AMD today announced its 4th Generation Ryzen 4000G and Ryzen PRO 4000G desktop processors for pre-built OEM desktops. The company also expanded its entry-level Athlon 3000G series and debuted the Athlon PRO 3000G series. The Ryzen 4000G and PRO 4000G mark the Socket AM4 desktop debut of the 7 nm "Renoir" silicon, which combines up to 8 CPU cores based on the "Zen 2" microarchitecture, with a Radeon Vega 8 iGPU. These processors benefit from the 65 W TDP and increased power limits of the desktop platform to dial up CPU- and iGPU engine clock speeds significantly over the Ryzen 4000U and 4000H mobile processors based on the same silicon. The new Athlon 3000G-series and Athlon PRO 3000G-series parts are based on a 12 nm die that has "Zen+" CPU cores.

All of the processor models announced today are OEM-only, meaning that you'll only find them on pre-built consumer- and commercial desktops by the likes of HP, Lenovo, Dell, etc. Not even the system-integrator (SI) channel (eg: Maingear, Origin PC, etc.,) gets these chips. OEMs will pair these processors with motherboards based on the AMD B550 chipset, although the chips are compatible with the X570 chipset, too. The Ryzen PRO 4000G processors are targeted at commercial desktops that are part of large business environments, and launches along with the new AMD PRO565 chipset. Since they are OEM-only, the company did not reveal pricing for any of these chips. They did however mention that for the DIY retail channel, they do plan to update their product stack with processors that have integrated graphics at a later time (without going into specifics of the said time).

ASUS today announced that the ExpertBook B9450 based on the Intel vPro platform is now available for purchase at US resellers starting at $1,599.99 USD. The ASUS ExpertBook B9450 provides unmatched business-grade performance, durability and design within an incredibly thin and light form factor weighing in at just 2.2 lbs with a 0.59-inch thin profile. Paired with the Intel vPro platform, the B9450 is ideal for businesses of any size that require top-notch performance, built-in security and better overall value and reliability for the long-term.

Designed for business professionals on-the-go, the ExpertBook B9450 delivers top-tier performance thanks to up to an 10th Gen Intel Core i7 vPro processor, dual-storage design accommodating up to two ultrafast 1 TB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSDs, and up to 16 GB of RAM and Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) connectivity. Expect uninterrupted performance on the B9450 with long-lasting battery life delivering up to an impressive 24 hours of use on a single charge, with extra comfort features like the ErgoLift hinge, built-in voice assistant support, and a Harman Kardon-optimized audio system.

AMD is readying the PRO565 desktop motherboard chipset. Mention of the chipset surfaced in screenshots of the latest AMD CBS (common BIOS settings) lists of an ASRock motherboard, unearthed by Komachi Ensaka. Not much else is known about the AMD PRO 565. We expect it to be the key component of a business platform rivaling the Intel Q470, enabling several large business-relevant management features. AMD is making efforts to rival Intel vPro, as seen with its Ryzen 4000 Pro series mobile processors targeted at commercial notebooks with quasi-enterprise features. AMD's current crop of Ryzen PRO processors features GuardMI. It's likely that AMD will crystallize its "PRO" feature-set further with the PRO565 possibly enabling new features with the Ryzen PRO 3000 series desktop processors, or their "Renoir" based successors.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, today announced the new W480 VISION series creator and workstation motherboard, to complete the GIGABYTE VISION product line. These new motherboards are designed specifically for the new Intel Xeon W and 10th Gen Core processors which come with up to 12 phase digital power and the latest thermal design, features four sets of memory slots supporting dual-channel ECC and non-ECC Unbuffered DDR4 memory, Intel 2.5GbE + 1 GbE dual-server-level network, and other advanced functions. Moreover, further equipped with special functions according to different usage requirements such as Thunderbolt 3, Intel Wi-Fi 6 and SATA DOM make the construction of the workstation more efficient and stable, and content creators can fully realize the creative ideas to design unique and excellent works.

