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Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Commerce publicly announced two new notices of intent—as [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...], this involves the latest distributions from the CHIPS Act's $11 billion R&D budget: "$300 million is to be made available across multiple awards of up to $100 million (not including voluntary co-investment) for research on advanced packaging, while another $200 million (or more) is set aside to create the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute. Companies will have to compete for the funds by filing an application." The Act's primary $39 billion tranche is designated to new construction endeavors, e.g. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...].

A grand total of $52 billion was set aside for the CHIPS Act in 2022, which immediately attracted the attention of several semiconductor industry giants. Companies with headquarters outside of North America were allowed to send in applications. Last year, Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger, made some controversial statements regarding his company's worthiness of government funding. In his opinion, Team Blue is due the "[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]" due to his operation being a USA firm—the likes of TSMC and Samsung are far less deserving of subsidies.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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Ken Mendoza, Promotion Producer at Capcom, said: "Hi PlayStation Blog readers! We are very excited to share the newest trailer for [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] revealed today during State of Play. In this article we will be diving deeper into some of the information revealed in it: the brand new Warfarer vocation, the vocation maisters, and the mysterious dragonsplague."

Introducing the Warfarer vocation
Wield a greatsword, chant high-level magick, and deceive enemies with illusions. The Warfarer is a vocation that allows you to engage in combat while switching between the weapons of other vocations. The Warfarer is a vocation exclusive to the main character, the Arisen. Warfarers can use all weapon types and learn the core skills of all vocations. It is the "ultimate vocation," so to speak. Some vocations excel at close combat, or are skilled at support, and the Warfarer can utilize the strengths of each vocation as the situation demands. The Warfarer has the potential to release powerful combos, such as using Trickster skills to deceive enemies and open opportunities to chant powerful attack magick. However, the Warfarer is not an all-mighty vocation. Their basic stats are not high, and they must carry many weapons in order to use their various skills. They will require the player's skill to exploit strengths in different situations, or else the vocation will remain a lesser version of each of the respective vocations. Only those who have honed their skills and adaptability will be able to bring out the full potential of this vocation.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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CaseKing.de has started to sell a gigantic [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] dual-tower CPU air cooler for €299.90 (~$325) with VAT added. Many PC hardware news sites have predicted that this sizable—153 × 152 × 120 mm (W x H x D)—cooling solution is worthy of taking on similarly [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]. CaseKing's listing includes some hype material: "(the ST060) offers extremely high cooling performance thanks to its six heat pipes and two PWM RGB fans. With a 260 W TDP, the cooler is also very quiet and has immense cooling reserves for overclocked CPUs and, despite its size, can be installed even with the mainboard installed." The integrated 6-inch 1920x1080 screen is the ST060's other selling point—DeepCool's (recently TPU [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]) AK620 dual-tower cooler sports a large-ish top-mounted mini monitor, although its functionality is quite limited. Lamptron states that their new model is prepped for full AIDA64 integration; a license for this software suite is bundled in.

The integrated screen requires connection to USB Type-A and HDMI ports—perhaps a major annoyance—fortunately mini USB to USB and HDMI cables are included in the box. Additionally, software and digital instructions are uploaded onto a bundled USB-A flash drive. The base Lamptron ST060 model is joined by ARGB equipped alternatives—CaseKing has a product page for a black fan version ([Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...], also priced at €299.90), but it is not available to purchase yet. Tom's Hardware believes that a white fan model (LAMP-ST060AW) is also incoming—they documented some basic aesthetic differences: "In addition to the fans being different, the ARGB versions have a silver heatsink as opposed to the black heatsink on the regular version." Lamptron's ST060 air cooler appears to be an Intel socket-centric product, with support for LGA1366, LGA1200, LGA115x, LGA1700, and LGA2011. Team Red enthusiasts will be disappointed about compatibility being limited to AM4. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] expressed surprise regarding Lamptron's re-emergence with new products—many assumed that the company was in a dormant state for a long time.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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On February 8 [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] invites you to customize your Helldiver, drop into hell, wipe out infestations, and repeat the victorious process. Have you ever watched the anonymous soldiers of a sci-fi movie get obliterated by aliens and thought to yourself, "I could do better"? [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] is Arrowhead Game Studios' invitation to brave players dying to experience the chaotic fun of facing seemingly impossible odds. For the uninitiated, [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] is a full sequel that maintains the 4-player cooperative essence of the 2015 top-down PS4 entry, while adding modern over-the-shoulder third-person gunplay and deeper customization options. I recently had a chance to suit up and drop into a hands-on session with Helldivers 2 on PS5, and lived to share this debriefing. I teamed up with three other Helldivers to learn the ropes and emerged with a whetted appetite for eliminating space bugs and murderous Automatons. Let's dive in.

