also improving memory performance. No more broken PCI-Express slots because of heavy high-end graphics cards, the Steel Armor reinforced slot can handle even the most extreme models. MSI Gaming LAN ensures lagfree gaming by automatically prioritizing games above other applications. The motherboard is also equipped with Audio Boost 3 technology for studio grade sound quality using an EMI-shielded HD audio processor and an isolated PCB for crystal clear audio. The red LED illumination makes the Night Elf a real eye-catcher in any gaming system.

HyperX, a division of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today announced the launch of HyperX Savage DDR4 memory. With its fast speeds and aggressive timings, HyperX Savage DDR4 offers ultra-responsive multitasking and an overall faster system making it perfect for advanced gamers, overclockers and power users.

With speeds up to 3000MHz, HyperX Savage DDR4 allows for faster video editing, 3D rendering and gaming. The built in XMP ready profiles are optimized for Intel Core i5 and i7 processors, as well as Z170 on 100 Series and X99 chipsets enabling users to easily overclock just by selecting a memory profile without any adjustments in BIOS. Available in single modules and kits up to 64GB, Savage DDR4 runs as low as 1.2V and at max 1.35V resulting in less power consumption than DDR3 and higher reliability.

Lenovo today announced seven new desktops, laptops and tablets across its popular ideacentre and ideapad sub-brands, giving discerning shoppers multiple reasons to upgrade this holiday season. The fresh portfolio of devices include the new ideapad MIIX 700 2-in-1 tablet, new ideacentre AIO 700 desktop and five new laptops - ideapad 300 and 500 and their thinner and lighter cousins ideapad 100S, 300S and 500S.

The new ideacentre AIO 700 desktop delivers up to double the power, screen resolution and memory capacity from its three-year-old previous generation - ideal for watching videos and gaming. In addition to the performance leap, all the new devices boast state-of-the-art Lenovo design, significantly improved portability and the promise of intuitive, new technology like Windows 10 and Intel RealSense Cameras. The new trio of ideapad MIIX 700 2-in-1 tablet, ideacentre AI0 700 desktop and ideapad 500 laptop are all available with optional Intel RealSense Cameras so users can explore, discover and create new and intuitive ways to 3D game, video chat, scan and print through gesture-based computing.

Toshiba's Digital Products Division (DPD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced the Satellite Radius 12, a compact 2-in-1 laptop designed with expert technologies to best meet the performance demands of today and tomorrow. The world's first 12.5-inch convertible laptop with a 4K Ultra HD display, the Satellite Radius 12 features top-of-the-line screen and sound quality, a sleek, lightweight design and 6th Gen Intel Core processors that deliver maximum mobile performance and excellent battery life.

"Through our deep relationships with our partners at Microsoft, Intel and Technicolor we have designed a top-of-line compact PC that delivers the new gold standard in screen, sound and performance for an unmatched computing experience on Windows 10," said Philip Osako, senior director of product marketing, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., Digital Products Division. "The Satellite Radius 12 expertly blends the latest technology into an extremely powerful, yet compact and easy-to-carry PC that is not only versatile, but durable enough to handle a highly mobile lifestyle."

ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, has announced the launch of 4 high performance tower model NAS devices.These new models are the first in the world to be equipped with Intel Braswell processors and feature the AS6202T and AS6204T powered by quad-core processors and the AS6102T and AS6104T powered by dual-core processors. Featuring rock-solid design and a wide variety of expansion ports, these new models also feature an AES-NI hardware encryption engine, the latest version of the intuitive ADM operating system, secure data protection mechanisms and energy saving features, providing first-class performance for both work and play and making them the first choice in cloud storage for both prosumer and SMB user segments.

The fast pace of modern emerging technologies and innovation demand high-performance hardware that is flexible in application. ASUSTOR's 62 and 61 series devices all utilize high performance Intel processors and feature a high degree of expandability via a wide range of hardware ports including eSATA, USB 3.0, HDMI, and S/PDIF ports which provide for flexible application possibilities. Additionally, pre-installed dual-channel high speed memory allows for smooth system operation. Users are also able to expand memory up to a maximum of 8GB in order to enhance overall multitasking performance.

