Implementing state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) models requires large amounts of computation, both to train the underlying models, and to serve those models once they're trained. Given the demands of these workloads, a one-size-fits-all approach is not enough - you need infrastructure that's purpose-built for AI.

Together with our partners, we offer a wide range of compute options for ML use cases such as large language models (LLMs), generative AI, and diffusion models. Recently, we announced G2 VMs, becoming the first cloud to offer the new NVIDIA L4 Tensor Core GPUs for serving generative AI workloads. Today, we're expanding that portfolio with the private preview launch of the next-generation A3 GPU supercomputer. Google Cloud now offers a complete range of GPU options for training and inference of ML models.

IBASE Technology Inc., a leading provider of industrial motherboards and embedded computing solutions, has announced the release of its latest ET880 COM Express CPU module designed to meet the demands of embedded applications that require low power consumption and fanless operation. The module integrated Intel Atom x6000 series processors that are built on 10 nm technology support clock speeds of up to 3.2 GHz and Intel's Time Coordinated Computing (TCC) technology, which enables precise clock synchronization across multiple devices.

The ET880 delivers robust performance and reliability, with features that make it an ideal choice for a variety of industrial and IoT applications. The module boasts onboard 8 GB DDR4 memory and a DDR4 SO-DIMM slot for a total RAM capacity of 24 GB to ensure efficient system operation. It is equipped with a range of connectivity options, such as a I226IT PCI-E 2.5G LAN controller, two USB 3.1, four USB 2.0, two SATA III, two UART (Tx/Rx only), and three independent displays via the DisplayPort / DVI-D / LVDS or eDP interfaces on the IBASE IP419 carrier board.

Leading global motherboard manufacturer ASRock proudly announces its new series of Alder Lake-N motherboards. The new motherboards will be featuring the latest N100 SoC processor, 4 E-cores with a turbo frequency up to 3.4 GHz and Intel UHD Graphics supporting 4K@60Hz resolution, this passively cooled motherboard provides adequate performance as well as outstanding heat management.

The N100M is a M-ATX sized motherboard designed for smart buyers who is looking for a simple yet capable solution, with onboard USB Type-C, M.2 for both SSD & WiFi, the N100M can be easily built into a system that suits your need, and thanks to the onboard XXL CPU heatsink and fan-less design, it is able to perform a low noise ultra-silent computing experience.

Supermicro, Inc. (NASDAQ: SMCI), a Total IT Solution Provider for Cloud, AI/ML, Storage, and 5G/Edge, is introducing the most powerful server in its lineup for large-scale database and enterprise applications. The Multi-Processor product line includes the 8-socket server, ideal for in-memory databases requiring up to 480 cores and 32 TB of DDR5 memory for maximum performance. In addition, the product line includes a 4-socket server, which is ideal for applications that require a single system image of up to 240 cores and 16 TB of high-speed memory.

These powerful systems all use 4th Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors. Compared with the previous generation of 8-socket and 4-socket servers, the systems have 2X the core count, 1.33X the memory capacity, and 2X the memory bandwidth. Also, these systems deliver up to 4X the I/O bandwidth compared to previous generations of systems for connectivity to peripherals. The Supermicro 8-socket system has attained the highest performance ratings ever for a single system based on the SPECcpu2017 FP Rate benchmarks, for both the base and peak results. In addition, the Supermicro 8-socket and 4-socket servers demonstrate performance leadership on a wide range of SPEC benchmarks.

Today, Lenovo unveiled its latest ThinkStation and ThinkPad workstation solutions designed to provide the high levels of power and performance needed to run sophisticated workloads with ISV certifications. Lenovo workstations are engineered to push the boundaries of performance that help unleash users' potential while maintaining the reliability, usability and configurability needed across a variety of industries. End users can configure tailor-made workstations built using state-of-the-art components such as 13th Generation Intel Core processors and professional NVIDIA RTX GPUs and supporting the industry's latest operating systems including Windows 11 and several distributions of Linux.