Action sci-fi gunplay
Helldivers 2 is bursting with customization options and strategic depth, but shooting lots of enemies is your bread and butter. Arrowhead managed to translate the frenetic top-down energy of Helldivers into a smooth third-person shooter. Weapon recoil feels powerful yet predictable enough to maintain your accuracy. I specifically loved watching Automaton's armor dent and shatter off as I punched them full of sniper rounds. Players have options when it comes to gunplay. Hold the Square button to switch between single, burst, and autofire. Press L2 to shoulder your weapon and zoom in with R2. Click R3 button to aim-down-sights for even deeper precision and immersion. The direction buttons are used for quick actions, like switching to grenades by pressing right or pressing for a life-restoring stim. Remember to save a few 'nades to close up bug nests or destroy enemy factories. The moment-to-moment action is tight and reliable, which is key when all hell inevitably breaks loose.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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With the advent of high-resolution video and surveillance systems, the demand for stable performance (Sustained Performance) and Power Loss Protection in SSD storage devices continues to rise among video recording equipment and surveillance system integrators. Therefore, Phison Electronics (8299TT), a leading provider of NAND controllers and NAND storage solutions, today announced the launch of specialized SSD storage solutions for video and surveillance systems, including the mid-high-range S12DI and the cost-effective S17T SSD solutions.

With the advent of high-resolution video and surveillance systems, the demand for stable performance (Sustained Performance) and Power Loss Protection in SSD storage devices continues to rise among video recording equipment and surveillance system integrators. Therefore, Phison Electronics (8299TT), a leading provider of NAND controllers and NAND storage solutions, today announced the launch of specialized SSD storage solutions for video and surveillance systems, including the mid-high-range S12DI and the cost-effective S17T SSD solutions.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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PNY Technologies, a global leader in memory and storage solutions, has expanded its enterprise portfolio through a strategic partnership with VAST Data, the AI data platform company. This collaboration underscores PNY's commitment to delivering cutting-edge solutions to meet the evolving needs of enterprises integrating AI and HPC into their core processes. This partnership leverages the VAST Data Platform's DataStore capabilities, enhancing PNY's enterprise offerings with unparalleled performance, scalability, and cost efficiency. This move reinforces PNY's position as a key player in the enterprise market.

Key highlights of the partnership include:

• Revolutionary Solutions: PNY now offers VAST Data's innovative data platform, known for its simplicity and transformative performance, serving data to the world's most demanding supercomputers.
• Unmatched Scalability: VAST Data's industry-disrupting DASE architecture enables businesses to enjoy nearly limitless scale as their data sets and AI pipelines grow, allowing them to adapt to the changing demands of today's increasingly data-driven world.
• Cost-Effective Data Management: VAST Data and PNY will empower enterprises to achieve significant cost savings through improved data reduction (VAST Similarity), infrastructure efficiency and simplified management.
• Enhanced Data Analytics: The VAST DataBase facilitates deeper insights from both structured and unstructured data, accelerating decision-making and enables data-driven innovation across various business functions.
• Exceptional Customer Support: PNY extends its commitment to exceptional customer support to VAST Data solutions, providing reliable technical assistance and guidance.

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Thermaltake, a leading PC DIY brand for premium hardware solutions, is proud to unveil the TT100 S Bag and the TT100 M Bag offered in black, red, and grey variations, along with the TT100 Frame Pouch available in black and red. Designed with modern style, functionality, and volume, and completely matching all Brompton folding bicycles, the TT100 series waterproof bag is ready to lead a new bicycle lifestyle. Now come new additions in compact sizes and various colors, making your urban commuting portable and personalized!