Intel expanded its 6th generation Core "Skylake" processor lineup for the desktop, with seven new models. Built in the LGA1151 package, these chips work on motherboards running the company's 100-series chipset. Besides the overclocker-friendly Core i7-6700K and the i5-6600K already launched, the lineup now includes the i7-6700, i5-6600, i5-6500, i5-6400, i3-6320, i3-6300, and the i3-6100. Of these, the Core i7 and Core i5 models are quad-core, while the Core i3 ones are dual-core.

The Core i7-6700 and i5-6600 are not just different from the i7-6700K and i5-6600K in that they lack unlocked BClk multipliers, they also come with lower clock speeds out of the box. The i7-6700 is clocked at 3.40 GHz with 4.00 GHz max Turbo Boost (i7-6700K offers 4.00 GHz with 4.20 GHz Turbo), while the i5-6600 is clocked at 3.30 GHz, with 3.90 GHz Turbo Boost (i5-6600K offers 3.50 GHz with 3.90 GHz Turbo). The i7-6700 is priced at US $312, while the i5-6600 goes for $213 (single-unit box price).

Razer, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, is working with Intel to deliver a consumer-ready desktop and VR-enabled camera based on Intel RealSense technology for a wide range of experiential applications.

With Intel RealSense technology incorporated into a new Razer product design, users can expect to enjoy significantly enhanced game broadcasting and VR gaming capabilities. Among the novel features of this technology is automatic background removal, which allows game streamers and video conferencing users to remove or replace backgrounds for a more entertaining and immersive experience.

Intel RealSense Cameras are also capable of 3D scanning, motion and gesture recognition, allowing product designers to bring real-world objects and bodies into virtual spaces easily. Many more features and related applications are anticipated for the Intel RealSense technology-enabled Razer device.

Intel plans to launch the first consumer SSD based on its new 3D Xpoint memory technology, a successor to NAND flash which promises exponential gains in performance and capacity, some time in 2016. The Intel-branded drive will be called Intel Optane, will come in modern form-factors such as M.2/NGFF, SATA-Express, PCI-Express (add-on card), and will take advantage of the new NVMe protocol.

Early prototypes of Optane demoed at IDF already offer up to 5.5 times the throughput of NAND flash-based DC P3700 series SSDs, and we're only talking about single-queue performance. Compared to the queue depth of just 32 commands for AHCI, NVMe offers command queue depth of a staggering 65,535 commands. Since Micron Technology is the co-developer of 3D Xpoint, it's likely that we'll also see Micron/Crucial branded drives based on this tech.

The "Skylake" CPU microarchitecture is as much important to Intel as "Sandy Bridge" was, a few years ago. It allows Intel to facilitate mainstream adoption of the DDR4 memory standard (with DDR3 backwards compatibility encouraging cheap upgrades), and gives users IPC increases over older architectures. While users of Core "Haswell" processors and reasonably fast DDR3 memory will find "Skylake" a hard-sell, it should look appealing to users of much older chips, such as "Lynnfield," and perhaps even "Sandy Bridge."

The "Skylake" core is bigger than "Haswell," owing to wider pipelines, prefetcher improvements, more execution units, a bigger front-end with a higher-capacity branch predictor, cache optimizations, and an update to the way HyperThreading works. The instruction window is nearly 1.5x the size of Sandy Bridge, with an out-of-order execution window size of 224 (vs. 168 on Sandy Bridge), load/store sizes of 72/56 (vs. 64/36 on Sandy Bridge), 97 scheduler entries (vs. 56 on Sandy Bridge), and an allocation queue size of 64/thread (vs. 28/thread). The platform of "Skylake" is similar to that of its predecessor, with four notable changes - an integrated camera ISP with the chipset, DDR4 memory support, double the chipset bus bandwidth (64 Gb/s), and eDRAM support on certain CPU SKUs.

At the heart of the Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K quad-core processors, which made their debut at Gamescom earlier this month, is Intel's swanky new "Skylake-D" silicon, built on its new 14 nanometer silicon fab process. Intel released technical documents that give us a peek into the die layout of this chip. To begin with, the Skylake silicon is tiny, compared to its 22 nm predecessor, the Haswell-D (i7-4770K, i5-4670K, etc).

What also sets this chip apart from its predecessors, going all the way back to "Lynnfield" (and perhaps even "Nehalem,") is that it's a "square" die. The CPU component, made up of four cores based on the "Skylake" micro-architecture, is split into rows of two cores each, sitting across the chip's L3 cache. This is a departure from older layouts, in which a single file of four cores lined one side of the L3 cache. The integrated GPU, Intel's Gen9 iGPU core, takes up nearly as much die area as the CPU component. The uncore component (system agent, IMC, I/O, etc.) takes up the rest of the die. The integrated Gen9 iGPU features 24 execution units (EUs), spread across three EU-subslices of 8 EUs, each. This GPU supports DirectX 12 (feature level 12_1). We'll get you finer micro-architecture details very soon.

