Yuri "1usmus" Bubliy, author of DRAM Calculator for Ryzen and the upcoming ClockTuner for Ryzen, revealed three pieces of juicy details on the upcoming 4th Gen AMD Ryzen "Vermeer" performance desktop processors. He predicts AMD turning up CPU core counts with this generation, including the introduction of new 10-core SKUs, possibly to one-up Intel in the multi-threaded performance front. Last we heard, AMD's upcoming "Zen 3" CCDs (chiplets) feature 8 CPU cores sharing a monolithic 32 MB slab of L3 cache. This should, in theory, allow AMD to create 10-core chips with two CCDs, each with 5 cores enabled.



Next up, are two features that should interest overclockers - which is Bubliy's main domain. The processors should support a feature called "Curve Optimizer," enabling finer-grained control over the boost algorithm, and on a per-core basis. As we understand, the "curve" in question could even be voltage/frequency. It remains to be seen of the feature is leveraged at a CBS level (UEFI setup program), or by Ryzen Master. Lastly, there's mention of new Infinity Fabric dividers that apparently helps you raise DCT (memory controller) frequencies "slightly higher" in mixed mode. AMD is expected to debut its 4th Gen Ryzen "Vermeer" desktop processors within 2020.

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TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.34.0 Released
TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp GPU-Z, the definitive video sub-system information, diagnostic, and monitoring utility. Version 2.34.0 adds support for the new GeForce RTX 3000 series "Ampere" GPUs, including the GeForce RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070. In addition, it adds support for TU106-based GTX 1650, TU116-based GTX 1650, Quadro T1000 GDDR6, and Tesla V100-SXM2 32 GB from the NVIDIA camp; and Apple-exclusive AMD Radeon Pro 5700 series; and RX 350, and E6465. DirectX 12 feature level 12_2 hardware support detection has also been added. GPU-Z can also detect GDDR6X memory.



Other changes with TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.34.0 include support for Intel Tiger Lake, ,pre Comet Lake, Ice Lake and Whiskey Lake iGPUs. Die size measurements have been added for "Ice Lake" and "Tiger Lake" CPU dies. A crash when parsing BIOS of NVIDIA GeForce "Ampere" has been fixed. The Vulkan tab in Advanced Panel now lists out device and instance extensions, sorted alphabetically. Advanced Panel entries will now properly reflow and wrap, when window width is changed. Grab GPU-Z from the link below.



DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z 2.34.0
The change-log follows.
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TechPowerUp and Team Group Announce Cardea Ceramic C440 Giveaway
TechPowerUp and Team Group bring you a chance to win a Team T-Force Cardea Ceramic C440 1 TB M.2 PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD. Announced this June, the T-Force Cardea Ceramic C440 is an M.2 NVMe SSD that takes advantage of PCI-Express 4.0 x4 host interface - perfect for a cutting edge build based on 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen or upcoming Intel processors. This isn't just another Phison E16 + 3D TLC NAND based drive, Team Group innovated a patented new heatspreader which uses ceramic composite materials that more effectively pull heat from the drive's controller and NAND flash components. The 1 TB variant offers blistering speeds of up to 5,000 MB/s reads, with up to 4,400 MB/s writes. Open worldwide (wherever legal), the Giveaway accepts entries until September 17, 2020. To enter, all you have to do is fill us a short form that helps us get back to you if you've won. Good Luck!



For more information, and to participate, visit this page.

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TechPowerUp and Montech Summer Giveaway: The Winners!
With Summer drawing to a close, as is our seasonal Giveaway. Earlier in July, TechPowerUp and Montech brought you a chance to pick up some cool Montech gear, including Gamma II 650 W 80 Plus Gold power supplies, Beta 550 W 80 Plus Bronze power supplies, and the company's Air X gaming case. The three mark Montech's arrival as a formidable player in the PC cooling, power, and casing hardware business, and there are three winners for each of the three hardware. Without further ado, the winners:



Montech Gamma II 650 W PSU won by: @maxfly from Ohio, Gerado from Wisconsin, and Jon from Indiana



Montech Air X Case (Black) won by: Cody from Missouri, Aidan from Texas, and Ricky from California



Montech Beta 550 W PSU won by: Ivan from California, Mary from Texas, and Rumman from New Jersey



A Huge Congrats to the nine of you! TechPowerUp and Montech will return with more such interesting Giveaways.
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AMD to Enter Network Hardware Market, Develop WiFi Controller Products with MediaTek
Intel has a dominating position over the client-segment 802.11ax Wi-Fi 6 NIC controller market. The company's wireless NICs have a near monopoly over WLAN cards inside notebooks, including those powered by AMD processors. Intel further leverages its own brand NICs under the vPro feature-set, providing an end-to-end management solution covering even the NIC. AMD needs to change this, especially if it wants its PRO feature-set to match up to vPro.