Thermaltake TT100 S Bag & M Bag
Following the release of the backpack, the TT100 Series waterproof bag now expands its range with the introduction of the TT100 S Bag and the TT100 M Bag, available in black, red, and grey. The latest additions maintain the series' signature aerodynamic appearance, with the distinctive angled cut that minimizes the bicycle's wind resistance, enabling smoother rides and increasing rider safety. The bags also come with appealing laser-cut with 3M reflective printing, presenting a modern urban style and enhancing night riding safety.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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A series of price cuts on Best Buy for the GeForce RTX 4060 Ti (8 GB) sees the card now drop to $344, down from its $399 MSRP, reports VideoCardz. This new low price puts it within just $15 of the recently launched AMD Radeon RX 7600 XT. For the vast majority of gamers playing at 1080p, this is great news. In [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...], the RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB is on average 18% faster than the RX 7600 XT in gaming without ray tracing; and a staggering 45% faster with ray tracing enabled. Both the RTX 4060 Ti and the RX 7600 XT are recommended by their makers for maxed out gaming at 1080p, including with ray tracing. Best Buy has the cheapest RTX 4060 Ti in the market right now, with the Gigabyte RTX 4060 Ti Gaming OC listed at $344.

Both the RTX 4060 Ti and the RTX 4060 appear to be designed to withstand a great degree of price cuts, to compete against the RX 7600 XT and RX 7600. The RTX 4060 Ti, much like the RX 7600 XT, features a small ASIC, and just four GDDR6 memory chips for its 128-bit memory bus, a simpler 8-lane PCIe interface; and in our opinion, a simpler VRM design than the RX 7600 XT. The bill of materials would boil down to the ASIC costs; while the RTX 4060 Ti uses a 188 mm² silicon built on the newer 5 nm node; the RX 7600 XT uses a larger 204 mm² albeit based on the older 6 nm node.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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AMD is readying the new 800-series motherboard chipset to launch alongside its next-generation Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" desktop processors that implement the "Zen 5" microarchitecture. The chipset family will be led by the AMD X870E, a successor to the current X670E. Since AMD isn't changing the CPU socket, and this is very much the same Socket AM5, the 800-series chipset will support not just "Granite Ridge" at launch, but also the Ryzen 7000 series "Raphael," and Ryzen 8000 series "Hawk Point." Moore's Law is Dead goes into the details of what sets the X870E apart from the current X670E, and it all has to do with USB4.

Apparently, motherboard manufacturers will be mandated to include 40 Gbps USB4 connectivity with AMD X870E, which essentially makes the chipset a 3-chip solution—two Promontory 21 bridge chips, and a discrete ASMedia ASM4242 USB4 host controller; although it's possible that AMD's QVL will allow other brands of USB4 controllers as they become available. The Ryzen 9000 series "Granite Ridge" are chiplet based processors just like the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael," and while the 4 nm "Zen 5" CCDs are new, the 6 nm client I/O die (cIOD) is largely carried over from "Raphael," with a few updates to its memory controller. DDR5-6400 will be the new AMD-recommended "sweetspot" speed; although AMD might get its motherboard vendors to support DDR5-8000 EXPO profiles with an FCLK of 2400 MHz, and a divider.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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Welcome to February proper, a week that brings one fairly big AAA release, followed by a few lesser titles. We have sparky tales, a remake by MicroProse, dungeons, inquisitors and a space based RPG game for you, none of which can be considered major releases, but might still be fun to play.

[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] / This week's AAA release / Thursday 8 February
Helldivers 2 is a 3rd person squad-based shooter that sees the elite forces of the Helldivers battling to win an intergalactic struggle to rid the galaxy of the rising alien threats. From a 3rd person perspective, players use a variety of weapons (pistols, machine guns, flamethrowers) and stratagems (turrets, airstrikes, etc.) to shoot and kill the alien threats. Players can also aim down the sights for a more accurate 1st person camera view. Combat is accompanied by frequent sprays of blood and dismemberment as players exterminate the alien forces or players and squad mates are hit by environmental explosions or friendly fire. Enemy encampments and battlefield environments depict bloodstains and dismembered corpses.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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It's been one year since IBM integrated Red Hat storage product roadmaps and teams into IBM Storage. In that time, organizations have been faced with unprecedented data challenges to scale AI due to the rapid growth of data in more locations and formats, but with poorer quality. Helping clients combat this problem has meant modernizing their infrastructure with cutting-edge solutions as a part of their digital transformations. Largely, this involves delivering consistent application and data storage across on-premises and cloud environments. Also, crucially, this includes helping clients adopt cloud-native architectures to realize the benefits of public cloud like cost, speed, and elasticity. Formerly Red Hat Ceph—now [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]—a state-of-the-art open-source software-defined storage platform, is a keystone in this effort.