ThinkStation P3 series desktop workstations provide the value users need while reaping the benefits of performance or versatility. An all-new Tower form factor built for mission-critical tasks is an ideal solution for value-conscious designers, engineers, and students who seek flexibility and expandability without compromising on compute power. The ThinkStation P3 Tower with its expanded chassis supports larger power supplies up to 1100 W to handle more demanding configurations and multiple storage options up to 26 TB for data-heavy applications. ThinkStation P3 Ultra enhances a revolutionary form factor that packs power and performance in a space-saving chassis that is less than four liters in volume. An intelligently compact workstation, P3 Ultra is designed to handle demanding workflows and easily adapt to changing hybrid workspaces. ThinkStation P3 Tiny is engineered to go where other workstations can't. Its class leading size of one liter allows the P3 Tiny to fit into virtually any location.

Following the recent Q1 2023 financial report with declining revenue, Intel is restructuring its Client Computing Group (CCG) and Data Center Group (DCG). These two units were hit the hardest, with 38 and 39% downturns, respectively. According to Dylan Patel of SemiAnalysis, and a statement from Tom's Hardware, we have information that Intel will be conducting budget cuts to CCG and DCG, with some layoffs. As Dylan Patel notes, Intel will cut CCG and DCG budgets by 10%, resulting in as much as a 20% reduction of the workforce inside those two groups. Additionally, this was supported by Intel's spokesperson, who issued a statement for Tom's Hardware stating the following:

Intel SpokespersonIntel is working to accelerate its strategy while navigating a challenging macro-economic environment. We are focused on identifying cost reductions and efficiency gains through multiple initiatives, including some business and function-specific workforce reductions in areas across the company.

We continue to invest in areas core to our business, including our U.S.-based manufacturing operations, to ensure we are well-positioned for long-term growth. These are difficult decisions, and we are committed to treating impacted employees with dignity and respect.

At VLSI Symposium 2023, scheduled to take place between June 11-16, Intel is set to demonstrate its PowerVia technology working efficiently on an E-Core chip built using the Intel 4 node. Conventional chips have power and signal interconnects distributed across multiple metal layers. PowerVia, on the other hand, dedicates specific layers for power delivery, effectively separating them from the signal routing layers. This approach allows for vertical power delivery through a set of power-specific Through-Silicon Vias (TSVs) or PowerVias, which are essentially vertical connections between the top and bottom surfaces of the chip. By delivering power directly from the backside of the chip, PowerVia reduces power supply noise and resistive losses, optimizing power distribution and improving overall energy efficiency. PowerVia is set to make a debut in 2024 with Intel 20A node.

For VLSI Symposium 2023 talk, the company has prepared a paper that highlights a design made using Intel 4 technology and implements E-Cores only in a test chip. The document states: "PowerVia Technology is a novel innovation to extend Process Scaling by having Power Delivery on the backside. This paper presents the pre and post silicon findings from implementing an Intel E-Core in PowerVia Technology. PowerVia enabled standard cell utilization of greater than 90 percent in large areas of the core while showing greater than 5 percent frequency benefit in silicon due reduced IR drop. Successful Post silicon debug is demonstrated with slightly higher but acceptable throughput times. The thermal characteristics of the PowerVia testchip is inline with higher power densities expected from logic scaling."

Avalanche Software has released quite a big patch for Hogwarts Legacy, improving visual, performance, gameplay, and general stability. In addition to more than 500 bug fixes, it also brings the new Arachnophobia Mode.

Performance-wise, the newest patch resolves general crashes on the PC and various memory leaks, brings plenty of optimizations, fixes ray tracing issues, and more. It also updates minimum driver recommendation for NVIDIA graphics cards, updates NVIDIA DLSS to v3.1.2, AMD FSR to v2.2, and Intel XeSS to v1.1.

According to leaked details, it appears that ASRock is preparing at least three custom versions of the upcoming Radeon RX 7600 graphics card, including Phantom Gaming, Challenger, and Steel Legend series. The list of ASRock custom Radeon RX 7600 graphics cards comes from the ECC listing, and these three are listed among some other yet to be announced graphics cards.