AMD is planing to enter the network hardware segment by developing WLAN controllers of its own, which will power future generations of Ryzen processor-powered notebooks, including Ryzen PRO ones; and possible become a staple for desktop PC motherboard vendors on the AMD platform. To cut through the toughest part about coming up with new NICs - the web of IP, AMD has decided to partner with MediaTek, which manufactures mobile SoCs, and cellular MODEM chips, and has the required IP to make standalone WLAN controllers. The first AMD WLAN controllers could build on existing MediaTek IP blocks.

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(PR) MSI Announces Alpha 15 & 17 Models Powered by AMD Ryzen 7 4800H + Radeon RX 5600M
As digital games are quickly emerging as one of the world's favorite pastimes, gaming laptop giant MSI continues to produce innovative laptops to meet the diverse demands of gamers. MSI's all-AMD laptops, Alpha 15 and 17, are making a strong comeback with more powerful specifications, offering the latest 7 nm-powered AMD mobile processor and graphics technology.



Designed for gamers looking for the most advanced technology, MSI's all-AMD Alpha 15 and 17 gaming laptops combine the cutting-edge hardware of up to AMD Ryzen 7 4800H mobile processor and AMD Radeon RX 5600M graphics, which together offer desktop-class performance as an appealing and affordable option for mainstream gamers. As the chart indicates, the 7 nm combination significantly expedites the speed and performance for multitasking, heavy workloads, or playing popular games like "Grand Theft Auto V", "Shadow of the Tomb Raider" and "Borderlands 3".
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Bitspower Also Introduces the Baircool TP-1 Thermal Compound
In addition to the CPU+VRM monoblock for the Z490 AORUS Master, Bitspower also introduced the Baircool TP-1 thermal compound. This is a graphene-based, non-silicone thermal interface material that boasts of being "long term stable," non-corrosive, electrically non-conductive, and does not require burn-in after application, with a short dry-out period. The compound offers 6.5 W/m-K thermal conductivity, and 0.009 K-in²/W thermal impedance. With under 600,000 CPS, it's rated among the less viscous compounds, and has a specific gravity of 2.5 g/cm³. Its dielectric strength is rated at 0.9 KV/mm. The Baircool TP-1 comes in a 2.5 g tube priced at USD $9.70, and a 5 g tube at $13.80.

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Bitspower Intros Monoblock for GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Master
Bitspower today introduced a CPU+VRM monoblock for the GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Master motherboard (mode: BP-MBGAZ490AM). Tailored for GIGABYTE's second most endowed product series based on the Intel Z490 chipset, the monoblock uses nickel-plated copper as its primary material, with a clear acrylic top that's studded with addressable-RGB LEDs. The block cools the Socket LGA1200 processor through its main micro-fin lattice, while the coolant channel flows over even the VRM MOSFETs. Bitspower includes thermal pads for contact between the monoblock and the MOSFETs, however, it leaves the choice of TIM over the CPU to the end-users. The block comes with a mirror finish at the CPU base. Bitspower says that the monoblock is also compatible with the GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Ultra, however you should be mindful with your VRM thermal pad placement. The monoblock takes in standard G 1/4" fittings (not included). Available now, the Bitspower CPU+VRM monoblock for GIGABYTE Z490 AORUS Master is priced at USD $200.

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(PR) BenQ Announces ZOWIE XL-K Generation Monitors
The first XL monitor was launched in 2010. Back then, 3D technology was all the rage and almost every brand used 120Hz panels for 3D display applications. However, the very first XL monitor, the XL2410T, adopted the same panel for a totally different 2D application; esports. This was the result of a collaboration between BenQ's engineers and the original ZOWIE team, a group of veteran Counter-Strike players and enthusiasts. XL2410T was well accepted by the Counter-Strike community, not because of its cutting-edge technology, but because it was the first monitor able to support higher refresh rates at lower resolutions such as 4:3, 640 x 480 or 800 x 600 - the resolutions adopted by many CS players early on. It also had display modes and smart scaling to convince players that TFT LCD displays could compete with CRT monitors when it came to gameplay.