Software-defined storage (SDS) has emerged as a transformative force when it comes to data management, offering a host of advantages over traditional legacy storage arrays including extreme flexibility and scalability that are well-suited to handle modern uses cases like generative AI. With IBM Storage Ceph, storage resources are abstracted from the underlying hardware, allowing for dynamic allocation and efficient utilization of data storage. This flexibility not only simplifies management but also enhances agility in adapting to evolving business needs and scaling compute and capacity as new workloads are introduced. This self-healing and self-managing platform is designed to deliver unified file, block, and object storage services at scale on industry standard hardware. Unified storage helps provide clients a bridge from legacy applications running on independent file or block storage to a common platform that includes those and object storage in a single appliance.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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Ken Levine (Creative Director, [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]), creator of the BioShock series, unpacks how [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] will be an experience where players influence how relationships and the story unfold: "Characters have always been the driving force in every game we've ever made. Whether fighting beneath the ocean to assassinate Andrew Ryan or escaping a city in the sky with Elizabeth, these personalities have always been at the heart of our stories. But what if you could choose between who to befriend and who to stab in the back? With Judas (coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), we wanted to craft an experience where these decisions and how the story unfolds is up to you. Because you, as Judas, are the driver of every event in a story with a new cast of characters to get to know—and change—in ways you haven't experienced before in our games.

In Judas, we give you a whole new world to explore: the corridors of the Mayflower, a spacefaring city whose citizens are trained to spy on one another and tear each other apart for the slightest offense. Where machines control every aspect of business, art, and government. The ship's leaders tried to turn you into something you're not: a model citizen. And you sparked a devastating revolution to tear it all down. Do you want to fix what you broke or leave it all to burn? That's a decision only you can make."[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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AMD's [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] has generated a lot of [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] and excitement within the [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...], but not many folks are privy to Team Red's MSRP for the [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] powered [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] and MI300A models. A Citi report has pulled back the curtain, albeit with "projected" figures—an inside source claims that Microsoft has purchased the Instinct MI300X 192 GB model for ~$10,000 a piece. North American enterprise customers appear to have [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] around mid-January time—inevitably, top secret information has leaked out to news investigators. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]'s article (based on Citi's findings) alleges that the Microsoft data center division is AMD's top buyer of MI300X hardware—GPT-4 is reportedly up and running on these brand new accelerators.

The leakers claim that businesses further down the (AI and HPC) food chain are having to shell out $15,000 per MI300X unit, but this is a bargain when compared to NVIDIA's closest competing package—the venerable [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] professional card. Team Green, similarly, does not reveal its enterprise pricing to the wider public—[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] has kept tabs on H100 insider info and market leaks: "over the recent quarters, we have seen NVIDIA's H100 80 GB HBM2E add-in-card available for $30,000, $40,000, and even much more at eBay. Meanwhile, the more powerful H100 80 GB SXM with 80 GB of HBM3 memory tends to cost more than an H100 80 GB AIB." Citi's projection has Team Green charging up to four times more for its H100 product, when compared to Team Red MI300X pricing. NVIDIA's dominant AI GPU market position could be challenged by cheaper yet still very performant alternatives—additionally chip shortages have caused Jensen & Co. to [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]. Tom's Hardware reached out to AMD for comment on the Citi pricing claims—a company representative declined this invitation.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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An Open Image Denoise 2.2 release candidate was released earlier today—as discovered by Phoronix's founder and principal writer; Michael Larabel. Intel's [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] has not been updated with any new documentation or changelogs (at the time of writing), but a [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] shows all of the crucial information. Team Blue's open-source oneAPI has been kept up-to-date with the latest technologies—not only limited to Intel's stable of Xe-LP, Xe-HPG and Xe-HPC components—the Phonorix article highlights updated support on competing platforms. The v2.2 preview adds support for Meteor Lake's integrated Arc graphics solution, and additional "denoising quality enhancements and other improvements."