As you can see from the list below, ASRock will have three Radeon RX 7600 versions, all of which are factory-overclocked. The Phantom Gaming version should be a more premium model, while the Challenger and Steel Legend should be closer to MSRP. The Steel Legend is a novelty in ASRock's graphics card lineup, and we expect a similar silver design found on ASRock's Steel Legend motherboards. The list also includes the recently announced Radeon RX 7900 XT Taichi White and a low profile Intel Arc A380 graphics card.

MINISFORUM is proud to unveil its latest series of office solutions, the Venus Series UN100 and UN305 Mini-PCs. These devices are designed to offer a superior office experience in a compact form factor, powered by advanced Intel N series processors (Intel N100 & Intel Core i3-N305) that provide significant performance improvements over entry-level products.

With up to 16 GB of LPDDR5-4800 on-board memory, M.2-2280 SATA SSD storage, and an expansion slot for a 2.5-inch hard drive and a TF card, UN100 and UN305 deliver quiet, energy-efficient, and reliable operation. The all-metal unibody design, manufactured using advanced CNC machining technology with a 0.6 L volume (136 mm long x 121 mm width x 39 mm height), offers a sleek and elegant appearance while maintaining exceptional portability without compromising on performance.

Nfina announces the addition of two new server systems to its lineup, customized for small to medium businesses and virtualized environments. Featuring 3rd Gen Intel Xeon Scalable Processors, these scalable server systems fill a void in the marketplace, bringing exceptional multi-socket processing performance, easy setup, operability, and Nfina's five-year warranty.

"We are excited to add two new 3rd generation Intel systems to Nfina's lineup. Performance, scalability, and flexibility are key deciding factors when expanding our offerings," says Warren Nicholson, President and CEO of Nfina. "Both servers are optimized for high- performance computing, virtualized environments, and growing data needs." He continues by saying, "The two servers can also be leased through our managed services division. We provide customers with choices that fit the size of their application and budget - not a one size fits all approach."

MSI, a world leader in high-performance and innovative computing solutions, has announced its PRO DP180 desktop, an ultimate business computer designed for creators and business professionals. The PRO DP180 is validated by NVIDIA RTX Studio, a platform designed for creative professionals who rely on powerful computing platforms to work with the most demanding applications in content creation, AI, and scientific research.

The MSI PRO DP180 is loaded with up to an Intel Core i7-13700 CPU alongside a discrete NVIDIA GeForce RTX GPU. Designed and tested specifically for creative workflows, it is capable of up to 8K video, real-time ray tracing, and other AI-assisted features. As a result, creators can efficiently work with the best out-of-box experience for them. In addition, PRO DP180 comes pre-installed NVIDIA Studio Drivers, which are extensively tested to provide performance boosts and new features in creative apps, providing artists, creators, and 3D developers the best performance and reliability.

Finding itself embattled with AMD's EPYC "Genoa" processors, Intel is giving its 4th Gen Xeon Scalable "Sapphire Rapids" processor a rather quick succession in the form of the Xeon Scalable "Emerald Rapids," bound for Q4-2023 (about 8-10 months in). The new processor shares the same LGA4677 platform and infrastructure, and much of the same I/O, but brings about two key design changes that should help Intel shore up per-core performance, making it competitive to EPYC "Zen 4" processors with higher core-counts. SemiAnalysis compiled a nice overview of the changes, the two broadest points of it being—1. Intel is peddling back on the chiplet approach to high core-count CPUs, and 2., that it wants to give the memory sub-system and inter-core performance a massive performance boost using larger on-die caches.