"VISION is the ability to see beyond. It is an attitude to create with tremendous dedication and craftsmanship. With VISION, you can see more, explore more, and achieve more. Let VISION help your creativity flow with its minimalist design language, thoughtful features, reliable operation, and powerful performance" says GIGABYTE. With the launch of the W480 VISION series motherboards, the previously launched VISION memory, Z490 VISION motherboards, and other related products, the entire VISION product line is now more complete.

Dynabook Americas, Inc., today announced the availability of the new 10th Gen Intel Core Processors with vPro technology on the company's premium Portégé X Series (X30-G, X30L-G, X40-G & X50-G) and performance Tecra A Series (A30-G & A40-G). The addition of the Intel vPro platform powered 10th Gen Intel Core processors deliver better overall system performance, faster data compression, stronger security and faster Wi-Fi bandwidth. Dynabook will begin shipping these laptops with the vPro platform by the end of the second quarter this year.

"The new 10th Gen Intel Core vPro processors are built to power the next generation of computing innovation which our Portégé X Series and Tecra A Series represent," said Phil Osako, vice president, marketing and engineering, Dynabook Americas, Inc. "By incorporating the latest generation of Intel commercial processors, Dynabook will deliver business solutions with technologies to address new and emerging challenges for IT and users."

Intel today introduced its new 10th Gen Intel Core vPro processors, built to power the next generation of business computing innovation for the increasingly remote workforce. The new mobile and desktop PC processors deliver increased productivity improvements, connectivity, security features and remote manageability - all to empower IT to deliver amazing experiences, helping employees stay connected, more productive, more secure and in the flow with minimal interruptions.

"Built for business, the Intel vPro platform is a comprehensive PC foundation for performance, hardware-enhanced security, manageability and stability. With our new 10th Gen Intel Core vPro processors, we've enhanced that solid PC foundation to help tackle not only today's challenges, but also those of future work environments across the PC lifecycle," said Stephanie Hallford, Intel vice president of the Client Computing Group and general manager of Business Client Platforms.

Intel is reportedly giving finishing touches to a new performance-segment notebook processor positioned between the Core i7-10875H and the flagship Core i9-10980HK, called the Core i9-10885H. Based on the "Comet Lake-H" silicon, this 8-core/16-thread processor has identical clock speeds to the i9-10980HK, but lacks overclocking capabilities. With its default 45 W TDP configured, the processor ticks at 2.40 GHz nominal, with up to 5.30 GHz boost - a 200 MHz speed-bump over the i7-10875H.

Apparently, the chip also features vPro capability, making it fit for commercial-segment notebooks such as the Dell Latitude and Lenovo ThinkPad T-series. Among the other Intel mobile processors with vPro capability are the new Xeon W-10855M 6-core/12-thread and W-10885M 8-core/16-thread processors; and the 15 W category i7-10810U 6-core/12-thread; and i7-10610U i5-10310U 4-core/8-thread processors. These processors are likely to formally launch on May 13.

Remember DFI? Those guys are into industrial PCs and embedded systems these days, and put out data sheets of upcoming products implementing the new Intel W480 chipset. A possible step-up from Intel Qx70 series chipset family, the W480 is positioned between the Q470 and Z490, and enables certain quasi-workstation features relevant to client desktops in very big organizations. The chipset enables vPro, and certain other features that helps with remote management.

The DFI specs, without taking model numbers, names several kinds of upcoming Xeon vPro and 10th generation Core E-SKUs. Among these are Xeon vPro processors in core-counts of 10, 8, and 6; and TDP levels of 80 W, and 35 W. It's not known if the 10th gen Xeon vPro succeed the workstation-segment Xeon E-series, which typically don't work on client-segment chipsets. We also see an assortment of Core i9, Core i7, Core i5, Core i3, Pentium and Celeron processors with the "E" brand extension, across a variety of TDP options. Unless we're horribly mistaken, the "E" brand extension could denote ECC memory support, at least in the case of the W480E and Q470E chipset variants.

