During her keynote at the Intel Developer Forum today in Beijing, Diane Bryant, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Datacenter and Connected Systems Group, discussed how her company is helping users harness powerful new capabilities that will improve the lives of people by building smarter cities, healthier communities and thriving businesses.

Bryant unveiled details of upcoming technologies and products that show how Intel aims to transform the server, networking and storage capabilities of the datacenter. By addressing the full spectrum of workload demands and providing new levels of application optimized solutions for enterprise IT, technical computing and cloud service providers, unprecedented experiences can be delivered.

Intel reportedly began shipping its 4th generation Core processors, codenamed "Haswell," to its OEM partners (companies that sell pre-built PCs). These shipments could go into building the first batches of PCs running the chips, which will be launched alongside retail trims of the chips, in June 2013. In June, on the sidelines of Computex 2013, one of the biggest annual PC technology tradeshows, Intel is expected to launch its Core "Haswell" processors, various motherboard vendors are expected to launch compatible socket LGA1150 motherboards.

Among the Core "Haswell" chips Intel is expected to launch for the desktop platform, are the Core i7-4770K flagship quad-core part, and the Core i5-4670K, both of which feature unlocked base-clock multipliers, appealing to overclockers and PC enthusiasts. There are twelve other models on offer, with locked base-clock multipliers, a majority of which come in energy-efficient brand extensions such as -T and -S.

Intel issued a product-change notification (PCN) to partners in the motherboard industry, informing them of a new C2 stepping of the 8-series "Lynx Point" chipset. The stepping introduces a metal layers change that fixes the USB 3.0 remuneration erratum, which causes devices plugged in to USB 3.0 ports to fail to reinitialize after waking up from sleep states such as S3, requiring uses to unplug and replug them, which could get particularly irritating for people with external RAID devices that rely on USB 3.0 for host connectivity.

According to the PCN, the first socket LGA1150 motherboards in the market may not feature C2-stepping chipset. It predicts samples to be available to motherboard manufacturers by April 19, 2013; availability of qualification data (when Intel has finalized design after taking feedback from partners), by July 1 2013; customers should be ready to receive C2-stepping chips by July 31. These dates indicate that the very first batches of socket LGA1150 motherboards will still feature C1-stepping chipset that are affected by the erratum, and if you can't live with it, you should ideally wait until late-August or mid-September for the first motherboards with C2-stepping chipset to make it to the markets. Intel expects to launch its 4th generation Core "Haswell" processors and compatible LGA1150 motherboards by mid-June.

Intel Corporation today announced several tools and initiatives targeted at software developers, creating some of the most performance-hungry gaming and media titles on the market. Intel Core processor performance, power efficiency and strong momentum for Intel HD Graphics are freeing developers to take applications in new directions.

Debuting at GDC 2013 were new graphics capabilities for forthcoming Intel HD Graphics platforms that are accessible through DirectX extensions. The first of these extensions, called PixelSync, provides access to underlying hardware that allows programmers to properly composite partially transparent pixels without the need for an expensive sorting operation. Game developers have long awaited this capability in order to more realistically render smoke, hair, windows, foliage, fences and other complex geometry and natural phenomena.

Intel's Core "Haswell" desktop processor family launch may be three months away, but retailers in Europe aren't wasting any time to hog attention or score pre-orders. The company's flagship socket LGA1150 processor, the Core i7-4770K, was listed by Dutch stores MAXICT.nl and takeITnow, for €331.13 (incl. VAT) and €352.00 (incl. VAT), respectively. Both stores are offering the chip in its tray (chip-only) packaging. The listings confirm the chip's clock speed to be 3.50 GHz, and L3 cache size 8 MB. The MaxICT listing can be found here, and TakeITnow here. Ships all over EU.

HABEY USA, a leading manufacturer of embedded computer and an Associate member of the Intel Intelligent Systems Alliance, introduces the BIS-6621. It is the latest and greatest offering of our ultra compact fanless PCs. This tiny box measures 5"x5.25"x2", just slightly larger than the incredibly tiny Intel NUC. Besides the small footprint, the features available on this tiny system will simply amaze you.

