Intel made it possible for SSDs to utilize the TRIM command feature when striped in RAID 0, provided a few meaty requirements are met. The TRIM command feature works to minimize write performance degradation on SSDs, but thus far it has been impossible to enable the feature on any other host controller mode than standalone AHCI, due to the manner in which the feature works at a physical level.

According to a report, TRIM over RAID 0 will be made possible with Windows 8 operating system, provided the system is running an Intel 7-series chipset (such as Z77 Express), has RAID BIOS (Option ROM) version 11.5 or higher, and Rapid Storage Technology (RST) device driver version 11.5 or higher. While obtaining the required Windows and driver versions is relatively easy, the RAID Option ROM version is in the hands of motherboard manufacturers, who have to release motherboard BIOS updates that include the required RAID Option ROM updates.

Ahead of Microsoft Windows 8 general availability, Intel has updated two toolkits for application developers - Intel Media SDK 2012 R3 and Intel SDK for OpenCL Applications 2013 Beta. In addition to Windows 8, Intel Media SDK also supports DirectX 11 with optimized access to hardware accelerated video encoding, decoding and transcoding for applications on 3rd Generation Intel Core processors.

The Intel SDK for OpenCL Applications Beta now supports OpenCL 1.2 API previews on CPU and other features such as a new kernel builder and GNU project debugger, which ease the creation of parallel and visual computing apps. Both kits support the new Intel HD Graphics Driver for Windows 8 and are available now as free downloads.

Intel plans to standardize SSD specifications for its Ultrabook platform, which would steer it toward slimmer, faster Ultrabooks. The company plans to invite a large number of industry players, including NAND flash memory makers SanDisk, Micron, and Samsung, for discussions into what is known as Next Generation Form Factor (NGFF), a new SSD form-factor derived from mSATA (think Apple's SSD form-factor found in the MacBook Air).

Intel is in a bit of a hurry with its NGFF SSD plans because the current mSATA form-factor poses limitations, including limited PCB area, in which a limited number of ONFI channels can be wired out. NGFF most likely is mSATA with greater PCB area, allowing the same number of ONFI channels as 2.5-inch SSDs, with the latest generation of controllers and toggle-NAND flash memory. NGFF doesn't increase the thickness of the SSD compared to mSATA, but merely elongates it (again, similar in form to Apple's SSD specifications). Five length standards are being discussed between Intel and Ultrabook partners.

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 Sept. 1, 2012 to stockholders of record on Aug. 7, 2012.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world's computing devices. Additional information about Intel is available at newsroom.intel.com and blogs.intel.com.

Intel's next high-end desktop processor, the Core i7-3970X Extreme, arrives in Q4, 2012, according to a DonanimHaber report. The i7-3970X is expected to ship with clock speeds of 3.50 GHz, with maximum Turbo Boost frequency of 4.00 GHz. The six-core chip is based on the 32 nm "Sandy Bridge-E" silicon, and built in the LGA2011 package. Its feature-set is consistent with that of the Core i7-3960X, with 15 MB shared L3 cache, HyperThreading, and unlocked base-clock multiplier. In all likelihood, the i7-3970X could displace the i7-3960X from its price-point.

Intel Corporation today reported quarterly revenue of $13.5 billion, operating income of $3.8 billion, net income of $2.8 billion and EPS of $0.54. The company generated approximately $4.7 billion in cash from operations, paid dividends of $1.1 billion and used $1.1 billion to repurchase stock.

"The second quarter was highlighted by solid execution with continued strength in the data center and multiple product introductions in Ultrabooks and smartphones," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO. "As we enter the third quarter, our growth will be slower than we anticipated due to a more challenging macroeconomic environment. With a rich mix of Ultrabook and Intel-based tablet and phone introductions in the second half, combined with the long-term investments we're making in our product and manufacturing areas, we are well positioned for this year and beyond."

Intel expanded its mainstream client SSD 330 series with the addition of a new 240 GB variant. The SSD 330 series, till date, only had sub-200 GB capacities, with 180 GB leading the pack. It was believed that Intel was making sure SSD 330 steered clear of the performance-segment SSD 520 series, to prevent internal competition that could end up hurting the SSD 520, and its higher margins for Intel. It appears, though, that with large-scale price-cuts, room has been created for a new 240 GB SSD 330 series model.

Built in the 2.5-inch 9.5 mm-thick form-factor with SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and driven by an LSI-SandForce controller, the 240 GB SSD 330 comes with sequential speeds of up to 500 MB/s (reads) and 450 MB/s (writes). It has rated 4K random access performance of 42,000 IOPS (reads) with 52,000 IOPS (writes). The SSD will be sold in bulk as drive-only trays, drive-only retail packages, and retail packages with migration-kits and 3.5-inch bay adapters (for desktops). Intel is yet to release pricing details, although a price of around US $200 seems likely. In related news, the wide-ranging price-cuts reported last week, have taken effect, according to the company.