Retail availability of the two Core "Skylake" SKUs Intel debuted, the Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K, begins today. This is when you will be able to pick up a boxed chip off the shelf, or order one online. To help ease the socket confusion, online retailers are selling bundles of these chips with compatible socket LGA1151 motherboards at a nominal discount, some of which include DDR4 memory, depending on the motherboard bundled. On its own, the Core i7-6700K is priced at US $343, while the Core i5-6600K is priced at $250.

The i7-6700K offers clock speeds of 4.00 GHz out of the box, with Turbo Boost frequency of 4.20 GHz. It also offers 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading, which enables 8 logical CPUs for the OS to address. The Core i5-6600K, on the other hand, offers 3.50 GHz clocks with 3.90 GHz Turbo Boost. It offers 6 MB of L3 cache, and lacks HyperThreading. Both are quad-core chips, with unlocked base-clock multipliers, for overclocking. The retail packages of both chips lack stock cooling solutions, so you need to have an LGA115x-compatible cooler ready. The TDP of both chips is rated at 91W. Intel will put out some of the finer micro-architecture details on the 16th of August, 2015. More Core i5 quad-core SKUs in the series will be released on the 29th of August, 2015. Dual-core Core i3 SKUs will be launched towards the end of September, 2015.

MSI, which debuted its socket LGA1151 motherboard lineup with its Gaming series, launched its first mainline LGA1151 board, the Z170A PC Mate. A departure from the MS-7850 common-PCB, which the company used on various Intel 8-series and 9-series chipsets, the Z170A PC Mate features a boarder form, and covers all the platform basics. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and 8-pin EPS power connectors, and features a 6-phase CPU VRM. The CPU is wired to four DDR4 DIMM slots, supporting up to 64 GB of dual-channel DDR4 memory, and one PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slot.

Other expansion slots on the Z170A PC Mate include a PCI-Express 3.0 x16 (electrical gen 3.0 x4), wired to the Z170 PCH, three PCI-Express 3.0 x1, and two legacy PCI slots. Storage connectivity includes an M.2 32 Gb/s slot, a SATA-Express 16 Gb/s connector, and six SATA 6 Gb/s ports. Display outputs include one each of DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI 2.0 connectors. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.1 ports (both type-A and on the rear panel), and six USB 3.0 (four on the rear panel, two by header), and four USB 2.0/1.1 ports by header. 6-channel HD audio with ground-layer isolation, and Realtek gigabit Ethernet make for the rest of it. The MSI Z170A PC Mate is priced at US $120.

When Japanese tech publication PC Watch got under the hood (lid) of a Core i7-6700K quad-core processor, what they found was an unexpectedly small silicon, that's shorter in proportion to its width, than previous dies from Intel, such as Haswell-D, and Ivy Bridge-D. It's smaller than even the i7-5775C, despite the same 14 nm process, because of its slimmer integrated graphics core with just 24 execution units (compared to 48 on the i7-5775C), and the lack of an external 128 MB SRAM cache for the iGPU.

The substrate Intel is using on the i7-6700K was found to be slimmer than the one on the i7-4770K, at 0.8 mm thick, compared to 1.1 mm on the latter. The thicker IHS (integrated heatspreader) makes up for the thinner substrate, so it shouldn't cause problems with using your older LGA1150 coolers on the new socket. Intel is using a rather viscous silver-based TIM between the die and the IHS. The die is closer to the center of the IHS than its predecessors were. PC Watch swapped out the stock TIM with Prolimatech PK-3 and Cool Laboratory Liquid Pro, and found some impressive drops in temperatures at stock speed (4.00 GHz) and with a mild overclock (4.60 GHz).

GIGABYTE unveiled its first BRIX mini-PC that's powered by Intel Celeron N3000 "Braswell" SoC. The 14 nm chip embeds a dual-core CPU based on the "Airmont" micro-architecture, clocked at 1.04 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency of 2.08 GHz; and featuring HyperThreading. Also embedded are 1 MB of cache, an 8th generation Intel IGP with 12 execution units, and a dual-channel DDR3L-1600 IMC.