Equipped with a 2.5" drive bay, this fanless PC will accept just about any 2.5" form factor storage device. The full size mini PCI-e slot can also be an mSATA compatible expansion slot as an option. The mini PCI-e card can also be used to run a WIFI card for wireless network access. Additionally, the BIS-6621 offers an externally accessible SIM card slot allowing for wireless data from a mobile carrier. It also includes 3 USB 2.0 ports for all your needed peripherals and also a COM port for any serial peripherals.

Intel's upcoming performance desktop processor Core i7-4770K, based on its next-generation "Haswell" micro-architecture, got its first formal performance preview by Tom's Hardware, which compared it to its two predecessors, the Core i7-3770K "Ivy Bridge" and Core i7-2700K "Sandy Bridge." The three were put through a battery of synthetic and real-world tests, including SiSoft SANDRA, real-world media transcoders, MSVS code compilation, and 3DSMax 2012.

In some tests, the i7-4770K offers as much of a performance upgrade over the i7-3770K, as it does over the i7-2700K, in others, it's less than linear. In its conclusion, Tom's Hardware notes that it found the i7-4770K on average, 7 to 13 percent faster than the i7-3770K in today's multi-threaded workloads, which is roughly consistent with what the i7-3770K offered over its predecessor, the i7-2700K. Find the entire preview in the source link below. Intel's Core "Haswell" line of desktop processors are expected to launch in June, 2013.

Axiomtek rolls out a fanless embedded system in palm size featuring Intel Atom Cedarview processor N2600 1.6 GHz dual core with Intel NM10 Express chipset. The eBOX530-830-FL has an IP40-rated and rugged aluminum & cold-rolled steel enclosure to endure severe environment. It supports one VGA or one DisplayPort interface to fit more video resources. To resist extreme working temperatures and severe environments, its fanless operation design has unique thermal solution that allows it to perform noiseless at operating temperatures of -10°C to +50°C. The eBOX530-830-FL compact system is an application-ready platform that targets for nearly any field of space-limited and mobile applications like in-vehicle PCs, in-flight infotainment systems, digital signage, entry-level gaming, medical healthcare, and other automation & embedded applications.

The issue with USB 3.0 controllers integrated into Intel's upcoming "Lynx Point" 8-series core logic can be addressed only with new hardware (modifying the silicon), according to a new Hardware.info report. Intel decided against delaying launch of the 4th generation Core "Haswell" family to address the issue, and instead opted to address it in a future revision of the chipset.

A design flaw causes devices connected to Lynx Point's integrated USB 3.0 controller to be disconnected when the system wakes up from S3 (suspend-to-RAM), forcing users to reconnect them. This could mean you'd have to mount your USB 3.0 hard-drives/flash-drives again, although no data is lost. If you're editing files stores on such a storage device, you might have to save your work before the system is put to S3 sleep.

Apart from motherboards, the only big product segment ASRock made a name for itself is with pre-built mini-PCs. The company wants to put its experience to good use by cashing in for the market's newfound love for compact (mini-ITX) gaming PCs, the ones that save precious real-estate on congested living room TV racks and dorm rooms. Pictured below is the company's first such effort, timed with the launch of Intel's next-generation Core "Haswell" processor, and supporting socket LGA1150 platform based on Z87 Express chipset.

There are three components to ASRock's creation: a unique SFF case, co-designed by BMW Design; the ASRock Z87E-ITX motherboard, and a GeForce GTX 680 graphics card. The case looks pretty slick, coming from BMW. It stays slim by using a PCI-Express riser, allowing you to install graphics cards along the plane of the motherboard. The Z87-E ITX, like most efforts by ASRock in the past, is extremely feature-rich for its size. It uses a 6-phase VRM to power the LGA1150 CPU, features two DDR3 DIMM slots, PCI-Express 3.0 x16 and mini-PCIe 2.0, for the WLAN+Bluetooth card.