With the U.S. Government increasingly using high- performance computing (HPC) to address current and future national challenges, Intel Corporation today announced it has been awarded two subcontracts totaling $19 million with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). As part of these two awards, Intel Federal LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary, will be a major participant in the Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC (LLNS) managed Extreme-Scale Computing Research and Development "FastForward" program aimed at driving advancements in exascale computing.

The DOE has been a leading developer of supercomputing technology for a broad range of critical applications in the space of national security, economy, energy resources and consumption. The "FastForward" program will harness the talents of the national laboratories, academia and U.S. industry to develop the next generation of HPC technologies.

Giada, a brand of Shenzhen Jiehe Technology Development, Co., Ltd, today announces the i53 Mini PC. With full HD 1080P video, high connectivity, support, and an attractive design, Giada's new book-sized i53 Mini PC is an ideal choice for home entertainment, web browsing, and document writing.

The i53 is based around Intel's Mobile HM76 Express chipset and Ivy Bridge technology platform. Even while offering great performance, this environmentally friendly PC only uses 35W.

Today, Intel released their WHQL-certified graphics driver for the Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system. The driver runs on Windows 8 Release Preview with support for 3rd generation Intel Core processors with HD Graphics 4000/2500 and 2nd generation Intel Core processors with Intel HD Graphics 3000/2000.

The driver also provides support for OpenGL 4.0 and Windows Display Driver Model Version 1.2 (WDDM1.2) features such as native stereoscopic 3D support, optimized screen rotation detection and integrated DirectX 11 video playback. Intel encourages users to try the latest driver and provide feedback for future releases.

DOWNLOAD: Intel HD Graphics Driver for Windows 8 WHQL

Patriot Memory, a global pioneer in high-performance memory, NAND flash, storage and enthusiast computer products today announces the launch of the new Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition DDR3 Memory. Built exclusively for gamers, the Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition will provide the rock solid performance and stability needed for today's most extreme gaming systems.

Designed specifically to take full advantage of the performance capabilities of the newest 2nd and 3rd generation Intel Core processor family, the Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition is fully certified for Intel XMP 1.3 delivering frequencies of 1600MHz, 1866MHz, and 2133MHz*. Featuring the same great custom high performance heat shield as the Viper III, the Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition will provide superior thermal protection when used during long and demanding gaming sessions. The new Intel Extreme Masters Limited Edition modules will be available in dual and quad-channel kits and offered in 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB capacities.

Intel is planning a series of price cuts for its three current consumer SSD lines, the SSD 320, SSD 330, and SSD 520. The new prices could take effect from August, and will render several models with price per GB under $1. While prices of most lower-capacity SSD 320 series products are left untouched (partly because they are being phased out of the market), those of the 300 GB and 600 GB are cut significantly. The 300 GB SSD 320 could get a price cut from US $519 to $464, while that of the 600 GB SSD 320 could go down from $1,059 down to $879.

Intel's current mainstream SSD line, the SSD 330, could face price cuts on some of its best selling models. The 60 GB model could see its price go down from $94 to $69, the 120 GB from $149 to $104, and the 180 GB from $234 to $154. Intel's performance SSD line, the SSD 520 series, sees prices cut for nearly every model. The 60 GB model is down from $109 to $99, 120 GB from $189 to $139, 180 GB from $279 to $199, 240 GB from $349 to $259, and 480 GB $809 to $594. The new prices restore competitiveness of Intel's consumer SSD lines against competitors' offerings, as SSD prices continue on their free-fall.

AVADirect, a leading provider of custom computer systems, offers the first personal supercomputer workstation with Dual 8-Core Xeon CPUs, 192GB Memory and Four Graphics Cards. Because of the close partnership with EVGA, AVADirect now offers ground breaking capabilities based on new EVGA SR-X motherboard with wide variety of component combinations to meet the needs of the most demanding professionals or enthusiasts.

Within the past month, manufacturers began to release new motherboards based on the E5 2600 XEON processors. End-users have seen them offered in rackmount and tower configurations from Supermicro, Asus, and Intel. Now, AVADirect is proud to announce that EVGA has released an enthusiast series motherboard that AVADirect offers in a custom configuration. Supported by the EVGA Classified SR-X dual-socket 2011 motherboard, the configuration boasts a whole new level of performance and expandability, including 7x PCI e expansion slots (with PCI-E 16x 3.0 support), 6x USB 3.0 ports, and 8x internal SATA ports; 4 being SATA III 6Gb/s. More importantly, the system will support up to 192GB of certified, Quad-Channel ECC RAM.

