Researchers from Università di Bologna and CINECA, the largest supercomputing center in Italy, have been playing with the concept of developing a RISC-V supercomputer. The team has laid the grounds for the first-ever implementation that demonstrates the capability of the relatively novel ISA to run high-performance computing. To create a supercomputer, you need pieces of hardware that seem like lego building blocks. Those are called clusters, made from a motherboard, processor, memory, and storage. Italian researchers decided to try and use something different than Intel/AMD solution to the problem and use a processor based on RISC-V ISA. Using SiFive's Freedom U740 SoC as the base, researchers named their RISC-V cluster "Monte Cimone."



Monte Cimone features four dual-board servers, each in a 1U form factor. Each board has a SiFive's Freedom U740 SoC with four U74 cores running up to 1.4 GHz and one S7 management core. In total, eight nodes combine for a total of 32 RISC-V cores. Paired with 16GB of 64-bit DDR4 memory operating at 1866s MT/s, PCIe Gen 3 x8 bus running at 7.8 GB/s, one gigabit Ethernet port, USB 3.2 Gen 1 interfaces, the system is powered by two 250 Watt PSUs to support future expansion and addition of accelerator cards.
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(PR) Sony Electronics Debuts Two New Premium Music Players, Starting at US$1,399.99
Sony Electronics Inc. today introduced two new premium music players, the NW-WM1ZM2 and NW-WM1AM2, raising the bar to new heights in high-resolution audio listening, to satisfy the most demanding audiophiles. Designed to immerse the listener in sublime, nuanced sound, the NW-WM1ZM2 has been fine-tuned from years of audio mastery and crafted from the very best materials. This new addition sets a new benchmark for Sony's award-winning signature series, offering an exquisite listening experience in an ultra-premium design.



The NW-WM1AM2 allows music lovers to completely lose themselves in high-quality audio with a richer, smoother and more expansive sound field compared to its predecessor. Both music players let the user download and stream from endless catalogues of music with Wi-Fi compatibility, taking the listening enjoyment to the next level.
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Intel 4 Process Node Detailed, Doubling Density with 20% Higher Performance
Intel's semiconductors nodes have been quite controversial with the arrival of the 10 nm design. Years in the making, the node got delayed multiple times, and only recently did the general public get the first 10 nm chips. Today, at IEEE's annual VLSI Symposium, we get more details about Intel's upcoming nodes, called Intel 4. Previously referred to as a 7 nm process, Intel 4 is the company's first node to use EUV lithography accompanied by various technologies. The first thing when a new process node is discussed is density. Compared to Intel 7, Intel 4 will double the transistor count for the same area and enable 20% higher performing transistors.



Looking at individual transistor size, the new Intel 4 node represents a very tiny piece of silicon that is even smaller than its predecessor. With a Fin Pitch of 30 nm, Contact Gate Poly Pitch of 50 nm between gates, and Minimum Metal Pitch (M0) of 50 nm, the Intel 4 transistor is significantly smaller compared to the Intel 7 cell, listed in the table below. For scaling, Intel 4 provides double the number of transistors in the same area compared to Intel 7. However, this reasoning is applied only to logic. For SRAM, the new PDK provides 0.77 area reduction, meaning that the same SoC built on Intel 7 will not be half the size of Intel 4, as SRAM plays a significant role in chip design. The Intel 7 HP library can put 80 million transistors on a square millimeter, while Intel 4 HP is capable of 160 million transistors per square millimeter.
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AMD Said to Become TSMC's Third Largest Customer in 2023
Based on a report in the Taiwanese media, AMD is quickly becoming a key customer for TSMC and is expected to become its third largest customer in 2023. This is partially due to new orders that AMD has placed with TSMC for its 5 nm node. AMD is said to become TSMC's single largest customer for its 5 nm node in 2023, although it's not clear from the report how large of a share of the 5 nm node AMD will have.