Streacom gave us a sneak-peek into its upcoming case for Intel's next unit of computing (NUC) form-factor. Made of aluminum and ABS, the case doubles up as heatsink for the NUC's hot components (such as CPU and PCH). It features a universal CPU block, so the case can adapt to future NUC boards with CPUs at different spots.

The sides of the case are not made of aluminum, this is where the NUC's WLAN/Bluetooth antennae attach, and so an ABS panel boosts signal strength. The case is designed specifically for Intel's D33217GKE motherboard, with ports mapped for its two HDMI connectors, three USB ports, power, and Ethernet. It will be available in two color options, silver (pictured below) and carbon-black. Availability is expected sometime in Q2 2013.

Asustor displayed its first consumer NAS devices implementing Intel's recently announced Atom CE5315 SoC. The new model fill into the company's 3-series. On display at CeBIT are the 2-bay AS-302T and 4-bay AS-304T. The two are positioned a notch below the 2 GHz Atom dual-core powered AS-602T and AS-604T. The two feature single gigabit Ethernet interfaces, a couple of USB 3.0 and USB 2.0/1.1 ports, and HDMI display outputs. The company's ADM 1.0 "Dolphin" interface is standard issue. The two are expected to launch some time in June.

With consumers increasingly sharing and viewing content among different devices, Intel Corporation today introduced storage solutions based on the Intel Atom media processor CE5300 series. The new low power system-on-chip (SoC) enables high definition (HD) video to be simultaneously watched on smartphones, tablets and other smart devices, in real time, while also shared with consumer devices such as a Smart TV. "Streaming content across numerous mobile devices, not just from the cloud but locally, has become a common practice for today's consumers," said Bev Crair, general manager, of Intel's Storage Division. "New storage solutions based on the Intel Atom CE5300 series elevate this to a whole new level by making it simple to 'browse, click, and play'. The new SoC provides an excellent foundation for creating compelling entertainment experiences."

The powerful, dual-core Intel Atom CE5300 series delivers simple application and I/O support, making it ideal for synchronizing and streaming video content without compromising power for the performance necessary to allow seamless I/O and media transcoding. Storage solutions based on the Intel Atom CE5300 series allow consumers to easily set up all of their media in one place and avoid capacity limitations of mobile devices. They can use their storage system either as an iTunes server or DLNA (Digital Network Living Alliance) media server, and access that content from their mobile device of choice. Users can also simultaneously transcode 1080p video content to a smartphone, tablet, TV, Ultrabook or other smart device. The media processor system intelligently adapts to the screen resolution for each of these devices.

According to a Hardware.info report that cites an internal Intel document circulated to partners, the company's upcoming Haswell platform faces an erratum that could be fairly noticeable by end-users. The problem is confined to the platform's integrated USB 3.0 SuperSpeed host controller.

A system based on Haswell platform, when waking from S3 sleep mode, will experience issues with devices connected through USB 3.0. If you have open documents, videos, or music playing off of a USB 3.0 storage device, applications accessing that data could freeze, needing you to reopen them. For example, a PDF document you have open on Adobe Reader could display a blank page after waking up from S3, needing you to reopen the document and/or Adobe Reader. The bug doesn't cause any loss of data, but could be an irritant. An Intel representative told the source that launch of the Haswell platform is on-track for mid-2013.

The Spire Diablo PC case is a versatile ATX chassis with a modest gamer look. This tower structure is contemporary and cost effective. The meshed aluminum front panel allows unrestricted fresh air intake which is mandatory for today's extremely hot Micro-processors, Graphic cards and Data Drives. The internal design provides enough room for hardware assembly, supports up to six (6) 3.5-inch & three (3) 5.25-inch drive devices. The 5.25 bezels are tool-free and easy to remove. You can also install a 3.5 inch device such as a multifunctional card-reader. The chassis structure is all black and prepared for decent cooling, there is space for 1* 92mm fan at the rear and 1* 80mm fan on the side panel for additional VGA cooling.