Intel Corporation today announced it has entered into a series of agreements with ASML Holding N.V. intended to accelerate the development of 450-millimeter (mm) wafer technology and extreme ultra-violet (EUV) lithography totaling €3.3 billion (approximately $4.1 billion). The objective is to shorten the schedule for deploying the lithography equipment supporting these technologies by as much as two years, resulting in significant cost savings and other productivity improvements for semiconductor manufacturers.

To achieve this, Intel is participating in a multi-party development program that includes a cash contribution by Intel to fund relevant ASML research and development (R&D) efforts as well as equity investments in ASML. The first phase of this program consists of Intel committing to R&D funding of €553 million (approximately $680 million) to assist ASML in accelerating the development and delivery of 450-mm manufacturing tools, as well as an equity investment of €1.7 billion (approximately $2.1 billion) for approximately 10 percent of ASML's pre-transaction issued shares. Intel will record the R&D investment as a combination of R&D expense and pre-payments on future tool deliveries.

Thermaltake, being the industry pioneer brand with expertise in PC chassis, power supply and thermal solution, is launching the new reinvent CPU cooler - the "BigTyp Revo", the COMPUTEX 2012 d&i award winner, an award recognises Thermaltake being the pacemaker of CPU cooler, which also made the debut during CeBIT 2012 this March, to users and gamers who favor the down draft rather than the tower cooler.

Thermaltake BigTyp Revo is the next substantial down draft CPU air cooler after the introduction of the Orb Series and the Typhoon Series that marked a brand-new new CPU cooler era for Thermaltake.

Around three years after the European Commission slapped Intel with a record €1.06 billion fine for anti-competitive practices against market rival AMD, the company appealed against the fine, on grounds that the commission relied on "profoundly inadequate" evidence to establish anti-competition charges against the company, which lead to the fine. A 5-member bench of General Court in Luxembourg, Europe's second highest, will hear arguments of both Intel and EU's regulators, during a 4-day hearing. Intel wants its conviction quashed and its fine reduced/removed. According to European regulators, major computer manufacturers such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo, received unfair rebates from Intel for opting for its chips. The case is T-286/09, Intel vs Commission.

The UEFI Forum has ratified an update to the UEFI 2.3.1 Specification that adds important firmware considerations and addresses numerous engineering change requests. The updated Specification will be referred to as "UEFI 2.3.1C".

• UEFI 2.3.1C adds: An OS Indications Variable - OS/FW feature & capability communication - when implemented, allows end-users to make an OS menu request to enter BIOS setup after next reboot.
• UEFI 2.3.1C adds: A mechanism which, when implemented, facilitates Open Source Operating System installations and OS- agnostic end-user configurations of retaining the factory default keys while in Setup Mode (see Specification for full technical detail of Setup Mode).
• UEFI 2.3.1C removes: Runtime driver requirement on Network UNDI drivers - this allows UNDI drivers to be delivered in EFI Byte Code (EBC) Virtual Machine format supporting systems based on different processor architectures.

MSI launch MS-9893 with the latest Intel Atom Platform. This is the multi-display outputs of mini-ITX form factor board with the latest 32nm process technology for the highest HD graphics quality, and offers lower power consumption and enhanced graphic and media performance.

MSI MS-9893 supports multi-display outputs, including single Channel 18/24 bit LVDS, VGA, one HDMI. It has great graphics performance and support for up to 1080P high definition video.MSI MS-9893 is equipped with single-channel DDR3 1066 MHz memory up to a maximum of 4 GB in 1 x 204 SO-DIMM slots. MS-9893 supports D2550(10W) / N2800(6.5W) two SKU, with VGA, HDMI, Video Output: LVDS/ Single CH 24bit by D2550 (LVDS/ Single CH 18bit by N2800). Power Input support, one ATX for D2550, and another is DC-in 12V for D2550 / N2800. I/O, and expansion connectivity, including 6* COM-ports(2 x Real, 4 x Internal), 6* USB2.0(4 x Real, 2 x Internal), and 8*GPIO(4 x GPI, 4 x GPO), one PCI slot and one Mini-PCIe slot could support the m-SATA/wireless function.

Hard drive prices refuse to budge after last year's floods that struck manufacturing facilities in Thailand, even as manufacturers turn record profit. The solid-state drive market, on the other hand, is finally rolling with competition, high volume production, and advancements in NAND flash technologies. With memory majors such as Hynix adding new NAND flash manufacturing facilities to their infrastructure, SSD is expected to finally get its big break in the mainstream market.