The "Emerald Rapids" processor has just two large dies in its extreme core-count (XCC) avatar, compared to "Sapphire Rapids," which can have up to four of these. There are just three EMIB dies interconnecting these two, compared to "Sapphire Rapids," which needs as many as 10 of these to ensure direct paths among the four dies. The CPU core count itself doesn't see a notable increase. Each of the two dies on "Emerald Rapids" physically features 33 CPU cores, so a total of 66 are physically present, although one core per die is left unused for harvesting, the SemiAnalysis article notes. So the maximum core-count possible commercially is 32 cores per die, or 64 cores per socket. "Emerald Rapids" continues to be based on the Intel 7 process (10 nm Enhanced SuperFin), probably with a few architectural improvements for higher clock-speeds.

In a blog post, NVIDIA claims that its AV1 video encoder is vastly superior in terms of quality, compared to both AMD and Intel's alternatives. The still shot provided by NVIDIA to show its superior quality over its competitors, was encoded at 4K60p, obviously using the AV1 codec. Nvidia used its own GeForce RTX 4080 card and compared it to an AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT and an Intel Arc A770, with all three cards encoding the video at 12 Mbps using the latest release of OBS Studio.

It just so happens that OBS Studio 29.1 added support for AV1 over the Enhanced Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP) and now allows for live streaming using AV1 to YouTube. This is also the main reason for the NVIDIA blog post, as prior to this release, it wasn't possible to stream using AV1 in OBS Studio. NVIDIA has been known for the quality of its video encoder for quite some time, but we'd like to see some independent testing before we give NVIDIA the win here, especially as the company has only provided a single screenshot as proof of its superiority.

Intel Graphics employees inadvertently revealed that the company's Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture is being designed for the 4 nm silicon fabrication node, which would give Intel's GPU designers a leap in transistor density and power headroom, given that TSMC 4 nm is an EUV node compared to the current 6 nm DUV node the company builds its Arc "Alchemist" GPUs on. The leak also seems to confirm that its succeeding "Celestial" graphics architecture is being designed for 3 nm. An enthusiast named gamma0burst sifted through public profiles of several Intel employees, and scored these details in their professional profile pages.

We are almost certain that Xe2 "Battlemage" is going to be built on the TSMC 4 nm node, and to a slightly lesser degree, about Xe3 "Celestial" being designed for TSMC's 3 nm N3X node. Intel roadmaps pin the debut of "Battlemage" to a 2023-2024 timeline, although this could also be a reference to the iGPU of the upcoming Core "Meteor Lake" processors that debut in the second half of 2023. Intel is highly likely to deliver "Meteor Lake" within its 2H-2023 timeline, which would mean that the mention of "2024" in the graphics technology roadmap could mean that discrete GPUs based on "Battlemage" only arrive next year.

Intel has posted two product change notifications regarding the Gemini Lake Refresh, which is now reaching the end of its life. Launched in 2019 as a refresh to the original Gemini Lake, these low-end products had a longer lifespan than the original Gemini Lake (2017-2020). Most commonly found on low-end PCs, AIOs, and Mini PCs, these Gemini Lake Refresh CPUs were based on the 14 nm Goldmont Plus microarchitecture. Coming with up to four cores without HyperThreading, these CPUs were ideal for lower-power applications as their TDP was rated between 6-10 Watts.

Intel has separated the product change into two categories, with the first consisting of Celeron N4120, Celeron 4020, and Pentium Silver N5030, while the other features Celeron J4025, Pentium Silver J5040, Celeron N4020C, and Celeron J4125. Intel will ship the first group of CPUs by May 24, 2024, and the second by February 23, 2024. The last round of orders will go out by November 24, 2023, and August 25, 2023, respectively.

Akasa introduced what is essentially the 2nd generation of its compact Turing fanless NUC case. The new Turing AC Pro, as its name suggests, is designed for the Intel NUC 13 Pro "Arena Canyon," and retains its distinctive cuboidal shape, and a volume of 2.8 liters. What's new is that the block that draws heat from the SoC now features a pair of 6 mm-thick copper heatpipes that spread heat across the extruded aluminium panels that make up the body of the case, and which double up as a heatsink. The introduction of these heatpipes increase the cooling capacity of the case to 40 W (up from 35 W). The case also includes a custom M.2 SSD heatsink.