CyberPower Inc., a global manufacturer of custom gaming PCs, entered the era of the Gaming Supercomputer when it today unleashes a series of performance desktop PCs based on NVIDIA's new GeForce GTX Titan GPU. With the DNA of the world's fastest supercomputer and the soul of NVIDIA Kepler, the GeForce GTX Titan is a revolution in PC gaming. This monster GPU establishes a new class of gaming PCs for CyberPowerPC customers: the Gaming Supercomputer. CyberPowerPC systems based on this formidable GPU will deliver the ultimate combination of power, performance, efficiency, control, and acoustics that PC gamers and enthusiasts demand.

Starting February 21, CyberPowerPC customers can configure new GeForce GTX Titan-based gaming PCs across CyberPowerPC's enthusiast Fang III and Zeus series along with the Gamer Xtreme and Ultra series of custom gaming systems. When paired with Intel 3rd Generation processors, users can create the ultimate gaming supercomputer. CyberPowerPC systems based on this game-changing GPU will start at $1699.

Jon Peddie Research (JPR), the industry's research and consulting firm for graphics and multimedia, announced estimated graphics chip shipments and suppliers' market share for Q4'12.

The news was disappointing for every one of the major players. AMD dropped 13.6%, Intel slipped the least, just 2.9%, and Nvidia declined the most with 16.7% quarter-to-quarter change, this coming on the heels of a spectacular third quarter. The overall PC market actually grew 2.8% quarter-to-quarter while the graphics market declined 8.2% reflecting a decline in double-attach. That may be attributed to Intel's improved embedded graphics, finally making "good enough" a true statement.

Intel made an addition to its SSD 335 line of performance-segment consumer SSDs, which is currently available in just one capacity, 240 GB. The new 180 GB variant (SKU: SSDSC2CT180A4K5) retains the feature-set and rated speeds of its older sibling, boasting of up to 500 MB/s reads, up to 450 MB/s writes, and up to 52,000 IOPS 4K random write throughput. Based on the LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor, the drive features 20 nm MLC NAND flash chips by IMFlash Technologies (Intel, Micron JV).

In addition, Intel updated the drive body design, which will also apply to newer batches of the 240 GB variant. The new design consists of a brace running the perimeter of the drive (without affecting its 2.5-inch 9 mm-thick size compliance), and a "circuit board" print art. Backed by a 3-year warranty, the Intel SSD 335 180 GB is priced at US $179.99.

Russian tech publication OCLab.ru, which claims access to Intel's next-generation Core "Haswell" processor engineering-sample (and an LGA1150 8-series motherboard!), wasted no time in running a quick clock-for-clock performance comparison with the current Core "Ivy Bridge" processor. In its comparison, it set both chips to run at a fixed 2.80 GHz clock speed (by disabling Turbo Boost, C1E, and EIST), indicating that the ES OCLab is in possession of doesn't go beyond that frequency.

The two chips were put through SuperPi 1M, PiFast, and wPrime 32M. The Core "Haswell" chip is only marginally faster than Ivy Bridge, in fact slower in one test. In its next battery of tests, the reviewer stepped up iterations (load), putting the chips through single-threaded SuperPi 32M, and multi-threaded wPrime 1024M. While wPrime performance is nearly identical between the two chips, Haswell crunched SuperPi 32M about 3 percent quicker than Ivy Bridge. It's still to early to take a call on CPU performance percentage difference between the two architectures. Intel's Core "Haswell" processors launch in the first week of June.

ASUSTOR Inc., a leading innovator and provider of network storage solutions, today announced the release of four new enterprise-level 1U and 2U rackmount NAS devices. These new devices consist of the four drive bay AS-604RS and AS-604RD models and the nine drive bay AS-609RS and AS-609RD models. All devices come equipped with the Intel Atom 2.13 GHz dual-core processor which combines supercharged performance with low power consumption. Furthermore, all devices are verified as VMware, Citrix and Hyper-V ready, providing businesses with a flexible and cost-efficient virtual storage solution.