Non-Intel platform improvements include updates for Apple's M-series chipsets, AArch64 processors, and NVIDIA CUDA. OIDn 2.2-rc: "adds Metal device support for Apple Silicon GPUs on recent versions of macOS. OIDn has already been supporting ARM64/AArch64 for Apple Silicon CPUs while now Open Image Denoise has extended that AArch64 support to work on Windows and Linux too. There is better performance in general for Open Image Denoise on CPUs with this forthcoming release." The changelog also highlights a general improvement performance across processors, and a fix that resolves a crash incident: "when releasing a buffer after releasing the device."[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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Sony Interactive Entertainment's State of Play confirming the title of the game, [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...], arriving exclusively on PlayStation 5 in 2025. In Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, embark on an inspiring mission of human connection beyond the UCA. Sam—with companions by his side—sets out on a new journey to save humanity from extinction. Join them as they traverse a world beset by otherworldly enemies, obstacles and a haunting question: should we have connected? Step by step, legendary game creator Hideo Kojima changes the world once again.

Death Stranding 2: On The Beach sees Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux, and Troy Baker return to Hideo Kojima's genre defying universe. They will be joined by Elle Fanning, Shioli Kutsuna, and Academy Award-winning film director George Miller. Hideo Kojima is joined by longtime collaborator Yoji Shinkawa who will direct character and mechanical design, with Ludvig Forssell and Kyle Cooper reprising their roles as musical director and title designer, respectively. In conjunction with the release of the new Death Stranding 2: On The Beach trailer, be sure to visit the PS5 Game Hub to add the game to your wishlist and stay tuned for [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]![Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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Cristiano Renno Amon, President and CEO of Qualcomm, discussed the successful launch of his company's Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 mobile platform during a [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]—expectations have been set high for the flagship smartphone chipset: "(bringing) a new standard for on-device gen AI experiences for premium smartphones and powers all through flagship Android devices launched and launching this fiscal year." Amon highlighted Samsung's recently rolled out Galaxy S24 Ultra range, that makes use of a special [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] SoC. Industry watchdogs have continued to question Samsung's reliance on third-party processor solutions (including [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] parts), despite having access to plenty of "worthy" in-house technology. Their flagship [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] chip has been deployed with the Galaxy S24 Plus range, but Qualcomm Snapdragon-equipped devices offer better performance and efficiency.

The picky segment of Samsung's smartphone userbase will be pleased to hear about a renewed agreement between it and Qualcomm, which includes a trickling down to mid-range offerings—Amon made a big announcement during the late January conference call: "We're also announcing that we extended a multi-year agreement with Samsung relating to Snapdragon platforms for flagship Galaxy smartphone launches starting in 2024. The extended agreement demonstrates the value of Snapdragon 8, our technology leadership and our successful long-term strategic partnership with Samsung. In the quarter, we also announced the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 mobile platform, which brings leading gen AI capabilities to high-tier Android smartphones and is a category leader in both experiences and performance." Going forward, Samsung is likely sticking with its current operating model of peppering a mix of Snapdragon and Exynos chipsets throughout its Galaxy Z, S and A product ranges.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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SK Hynix has unveiled ambitious High Bandwidth Memory (HBM) roadmaps at SEMICON Korea 2024. Vice President Kim Chun-hwan announced plans to mass produce the cutting-edge HBM3E within the first half of 2024, touting 8-layer stack samples already supplied to clients. This iteration makes major strides towards fulfilling surging data bandwidth demands, offering 1.2 TB/s per stack and 7.2 TB/s in a 6-stack configuration. VP Kim Chun-hwan cites the rapid emergence of generative AI, forecasted for 35% CAGR, as a key driver. He warns that "fierce survival competition" lies ahead across the semiconductor industry amidst rising customer expectations. With limits approaching on conventional process node shrinks, attention is shifting to next-generation memory architectures and materials to unleash performance.