The Akasa Turing AC Pro measures 95 mm x 260 mm x 113.5 mm (WxDxH), and supports NUC motherboards in the 4x4 inch UCFF form-factor. The front-panel I/O holes includes openings for two USB 3.x type-A ports, and a 4-pole headset jack. The rear I/O cutouts include DC-in, two HDMI, two USB type-A, two USB type-C, and an Ethernet. Akasa includes optional power bricks. For the Core i5 and Core i7 models of NUC 13 Pro, it offers a 120 W brick, and for the Core i3 models, there's a 90 W one, both operate at 19 V DC. The company didn't reveal pricing or availability information yet.

Intel has made it official that its upcoming Meteor Lake CPU lineup will proudly sport a new branding scheme - as reported on TPU much earlier today, rumors indicated that Intel would be rolling out "Core Ultra" brand extensions across a range of SKUs. The "i" in some model identifiers such as i3, i5, i7, and i9 are now confirmed to be (in part) replaced with "Ultra" - an Ashes of the Singularity benchmark leak identified a CPU called "Core Ultra 5 1003H" early on last week, and that information soon spread across many online hardware news outlets and communities.

Bernard Fernandes, director of global communications at Intel Corp. today addressed the rumors and leaks via Twitter and confirms that a new branding scheme is incoming: "Yes, we are making brand changes as we're at an inflection point in our client roadmap in preparation for the upcoming launch of our Meteor Lake processors. We will provide more details regarding these exciting changes in the coming weeks!" He makes sure to not directly mention the "Ultra Core" branding in his tweet, but it is heavily implied that he's referring to the discardation and eventual replacement of Intel's classic "i" labelling system.

Acer's Arc A770 Predator has once again been discounted down to $339, making it the least expensive graphics card with 16 GB of VRAM. While AMD marketing is advertising its 16 GB graphics cards with price starting at $499, comparing it to NVIDIA, Intel Arc lineup was not on their list.

Acer Arc A770 Predator BiFrost is one of the rare custom Arc A770 graphics cards on the market with fully enabled ACM-G10 GPU and 16 GB of VRAM. It has been previously discounted down to $339 in March, but quickly got back up to $399.99. Now, Acer has once again launched the sale over at Newegg.com and Amazon.com, pulling it back down to $339.99. It has a hybrid dual-fan cooler, combining blower-type and standard fans. It needs two 8-pin PCIe power connectors, and has a slightly factory overclock of 100 MHz, with GPU base clock of 2.2 GHz.

Intel is planning a major change in its client processor brand extensions with its next-generation mobile processors codenamed "Meteor Lake." The company is working to introduce the new Core Ultra brand extensions, where "Ultra" replaces the "i" in extensions such as i3, i5, i7, and i9 in some processor models. An example of such a brand extension would be the "Core Ultra 5 1003H." Ashes of the Singularity benchmark leaks of the processors surfaced on social media.

The benchmark also detects 128 EU (1,024 unified shaders) for the iGPU powering "Meteor Lake." If true, this iGPU could offer performance that's in the league of an Arc A380 discrete GPU, with some performance lost to the shared memory setup compared to the A380 with its dedicated graphics memory. The iGPU clock speed is detected to be 2.10 GHz, and having 4 MB of L2 cache, the last-level cache local to the Graphics Tile. The detection string for the iGPU as reported by its OpenCL ICD reads "Intel(R) Graphics i gfx-driver-ci-master-13736 DCH RI (1024S 128C SM3.0 2.1GHz, 4MB L2, 12.7GB)."

Video technology innovator Matrox Video today announced the launch of its new Matrox LUMA series of graphics cards with Intel Arc GPUs. The series consists of three single-slot cards: the LUMA A310, a low-profile fanless card; the LUMA A310F, a low-profile fanned card; and the LUMA A380, a full-sized fanned card.

Matrox Video developed the LUMA range to satisfy significant demand in the mainstream graphics market for driving multiple screens, with a balance between size, reliability, and performance for different applications. The new LUMA series is aimed at high-reliability and embedded PC applications in the medical, digital signage, control room, video wall, and industrial markets.