SSD prices, according to price aggregators, are on a free-fall. Models which once held relative pricing as high as $2 per gigabyte, and going deep within the $1 mark. For example, Crucial's widely-praised M4 256 GB SSD has a price per GB of 'just' $0.82, and a market price around $200, something unheard of, for a 256 GB SSD with transfer rates of over 500 MB/s. With SSD major OCZ Technology releasing new generations of drives under the Vertex 4 and Agility 4 series that use Indilinx processors, older Vertex 3 and Agility 3 models are being phased out, some of these are seeing sub $1/GB prices. Intel is also responding to market trends, with prices of its SSD 520 series dropping sharply. Find a boat-load of stats at the source.

MSI announced today that their Intel 6/7 series mainboards have officially acquired Windows 8 certification from Microsoft. During the Computex exhibition this year, MSI already lead the Windows 8 market by displaying several mainboards that meet the Windows 8 certification requirements and showing off various new Windows 8 features live for the exhibition audience.

Not only did the MSI mainboards get officially certified from Microsoft, they are currently the only leading mainboard brand that runs 3DMark for Windows 8 successfully on their certified mainboards, which proves that MSI is fully ready for Windows 8 in terms of both software and hardware, safeguarding the Windows 8 system's stability and compatibility for consumers and providing the best user experience!

Today during the Structure Conference in San Francisco, Jason Waxman, GM of the Cloud Infrastructure Group outlined Intel's vision and roadmap for microservers and discussed how they best suited to handle emerging "scale-out" applications. Waxman provided an update on Intel's roadmap for microservers including new generations of Intel Xeon processors and Intel Atom architecture based 22nm SoC chips codenamed "Avoton", both scheduled for 2013. In his blog Jason also talks about why within the new segment of servers it is the application that will decide which core - Intel Atom or Xeon - will be the optimal solution. Waxman's presentation can be found here.

InterDigital, Inc. and Intel Corporation today announced that certain of InterDigital's subsidiaries have signed a definitive agreement to sell to Intel roughly 1,700 patents and patent applications for $375 million in cash.

The agreement involves patents primarily related to 3G, LTE and 802.11 technologies. InterDigital is an active developer of advanced wireless technologies including WCDMA (Wideband CDMA), HSDPA (High Speed Download Packet Access) and HSUPA (High Speed Upload Packet Access) 3G technologies as well as LTE (Long Term Evolution) and LTE-Advanced 4G technologies.

The Intel Xeon processor E5-2600 product family reached a new supercomputing milestone as the fastest adopted new processing technology to power 44 systems, including 3 Petascale-class supercomputers on the 39th edition of the Top500 list announced today.

The "SuperMUC" supercomputer at LRZ in Germany, which ranked fourth on the list, delivers 2.9 PetaFLOPs of performance, making it the most powerful in Europe, as well as the largest installation based on the new Intel Xeon processors E5 family.

The Leibniz Supercomputing Centre (LRZ), in collaboration with IBM, today announced the world's first commercially available hot-water cooled supercomputer, a powerful, high-performance system designed to help researchers and industrial institutions across Europe investigate and solve some of the world's most daunting scientific challenges.

The new LRZ "SuperMUC" system was built with IBM System x iDataPlex Direct Water Cooled dx360 M4 servers with more than 150,000 cores to provide a peak performance of up to three petaflops, which is equivalent to the work of more than 110,000 personal computers. Put another way, three billion people using a pocket calculator would have to perform one million operations per second each to reach equivalent SuperMUC performance. Also, a revolutionary new form of hot-water cooling technology invented by IBM allows the system to be built 10 times more compact and substantially improve its peak performance while consuming 40 percent less energy than a comparable air-cooled machine.

The Panasonic Toughbook CF-19 has transformed the way professionals work in field utilities, emergency services, defence, transport maintenance and a huge range of field services by providing access to data and applications, wherever and whenever they need it. This latest device will mark a decade for the product line of market-leading rugged convertible notebooks, enabling customers to benefit from the latest design and technology enhancements whilst continuing to use the wide range of peripherals built around the range, such as docking stations and car mounts.

The new Toughbook CF-19 includes the 3rd generation Intel Core i5 Processor & Chipset. The high performance Intel Core i5-3320 vPro (2.60 GHz, up to 3.30 GHz with Intel Turbo Boost Technology) standard voltage processor with Intel HD 4000 graphics, ensures the device is capable of handling the most intensive applications. To ensure reliability in the most challenging environments, the CF-19 remains unique in the market with its fan less design; instead using Panasonic energy optimisation and optimised heat pipes to cool the full performance, standard voltage CPU.