Lenovo announced today the latest additions to the ThinkPad portfolio: the new T series, X series and L series are built leveraging the core tenets of design, innovation and quality. Focused on providing a broad customer choice and a smarter workforce experience, the updated ThinkPad portfolio delivers modern IT solutions with emerging technology features to meet the needs and desires of end users. Innovations across the range include Modern Standby, Wake on Voice, WiFi 6, Dolby Audio Speaker System and Dolby Vision, plus customers can optimize select models with either 10th Gen Intel Core vPro processors or the next generation AMD Ryzen 4000 PRO Mobile processors. Lenovo will be the first PC vendor to offer the AMD Ryzen PRO 4000 Mobile processors.

Intel Wednesday rolled out its NUC 8 Pro "Provo Canyon" line of compact desktops targeted at businesses. These NUCs are fit for enterprise client desktop role as some of the models feature Intel vPro, and are powered by 8th generation Core "Whiskey Lake-U" processors. Leading the pack is the NUC8v7PN, powered by a Core i7-8665U processor, followed by the NUC8v5PN powered by Core i5-8365U, and the NUC8i3PN, powered by Core i3-8145U. The NUC8v7PN and NUC8v5PN offer Intel vPro support. All three come in two chassis types, H and K. The H chassis features a 2.5-inch drive bay with SATA 6 Gbps interface, and measures 117 mm x 112 mm x 53 mm, while the compact K chassis lacks the 2.5-inch drive bay, and is 37 mm tall. The three are also available in bare board form-factors, so you can use your own NUC-compatible cases.

Connectivity features common to all three are dual HDMI 2.0b (HDCP 2.2) ports with in-built CEC; two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel memory; one Thunderbolt 3 (40 Gbps) port at the rear panel that includes DisplayPort 1.3 and USB 3.1 gen 2 wiring; and four USB type-A ports, from which three are USB 3.1 gen 2, and one USB 2.0. Networking connectivity includes 802.11ac through an Intel Wireless AC-9560 vPro WLAN card (NUC8v7PN and NUC8v5PN only) or Wireless AC-9560 (NUC8i3PN), and one 1 GbE interface driven by Intel i219-LM controller. The audio is completely HDMI-based, there are no analog jacks. The three are certified for Windows 10 IoT Enterprise and Windows Server 2019.

Intel today unveiled its latest lineup of Intel Xeon W and X-series processors, which puts new classes of computing performance and AI acceleration into the hands of professional creators and PC enthusiasts. Custom-designed to address the diverse needs of these growing audiences, the new Xeon W-2200 and X-series processors are targeted to be available starting November, along with a new pricing structure that represents an easier step up for creators and enthusiasts from Intel Core S-series mainstream products.

Intel is the only company that delivers a full portfolio of products precision-tuned to handle the sustained compute-intensive workloads used by professional creators and enthusiasts every day. The new Xeon W-2200 and X-series processors take this to the next level, as the first high-end desktop PC and mainstream workstations to feature AI acceleration with the integration of Intel Deep Learning Boost. This offers an AI inference boost of 2.2 times more compared with the prior generation. Additionally, this new lineup features Intel Turbo Boost Max Technology 3.0, which has been further enhanced to help software, such as for simulation and modeling, run as fast as possible by identifying and prioritizing the fastest available cores.

Intel in addition to updating its 5G strategy, also announced availability of its 8th generation Core vPro "Whiskey Lake" mobile processor SoCs. Built as multi-chip modules with the CPU and PCH dies sitting on a single package, the new Core vPro i7-8665U has identical specifications to the original i7-8665U from Q3-2018, but with the addition of vPro, a set of additional features relevant to large organizations, such as AMT (active management technology), and TXT (trusted execution technology). OEM majors Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Panasonic are giving finishing touches to enterprise notebooks based on the new chip, which by itself could be priced around $500.