The BRIX measures 56.1 mm x 107.6 mm x 114.4 mm, and is a barebones unit, you'll have to add your own memory and storage. Despite the chip's dual-channel memory interface, BRIX only offers one DDR3L SO-DIMM slot (max 8 GB). Storage connectivity includes an M.2 slot with both PCIe 2.0 x2 and SATA 6 Gb/s wiring, and a 9 mm thick 2.5-inch drive bay with SATA 6 Gb/s. A micro-SD slot is also offered. Network connectivity includes gigabit Ethernet. Display outputs include HDMI and D-Sub. 2-channel HD audio, and four USB 3.0 ports make for the rest of it.

Intel announced its first 6th generation Core processors, codenamed "Skylake." Built on Intel's swanky new 14 nanometer silicon fab process, and in the new LGA1151 package, these processors bring DDR4 memory to the mainstream, and offer IPC improvements over the previous-generation Core "Haswell" and "Broadwell" processors. Making its debut at Gamescom, Intel is starting its lineup off with two chips that are predominantly targeted at the DIY gaming PC crowd, the Core i7-6700K and the Core i5-6600K quad-core processors. More models in the series will be launched towards the end of this month. The company also announced the Z170 Express chipset.

The Core i7-6700K features a nominal clock speed of 4.00 GHz, with a Turbo Boost frequency of 4.20 GHz. It features 8 MB of L3 cache, and HyperThreading. Its integrated Intel HD 530 graphics ticks at 350 MHz, with 1200 MHz Boost. The Core i5-6600K, on the other hand, features clock speeds of 3.50 GHz, with 3.90 GHz Turbo Boost. It features 6 MB of L3 cache, and lacks HyperThreading. It features the same integrated graphics solution as its bigger sibling. The TDP of both chips are rated at 91W. Both chips feature integrated memory controllers with support for DDR3L-1600 and DDR4-2133. The Core i7-6700K is priced around $350, and the i5-6600K around $243, in 1000-unit tray quantities. The retail packages of both chips will lack a stock cooling solution. The LGA1151 cooler mount will be identical to that of the outgoing LGA1150, so you shouldn't have any problems using your older cooler.

Apple is readying a new generation of iMac desktops, which it plans to launch in Q3-2015, likely at its September press event. The new Macs are expected to come with faster processors (likely Intel "Skylake,") faster DDR4 memory, and an increase in display resolutions across the board, including a 21.5-inch model with 4K Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) resolution, besides its 27-inch 5K (5120 x 2880 pixels) model. The display panels in these macs will feature a new LED phosphor material called KSF (K2SiF6:Mn), which improves color saturation. The displays will offer 30-bit (10 bpc) color depth, with the ability to produce 1.07 billion colors.

The retail packaging of Intel's 6th generation Core "Skylake" processors in the LGA1151 package, will be surprisingly colorful, and a throwback to the pre-Pentium 4 era, according to spy-shots of the retail boxes of the upcoming Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K. What's even more surprising, is that packages of the i7-6700K and i5-6600K, which feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, making them primed for overclocking, do not include stock cooling solutions. Their retail packages resemble those of Intel's Core i7 HEDT processors. In the box, you'll find just the processor, its case-badge, and basic documentation.

Both the Core i7-6700K and Core i5-6600K feature the same integrated graphics SKU - HD Graphics 530. Both feature integrated memory controllers that support both DDR3L and DDR4 memory types. The Core i5 predictably lacks HyperThreading, and only features 6 MB of L3 cache, while the Core i7 features HyperThreading, and the full 8 MB present on the chip. The "Skylake" silicon will be built on the 14 nm process.

The EVGA X99 Micro2 takes all the great features from the EVGA X99 Micro motherboard, and upgrades it with USB 3.1 Type-C, increased SATA ports, improved layout design + BIOS and refreshed look. The EVGA X99 Micro2 offers a stunning set of features and overclocking support, along with EVGA's new GUI BIOS that focuses on the best overclocking support, functionality, and usability.

Get your PC future proof ready with the EVGA X99 Micro2 motherboard. This motherboard features the next generation USB 3.1 Type-C connector that delivers transfer speeds of up to 10Gb/s for unbelievable performance. Compact mATX form factor at 9.6in x 9.6in, yet still allows for enthusiast features such as SLI, robust SATA 6G expandability, M.2 support, incredible overclocking and more.