The development of the XL series has been steered by the focus of providing precise and customizable adjustment for players to perform to the best of their abilities in-game because in the world of eSports, players who take this sports seriously are the true stars. New technologies are not introduced unless it can enhance the in-game experience. Over time we have learned that each player has different visual and physical setup preferences. This is why every iteration of the XL series has been designed to help players see more clearly and play more smoothly and comfortably. During this process, BenQ acquired the ZOWIE brand along with the ZOWIE team in 2015. This was done with the objective of furthering the development of professional esports products.
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Saber Interactive to Develop Witcher 3 Port for Next-Generation Consoles, Says CD Projekt RED
According to the latest information coming directly from CD Projekt RED, we are finding out that Witcher 3, one of the most popular releases from CDPR, is going to be ported to the next-generation console lineup by 3rd party studio. Here you can read the message CDPR passed in its H1 conference call:
CD Projekt president Adam Kicinski
Regarding The Witcher 3 and its next-gen version: this project is developed outside, with our proven partner who had delivered the 4K version of The Witcher 3 and The Witcher 3 for Switch, so they already know our technology very well. We asked them to prepare the next-gen port, and as I said during my presentation, we expect a full next-gen experience, with great next-gen features, but it doesn't interfere with the next-gen development of CP, which is being done internally by the CP team, and we're confirming that CP will be released in the next-gen version. Well we have to differentiate two things: the current version, which will be released in November, will be playable from the beginning when next-gen consoles are released; you will be able to play the current-gen version on next-gen from day 1. And you can expect a bit higher quality than on the current-gen. However, the full-blown next-gen version is planned for next year and it will be developed internally.

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(PR) Phison Launches World's Highest Capacity QLC Customizable Enterprise SSD Solution in a 2.5" Form Factor
Phison Electronics , the industry's leader in NAND flash controllers and storage solutions, announces availability of the world's first 15.36 TB QLC customizable Enterprise SSD solution based on Phison's S12DC controller. Phison provides its customers with industry leading SSDs that are customized to their needs by leveraging Phison's firmware, controller, PCBA design, and manufacturing. The S12DC QLC SSD is an ideal storage solution by delivering higher performance, lower power consumption, and greater rack storage density for read intensive storage applications that currently source hard disk drives.
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Intel Pentium Silver and Celeron "Jasper Lake" Lineup Detailed
Intel is giving finishing touches to six new Pentium Silver and Celeron "Jasper Lake" entry-level processors. Built on the 10 nm silicon fabrication process, these processors leverage the "Tremont" CPU cores, or the "small" x86-64 cores Intel is deploying on its "Lakefield" Core Hybrid processors. The chips also feature a low-power trim of the company's Gen11 iGPU (same graphics architecture found in "Ice Lake-U" and "Lakefield" processors). The desktop SKUs consist of three parts with TDP rated at 10 W, while the three other mobile SKUs offer 6 W TDP.



The desktop lineup is led by the Pentium Silver J6005, a 4-core/4-thread part with 2.00 GHz clock speeds, up to 3.00 GHz "maximum quad-core burst speed," and 4 MB L2 cache. The Celeron J5105 is next in line, with 2.00 GHz clocks, 2.80 GHz burst speeds, a slightly slower iGPU, and 4 MB L2 cache. At the bottom end of the desktop lineup is the Celeron J4505, a 2-core/2-thread part clocked at 2.00 GHz with 2.90 GHz burst, and 4 MB L2 cache. The mobile lineup is led by the Pentium Silver N6000, a 4-core/4-thread part with 1.10 GHz clocks, 3.10 GHz burst speeds, and 4 MB L2 cache. The Celeron N5100 is right behind, clocked at 1.10 GHz and 2.80 GHz clocks. At the bottom of the stack is the Celeron N4500, a 2-core/2-thread part with 1.10 GHz base and 2.80 GHz burst.
An Intel video presentation on the "Tremont" CPU core architecture follows.
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(PR) Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2 Available Worldwide Now
Activision today announced the worldwide launch of its much-anticipated Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2, a remaster of the first two successful titles in the iconic, billion-dollar Tony Hawk video game franchise. In one game package, players will experience all the levels, tricks, and pro-skater characters from the original blockbuster hits from 1999 and 2000, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2, fully remastered in 4K resolution and bolstered with new ways to play, new pro-skaters to choose from and new music. In addition, the game includes features that allow players to customize their own skate parks and outfits and share them with friends.



"I'm thankful for the quality and care that Activision and Vicarious Visions have put into the remaster to revive the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater series in the best way possible," said Tony Hawk. "For years, fans have asked me about bringing these games back, and I'm proud to say that we finally have a game that delivers on the expectations that nostalgic fans want, while inspiring a new generation to pick up a controller, and perhaps even a real skateboard."
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