After the launch of AORUS 17X / 15X, AORUS 17 / 15, and AERO 16 / 14 OLED in 2023 Q1, in Q2 GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY is releasing the AORUS 16 Gaming Laptop with a 16-inch 240 Hz eye-protection display, presenting gamers with a brand-new option while marking the company's official arrival in the 16-inch gaming laptop market.

Coming with the latest 13th Intel Core i7 processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPU, the laptop has inherited the iconic AORUS slimness. Equipped with a large 16:10 screen certified with TÜV Rheinland low blue light, flicker-free certification, as well as a unique quad-fan Windforce Infinity cooling system exclusively for flagship models, AORUS 16 offers both efficiency and immersive entertainment experiences. Gaming enthusiasts will be amazed by its formidable computing abilities, while gamers who are also creators can enjoy the broad vision for entertainment media and production capability.

Intel's next-generation Core "Meteor Lake" processor is now ramping for mass-production, with product launches expected in the second half of 2023, the company announced in its Q1-2023 Financial Results release. "Meteor Lake" will see Intel debut its next-generation foundry node, the Intel 4. The company is expected to use this node for the Compute Tile of the "Meteor Lake" processor, the piece of silicon that has the CPU cores. Intel 4 is said to offer transistor-density and performance/Watt comparable to TSMC's N5-series and N4-series foundry nodes. In the same release, Intel stated that development of its future foundry nodes, Intel 3, Intel 20A, and Intel 18A, are on track. In its top configuration, "Meteor Lake" is expected to feature a CPU core configuration of 6P+16E, and we are hearing that it will see a more limited release in the desktop segment, in that the processor will only come in Core i3 and Core i5 brand extensions, not Core i7 or Core i9 (which would be taken up by "Arrow Lake," with its higher P-core count). "Meteor Lake" will span a variety of mobile segments from 7 W ultraportables, to 45 W mainstream notebooks, and possibly even 55 W gaming notebooks.

Intel Corporation today reported first-quarter 2023 financial results. "We delivered solid first-quarter results, representing steady progress with our transformation," said Pat Gelsinger, Intel CEO. "We hit key execution milestones in our data center roadmap and demonstrated the health of the process technology underpinning it. While we remain cautious on the macroeconomic outlook, we are focused on what we can control as we deliver on IDM 2.0: driving consistent execution across process and product roadmaps and advancing our foundry business to best position us to capitalize on the $1 trillion market opportunity ahead."

David Zinsner, Intel CFO, said, "We exceeded our first-quarter expectations on the top and bottom line, and continued to be disciplined on expense management as part of our commitment to drive efficiencies and cost savings. At the same time, we are prioritizing the investments needed to advance our strategy and establish an internal foundry model, one of the most consequential steps we are taking to deliver on IDM 2.0."

Intel has appointed Deepak Patil as the new corporate vice president and general manager of its Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) group. Patil is set to succeed Raja Koduri in this leadership role - company CEO Pat Gelsinger was the first person to announce news (last month) of Koduri's departure from Intel. At the time of his leaving Team Blue, Koduri's official job title was "Executive Vice President and Chief Architect" so the wording of his successor's executive ranking is slightly different. Patil is the current chief technology and strategy officer at the Intel Data Center and AI Group, and was previously senior vice president at Dell APEX USA. He will be taking over directly from interim AXG division leader Jeff McVeigh.

The official Intel statement regarding its new leadership appointment states: "Intel will deliver competitive accelerated computing products and build scalable systems with easy-to-program software on a predictable cadence. Deepak Patil will serve as the CVP and General Manager of the Accelerated Computing Systems and Graphics (AXG) group. Deepak recently held the position of DCAI Chief Technology and Strategy Officer. Having held senior engineering leadership positions across the high-tech industry, including being a founding member of Microsoft Azure and leading Dell's APEX as-a-service business, he understands the important role that software and open ecosystems play in enabling application developers and service providers to bring innovative solutions to market, at scale."