GIGABYTE today introduced the C246-WU4, a workstation-grade socket LGA1151 motherboard based on Intel C246 chipset, with support for the recently announced Xeon E-2100 series, in addition to 8th and 9th generation Core processors. With Xeon processors installed, it supports up to 128 GB ECC memory. 9th Generation Core processors let you use up to 128 GB non-ECC memory. 8th generation ones cap out at 64 GB non-ECC. The board also supports many of the vPro enterprise features that the Q370 Express chipset offers.

Built in the standard ATX form-factor, the board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX, 8-pin EPS, and optional 4-pin ATX, and uses an 8+2 phase VRM to condition power for the CPU. Expansion slots include four PCI-Express 3.0 x16, from which slots 1 and 3 are wired to the CPU, and share an x16 link (x16/NC or x8/x8), while slots 2 and 4 are gen 3.0 x4, and wired to the PCH. There's also a legacy PCI slot driven by a bridge chip. Storage connectivity includes two M.2 PCIe with gen 3.0 x4 wiring, each; and ten SATA 6 Gbps ports, from which eight are driven by the PCH, and two from an ASMedia ASM1061 chip. Network connectivity includes two 1 GbE interfaces, one driven by an Intel i219-V, and the other by i211-AT, with vPro support. USB connectivity includes USB 3.1 gen 2, including type-C rear-panel ports. The onboard audio features a Realtek ALC1220VB, which is EMI shielded, and wired to WIMA capacitors. Expect this board to be priced around $350.

Intel Corporation today reported second-quarter 2018 financial results. Record second quarter revenue of $17.0 billion was up 15 percent YoY driven by strength across the business and customer demand for performance-leading Intel platforms. Collectively, data-centric businesses grew 26 percent, approaching 50 percent of total revenue. PC-centric revenue was up 6 percent on strength in the commercial and enthusiast segments. Operating margin leverage and lower tax rate drove excellent EPS growth.

"After five decades in tech, Intel is poised to deliver our third record year in a row. We are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the need to process, store and move data, which has never been more pervasive or more valuable," said Bob Swan, Intel CFO and Interim CEO. "Intel is now competing for a $260 billion market opportunity, and our second quarter results show that we're winning. As a result of the continued strength we are seeing across the business, we are raising our full year revenue and earnings outlook."

Intel today announced the release of the new Intel Xeon E-2100 processor. The Intel Xeon E processor, successor to the Intel Xeon E3 processor, is designed for entry-level workstations that provide creators with powerful, single-threaded application performance with a platform optimized for reliability and affordability.

"With today's workloads, aging workstations impede productivity, collaboration and creativity. The release of the Intel Xeon E processor is intended to deliver the essential performance and visuals for entry workstations, as well as optimizing the innovative form factors, designs and diverse requirements of our customers," said Jennifer Huffstetler, vice president and general manager, data center product management, Intel Corporation.

Toshiba's Client Solutions Division (CSD), a division of Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., today announced its line of award-winning, business-class mobile computing solutions to feature the new 8th Generation Intel Core vPro processors. Toshiba will begin shipping the Portégé X20W, Portégé X30, Tecra X40, Tecra Z50, Tecra A50 and Tecra C50 with Intel's newest processing technology in the first quarter of 2018.

"We are excited about incorporating the 8th Generation Intel Core vPro processors to our portfolio of business-focused laptops," said Carl Pinto, vice president, marketing and product development, Client Solutions Division, Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. "The performance enhancements available via this new processor combined with the advanced features and options found in our Portégé and Tecra business laptops positions Toshiba as a premium mobile computing provider."

ECS today rolled out the LIVA Z Plus ZE mini-PC featuring legacy connectivity, combined with otherwise modern hardware, which puts its applications halfway between retail/POS (point of sale) and educational/robotics. The mini-PC features four RS232 serial COM ports, so you can directly plug in POS peripherals such as barcode/RFID scanners, receipt printers, credit card POS machines, electronic weighing scales, etc. It comes with rather powerful 7th generation "Kaby Lake" SoC options, including Celeron 3965U, Core i3-7100U, Core i5-7200U, and i5-7500U, bolstered by Intel vPro.