The additional orders are said to be related to AMD's Zen 4 based processors, as well as its upcoming RNDA 3 based GPUs. AMD is expected to be reaching a production volume of some 20,000 wafers in the fourth quarter of 2022, although there's no mention of what's expected in 2023. Considering most of AMD's products for the next year or two will all be based on TSMC's 5 nm node, this shouldn't come as a huge surprise though, as AMD has a wide range of new CPU and GPU products coming.

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(PR) Alphacool Unveils Apex 17 W/mK Thermal Paste
Alphacool introduces the new Apex thermal paste. With a thermal conductivity of 17 W/mK, it enters the circle of the most powerful thermal pastes on the market. The main objective during development was, of course, to increase the thermal conductivity. However, points such as viscosity and durability should not be ignored. Alphacool was able to optimize the viscosity so that the Apex thermal paste is particularly suitable for high contact pressures and is still easy to process. The main ingredient of Apex Thermal Grease is a nano-powder with a very low thermal impedance. This makes it possible for electronic components to be cooled efficiently, thus extending their durability and improving their reliability.
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(PR) Riot Games Added to Xbox Game Pass on PC & Mobile
The Riot Games and Xbox communities are coming together to bring amazing content for Game Pass members. Today, Riot Games and Xbox announced that Riot's biggest titles are coming to Game Pass this winter. We're bringing together two of the biggest communities in gaming onto one platform. In a first for Game Pass, the partnership extends beyond Riot's PC games to include Riot's mobile-only and mobile-accessible titles.



We've always respected Xbox's relentless push to drive gaming forward, and we're proud to add our games to the Xbox catalog through Game Pass. We're also thrilled to welcome Xbox players into Riot's ecosystem of diverse and passionate gamers across the world. In the coming months, we'll share more about the partnership and how members can access the Game Pass content.
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NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 & GeForce RTX 4000 Series Delayed
The upcoming NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1630 has recently seen it's launch date slip from June 15th after NVIDIA allegedly struggled to secure the necessary components with a leaked embargo letter stating that the new date is still to be determined. The GTX 1630 Go To Market Kit has already been provided to board partners as of May 31st with custom cards already in production and final validation with the packaging designs also confirmed. These delays come alongside slips to the RTX 4000 series launch timeline which has seen card availability dates slip by one month for the RTX 4090, 4080, and 4070 with the RTX 4090 now expected to be available in September 2022 with the other two cards launching in the subsequent months. The new target launch dates are not currently certain with the possibility for further delays or revisions.

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(PR) AMD Fidelity FX Super Resolution 2.0 Coming to 5 New Games
May 12, 2022, was a big day for AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) -- DEATHLOOP was the first game to be updated with FSR 2.0, and we were thrilled to see the incredible response to the next generation of our open-source upscaling technology. Now we are extremely excited to tell you that two more games have been updated to add support for FSR 2.0, Farming Simulator 22 by GIANTS Software and God of War by Santa Monica Studio and PlayStation Studios.



FSR 2.0 is the next-level AMD temporal upscaling technology designed to deliver similar or better than native image quality and boost framerates in supported games across a wide range of products and platforms. Along with the two new FSR 2.0 game updates above, five more games have now joined the list of upcoming FSR 2.0 titles - Abyss World, Hitman 3, Rescue Party: Live!, Super People, and The Callisto Protocol. In addition, more games have been updated to support FSR 1.0.
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(PR) Turn 10 Studios Announces Forza Motorsport Coming in Spring 2023
Today, at the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase, we went under the hood to share what we've been working on: The next generation of Forza Motorsport to immerse you in the spectacle of racing like you've never seen before. Captured in-game and running on Xbox Series X, we unveiled a brand-new trailer, which debuted alongside the first ever gameplay of Forza Motorsport, showcasing how Maple Valley - a beloved, fan-favorite track since the very first Motorsport game launched in 2005 - is being brought to life in stunning detail and beauty.



In addition to Maple Valley, our trailer introduced players to returning fan-favorite tracks Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Laguna Seca Raceway. We also revealed Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, a South African track making its Forza Motorsport debut, and the all-new Circuit Hakone set in Japan, an original, high-speed Grand Prix circuit built to showcase the technically advanced, state of the art immersion of the new Forza Motorsport.
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