"Our new rackmount NAS models include the type of hardware specifications required by the most demanding business environments such as dual gigabit Ethernet ports, eSATA and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interfaces and support for hard drive hot swapping." said Johnny Chen, Product Manager at ASUSTOR. "The AS-604RD and AS-609RD models also feature redundant power supplies meaning that should the primary power supply fail, a second one will automatically start running to keep the NAS powered on. This undoubtedly gives businesses the type of 24/7, round-the-clock, uninterrupted access that they need."

FinalWire Ltd. today announced the immediate availability of AIDA64 Extreme Edition 2.80 software, a streamlined diagnostic and benchmarking tool for home users; and the immediate availability of AIDA64 Business Edition 2.80 software, an essential network management solution for small and medium scale enterprises.

The new AIDA64 update offers optimized benchmarks for Intel Atom Z2760, implements support for OpenCL 1.2 Update and OpenGL ES 3.0, and provides GPU details for the latest AMD Radeon and nVIDIA GeForce graphics accelerators.DOWNLOAD: FinalWire AIDA64 v2.80 Installer (EXE), ZIP package

Intel Corporation announced today the Intel Solid-State Drive 525 Series (Intel SSD 525 Series) in a small mSATA form factor with 6-gigabit-per-second (Gb/s) performance. The Intel SSD 525 Series gives OEM customers, channel and tech enthusiasts an ultra-portable, low-power storage solution in one-eighth the space of a traditional 2.5-inch hard disk drive (HDD) to drive innovative Ultrabook, tablet and embedded applications.

The Intel SSD 525 is the latest entry to the Intel 500 Series SSD Family aimed at higher-performance, enthusiast solutions. Measuring 3.7 mm x 50.8 mm x 29.85 mm and weighing 10 grams, the mSATA with PCI Express (PCIe) mini-connector delivers the performance of the company's Intel SSD 520 Series client drive. This makes the Intel SSD 525 suitable for All-in-One desktops, notebooks, Ultrabooks and workstation upgrades, as well as automotive, digital signage, embedded video and retail solutions.

Intel Corporation today announced that its board of directors promoted five corporate officers and elected three new corporate vice presidents. William M. Holt, 60, was elevated from senior vice president to executive vice president. He is general manager of the Technology and Manufacturing Group and jointly oversees all technology development and manufacturing activities across the company. Holt joined Intel in 1974, was named a senior vice president in 2006, and is based in Hillsboro, Ore.

Thomas M. Kilroy, 55, was promoted from senior vice president to executive vice president. He is general manager of Intel's Sales and Marketing Group and is responsible for all of the company's sales and marketing efforts worldwide. Kilroy joined Intel in 1990, was named a senior vice president in 2010, and is based in Hillsboro, Ore.

Intel's performance-segment mSATA SSDs, the SSD 525 series, started selling in Japan under OEM packaging, although freely available in ground stores (much like bare hard drives). Based on the LSI-SandForce SF-2281 processor and Intel's own 25 nm MLC NAND flash chips, the SSD 525 is available in four capacities: 30 GB, 120 GB, 180 GB, and 240 GB. The 240 GB variant stands out, with speeds of up to 550 MB/s reads with 500 MB/s writes; while the others max out at 500 MB/s reads with 275 MB/s writes. The 30, 120, 180, and 240 GB variants are priced at 5,180¥ ($57), 14,480¥ ($160), 20,800¥ ($228), and 26,980¥ ($295), respectively.

Intel Corporation's board of directors has declared a 22.5 cents-per-share (90 cents-per-share on an annual basis) quarterly dividend on the company's common stock. The dividend will be payable on March 1, 2013 to stockholders of record on Feb. 7, 2013.

"With the payout of this quarterly dividend, Intel's dividend and stock buyback program will have returned approximately $119 billion to stockholders since the program's inception," said Intel president and CEO Paul Otellini. "This is a testament to our commitment to return cash to our stockholders as we continue to generate strong cash flow driven by the combination of new products and design wins from the lowest power portable devices to the most powerful data center servers."