SK Hynix has already initiated HBM4 development for sampling in 2025 and mass production the following year. According to Micron, HBM4 will leverage a wider 2048-bit interface compared to previous HBM generations to increase per-stack theoretical peak memory bandwidth to over 1.5 TB/s. To achieve these high bandwidths while maintaining reasonable power consumption, HBM4 is targeting a data transfer rate of around 6 GT/s. The wider interface and 6 GT/s speeds allow HBM4 to push bandwidth boundaries significantly compared to prior HBM versions, fueling the need for high-performance computing and AI workloads. But power efficiency is carefully balanced by avoiding impractically high transfer rates. Additionally, Samsung is aligned on a similar 2025/2026 timeline. Beyond pushing bandwidth boundaries, custom HBM solutions will become increasingly crucial. Samsung executive Jaejune Kim reveals that over half its HBM volume already comprises specialized products. Further tailoring HBM4 to individual client needs through logic integration presents an opportunity to cement leadership. As AI workloads evolve at breakneck speeds, memory innovation must keep pace. With HBM3E prepping for launch and HBM4 in the plan, SK Hynix and Samsung are gearing up for the challenges ahead.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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Good evening Kindred, in our recent [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] stream, we shared exciting news about the game and our first extended gameplay trailer. On the stream, The Chinese Room (TCR) Community Manager Josh Matthews was joined by Alex Skidmore, Project Creative Director at TCR, who shared insights on the game, the narrative background, and how the game plays. If you missed the stream, you can check it out below. The gameplay stream contains several spoilers, and if you wish to avoid them, there are sections marked in the video timeline, or you can watch the trailer version of the gameplay video, which does not contain any major spoilers.

Matthews and Skidmore highlight an early-game mission, discussing why the player character, Phyre, infiltrates an abandoned warehouse to uncover clues about the mysterious mark on their hand. Players must choose their actions wisely, whether confronting the court's secret keeper like Willem or meeting unruly ghouls and illusions that cloud the environment. Acting as "The Sheriff" of the Court, Phyre's choices impact how the world perceives them and bring them closer to uncovering Seattle's secrets.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]
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MSI released an intriguing AMI BIOS update on January 31 for their Intel 700 and 600 chipset mainboards—hardware tipster [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] this quiet announcement and proceeded to get his [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] motherboard running on [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]. This preliminary release enables "capacity support up to 256 GB" for DDR5 Memory—chi11eddog noted that you previously had to jump through several hoops to get this configuration in working order: "As per a friend in the industry, before this, it needs to disable Above 4G/Resizable BAR/remapping to support 256 GB on Intel systems. MSI has fixed this. No need to disable Above 4G/Resizable Bar."

His MSI Z790 test platform featured an Intel Core i9-14900K CPU and 256 GB (4 x [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] of memory—[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] proposes some extra tests: "it would be interesting to see what the maximum speeds are supported when using high-capacity memory kits but for those who prefer capacity over speed, well the solutions are now out there." The [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] (CAMM) standard has been adopted by the laptop memory segment, and manufacturers are believed to be transferring technological innovations to desktop form factors. Upcoming 64 GB DDR5 modules offer twice the capacity over the best previous-gen solutions. The proliferation of non-binary DIMM kits—from 24 to 48 GB—in 2023 brought (total) desktop memory capacities to a maximum of 192 GB.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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An interesting [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] last month—it contained detailed pre-release information that covered their upcoming 15th Gen Core Arrow Lake-S desktop CPU platform, including a possible best scenario 8+16+1 core configuration. [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] of the spec sheet revealed a revelation—the next generation Core processor family could "lack Hyper-Threading (HT) support." The rumor mill had produced similar claims in the past, but the internal technical memo confirmed that Arrow Lake's "expected eight performance cores without any threads enabled via SMT." These specifications could be subject to change, but tipster—[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]—has uprooted an Arrow Lake-S engineering sample: "I spotted (CPUID C0660, 24 threads, 3 GHz, without AVX 512) [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]."

The leaker had uncovered several pre-launch Meteor Lake SKUs last year—with 14th Gen laptop processors hitting the market recently, InstLatX64 has turned his attention to seeking out next generation parts. Yesterday's Arrow Lake-S find has chins wagging about the 24 thread count aspect (sporting two more than the fanciest Meteor Lake Core Ultra 9 processor)—this could be an actual 24 core total configuration—considering the evident lack of hyper-threading, as seen on the leaked engineering sample. Tom's Hardware reckons that the AVX-512 instruction set could be disabled via firmware or motherboard UEFI—if InstLatX64's claim of "without AVX-512" support does ring true, PC users (demanding such workloads) are best advised to [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] and 8040 series processors, or (less likely) Team Blue's own 5th Gen Xeon "[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]" server CPUs.[Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...] [Only registered and activated users can see links. Click Here To Register...]

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