Besides factory-fitted SoCs, the LIVA Z Plus ZE comes with two DDR4 SO-DIMM slots, supporting up to 32 GB of dual-channel memory, and one M.2-2242 slot with both PCI-Express 3.0 x4 and SATA 6 Gbps wiring. Besides the four RS232 ports, it features four USB 3.0 ports (three type-A, one type-C), two 1 GbE wired network interfaces, 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.0 WLAN, stereo HD audio, and display outputs that include one each of HDMI 1.4 and miniDisplayPort. Measuring 117 mm x 128 mm x 51 mm (WxDxH), it supports VESA mounting, which lets you tuck it away behind your monitor. It draws power from an external 65W power brick.

A bug in Intel's AMT (Active Management Technology), ISM (Standard Manageability) and SBT (Small Business Technology) firmware versions 6 to 11.6 sits unpatched since 2008 - a bug which allows "an unprivileged attacker to gain control of the manageability features provided by these products." Potentially, this could have led systems to be exploited for remote control and spyware infection (and maybe it did lead to that, and we just don't know about it.) Through this flaw, hackers could log into a vulnerable computer's hardware - outside the security features of the OS and any anti-virus suites - and silently install malware and other thriving pieces of malevolent coding. AMT having direct access to the computer's network hardware ensures this could have been done outside of local tampering. The vulnerable AMT service is part of Intel's vPro suite of processor features, so it's catering more to businesses and server boxes than for the usual consumer-based products - though we all know some hardware enthusiast's usage of this kind of processors in their personal rigs. If you don't have vPro or AMT present at all, you are in the clear. However, some outlets report that Intel systems are vulnerable to direct hardware access even if their AMT, ISM, or SBT implementations aren't provisioned - it's just the network access that doesn't work.

These insecure management features have been available in various Intel chipsets for nearly a decade, starting with the Nehalem Core i7 in 2008, all the way up to this year's Kaby Lake Core parts. Luckily, this "feature", which is present in millions of Intel chips and potentially provides a "backdoor-esque" entry point to equal millions of systems, appears to be able to be addressed through a microcode update. However, this update will have to be pushed by your system manufacturer, and you can probably begin to imagine by now how such a process will linger on, and how hard it will be for this to happen to every affected system.

MSI proudly announces a new addition to the mini-PC line up: the MSI Cubi 2 Plus. The Cubi 2 Plus is built on a concept of nifty technology and a brilliant design to suit the needs of both consumers and businesses so that users can benefit from a powerful handheld-size PC. This new generation Cubi comes with the new mini STX (5x5) motherboard form factor. The mini STX motherboard is 29% smaller than a mini-ITX motherboard, making it the smallest motherboard with a socket design available. Therefore the CPU can easily be upgraded. The Skylake-S processor also makes the Cubi 2 Plus energy efficient and uses less power.

Need more work done? Connect two monitors with the multiple screen outputs ports. Cubi 2 Plus supports multiple storage devices to quickly have access to all your data. Or enjoy Ultra High-Definition and high quality media entertainment. Cubi 2 Plus is the essence of small, smart computing and can be used at home or for commercial applications. MSI Cubi 2 Plus will be globally available by the beginning of March 2016.

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd., a leading manufacturer of motherboards and graphics cards, is proud to launch exciting new high-end desktop motherboards and a new lineup of the award-winning GIGABYTE BRIX powered by the 6th Gen. Intel Core processors.

At CES 2016, GIGABYTE will be showing off these groundbreaking products, along with our latest developments in IPC and IoT solutions in the Pacific Ballroom of the Bally's Las Vegas Hotel & Casino. There will be product demonstrations designed by case modders such as Richard Surroz, Marc Molella, and Bob Stewart of BS Mods. Aside from all the product demonstrations there will also be live overclocking on site from GIGABYTE's world renowned overclocker, HiCookie, and demo systems from multiple system integrators such as; Cybertron PC, NCIX, ABS, CyberPowerPC, Network Allies and Digital Storm.

Lenovo, the world leader in convertible notebooks and traditional commercial desktops, today announced a broad redesign of its ThinkPad YOGA and ThinkCentre portfolios. A recent Lenovo survey of more than 6,000 businesses suggested that security, mobility and reliability were amongst the top pain points today and more than a quarter plan to introduce convertible devices. The latest generation of thinner and lighter ThinkPad YOGA 260 and 460 convertibles and faster than ever ThinkCentre desktops have been designed to provide customers with solutions to their critical needs.

Data from the Lenovo survey showed that 53% of employees work from home at least some of the time, 61% are required to travel for business and 46% are aged between 18 and 34 years. These progressive customers are the emerging workforce and decision makers of tomorrow and actively seek leading edge technology to maintain a competitive edge. They need truly reliable and mobile devices with no compromise on performance.

Rapoo, one of the world's leading manufacturers of peripherals in the wireless segment and the first manufacturer of products featuring 5 GHz wireless technology, holds an impressive 42 % market share in China and is continually expanding its product portfolio. This expansion continues with Rapoo's invitation to this year's IFA in Berlin where it will be showcasing its latest VPRO Gaming lineup in Hall 3.2, Booth 212. As part of its IFA announcement, Rapoo is releasing initial product information on the V800S RGB Backlit Mechanical Gaming Keyboard and the V910 MMO Laser Gaming Mouse.

VPRO Gaming is expanding its keyboard lineup with the mechanical V800S which boasts full RGB backlighting. Visitors and media representatives will have the very first chance at IFA to try out the new pre-release model of the V800S. With the V800S VPRO has opted for its own, newly developed switches which offer a lifespan of up to 60 million keystrokes. The backlighting has also been upgraded: The V800S has individual key backlighting with up to 16.8 million colors to choose from. The driver also offers six different lighting modes.

Intel Corporation today announced products and solutions that will deliver new user experiences and support the computing ecosystem's expansion into new areas. During the opening keynote address at Computex 2015, Kirk Skaugen, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Client Computing Group encouraged the Taiwan ecosystem to work together and capture the opportunity to shape the future of computing.

"The power of Moore's Law has enabled incredible computing innovation over the past 50 years and because of it, nearly everything in the future will have the ability to compute and connect," said Skaugen. "Our 30-year history of collaboration with Taiwan has delivered historic innovation to the world, from personal computing to the cloud and data centers. The next 30 years will see even greater innovation as we deliver new computing experiences and bring intelligence and connectivity to the Internet of Things together."

MSI proudly announces the latest and smallest mini-PC to date: the MSI Cubi. This tiny desktop is built on a concept of nifty technology and a brilliant design to suit the needs of both consumers and businesses.

Thanks to the implementation of a wide range of Intel processors, users can benefit from a powerful handheld-size PC, also capable of carrying multiple modular hard disks that provide a large base for data storage. MSI Cubi is mountable to a wall by VESA standards or can be combined with an HDTV, so the user can enjoy Ultra High-Definition and high quality media entertainment at home.

For commercial applications, Cubi also comes with Intel vPro technology, ensuring a safe and easily manageable working environment. With plenty of ports to connect to external devices, Cubi is the essence of small, smart computing. A black and a white version of the MSI Cubi are globally available by end of March 2015.

Intel Corporation today announced the availability of its 5th generation Intel Core vPro processor family that provides cutting-edge features to enable a new and rapidly shifting workplace. To meet the needs of a more mobile and dynamic workforce, the latest iteration of Intel Core vPro processors offer wireless innovations, built-in security, faster performance and improved manageability that will allow workers and companies to improve their productivity and stay competitive.

With the new 5th generation Intel Core vPro processors, Intel addresses three specific areas to enable a better way to work and provide a better experience for users and companies: PC design innovation, wireless display and wireless docking. Businesses can choose from a variety of never-before-seen PC designs across 2 in 1s, Ultrabooks, ultrathin clamshells and mini PCs that offer up to twice the battery life and more than twice the performance, enabling form factors that are up to three times thinner and 50 percent lighter than a laptop PC from just four years ago.