Today ASML Holding NV (ASML) has published its 2022 fourth-quarter and full-year results. "Our fourth-quarter net sales came in around the midpoint of our guidance at €6.4 billion. The gross margin of 51.5% was above our guidance due to additional upgrades and insurance settlement for last year's ASML Berlin fire. "For ASML, 2022 was another strong year ending with total net sales for the year of €21.2 billion, gross margin of 50.5% and a record backlog at the end of 2022 of €40.4 billion.



"We continue to see uncertainty in the market caused by inflation, rising interest rates, risk of recession and geopolitical developments related to export controls. However, our customers indicate that they expect the market to rebound in the second half of the year. Considering our order lead times and the strategic nature of lithography investments, demand for our systems therefore remains strong.
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(PR) Open Compute Project Foundation and JEDEC Announce a New Collaboration
Today, the Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP), the nonprofit organization bringing hyperscale innovations to all, and JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in the development of standards for the microelectronics industry, announce a new collaboration to establish a framework for the transfer of technology captured in an OCP-approved specification to JEDEC for inclusion in one of its standards. This alliance brings together members from both the OCP and JEDEC communities to share efforts in developing and maintaining global standards needed to advance the electronics industry.



Under this new alliance, the current effort will be to provide a mechanism to standardize Chiplet part descriptions leveraging OCP Chiplet Data Extensible Markup Language (CDXML) specification to become part of JEDEC JEP30: Part Model Guidelines for use with today's EDA tools. With this updated JEDEC standard, expected to be published in 2023, Chiplet builders will be able to provide electronically a standardized Chiplet part description to their customers paving the way for automating System in Package (SiP) design and build using Chiplets. The description will include information needed by SiP builders such as Chiplet thermal properties, physical and mechanical requirements, behavior specifications, power and signal integrity properties, testing the Chiplet in package, and security parameters.
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Crypto Miners Paint GDDR Memory Chips to Hide Wear and Tear
With the once-lucrative business of cryptocurrency mining now slowly falling out of favor for discrete graphics, crypto miners are turning their heads to creative solutions to "refurbish" and sell their remaining inventory to third-party users. When GPU components, such as the die or GDDR memory, overheat, they can produce visual signs of damage, such as discoloration or melting. Some miners have started painting the memory on their GPU's boards with special thermal paint to hide the wear and tear from the naked eye and make the GDDR chips appear new in hopes that no one would notice. According to Iskandar Souza and TecLab, their cases are now getting debunked.



As these reports note, miners are removing the stock cooling systems from GPUs to install a third-party solution or recently tried to resolder failed GPU dies back in place and paint the yellowish GDDR memory chips. According to the testing done by Iskandar Souza, you can see below the difference between a worn-out yellowish GDDR chip and its painted deception standing next to one another. Below you can also see the process of resoldering failed GPUs back in place. Crypto miners have been very careful to make them look almost as brand new, so GPU buyers from third-party sources need to be extra cautious before making a purchase.

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Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4090 Beta Released
Intel Graphics today released the latest version of its Arc GPU Graphics Drivers. Version 101.4090 beta comes with launch-day optimization for "Forspoken." The company also fixed a couple of issues with this release. For Arc "Alchemist" discrete GPUs, an application freeze issue with "A Plague Tale: Requiem" has been fixed. Box corruptions noticed in "Need for Speed: Unbound," have also been fixed. For Intel Core processors with Xe LP-based iGPUs, a screenspace corruption issue with NFS: Unbound has been fixed; besides an intermittent application crash with Total War: Warhammer III in DirectX 11 mode, and color corruption in Battlefield: 2042. Grab the drivers from the link below.



DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.4090 beta
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League of Legends Source Code Stolen in Riot Games Cyberattack
Riot Games provided its first response to last week's cyberattack on its company network. The company alleges that the attackers have exfiltrated with the source-codes for "League of Legends," "Teamfight Tactics," and a proprietary anti-cheat software that's no longer in use. Riot Games assures all that no game user data was compromised with this attack (particularly passwords or payment-instrument details); and at worst the stolen source code could help the attackers create cheats. The company also received a ransom e-mail from the attackers demanding payment, failing which they threaten to release the source code to public; but Riot said that it does not intend to pay. Since user information isn't compromised, and the games themselves are protected by IP laws globally, there's little reason to pay up.

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Bitspower Intros Nebula VGA Radeon RX 7900 XTX Full-coverage Water-block
Bitspower today introduced the Nebula VGA full-coverage water-block for the AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX reference-design graphics card (model: BP-VG7900XTXRD). The block uses nickel-plated copper as its main material, and comes with a clear-acrylic top that's studded with addressable-RGB LEDs. It also includes a metal backplate. The block features a mirror-finish contact area for the GPU, and comes with thermal-pads for the card's twelve GDDR6 memory chips, and its VRM areas. The lighting setup takes in a common 3-pin ARGB connection. The block itself comes with industry-standard G1/4" threads for fittings. The block measures 270 mm x135.5 mm x 30.7 mm. Up for pre-order, the Nebula RX 7900 XTX FC-block is priced at the equivalent of USD $250.

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(PR) SK hynix Develops LPDDR5T, World's Fastest Mobile DRAM
SK hynix Inc. announced today that it has developed the world's fastest mobile DRAM 'LPDDR5T (Low Power Double Data Rate 5 Turbo)' and provided sample products to customers. The new product, LPDDR5T, operates at a data rate of 9.6 gigabits per second (Gbps), 13% faster than the previous generation LPDDR5X unveiled in November 2022. To highlight the maximum speed the product features, SK hynix added 'Turbo' at the end of the standard name LPDDR5.



LPDDR5T, which operates in the ultra-low voltage range of 1.01 to 1.12 V set by the JEDEC (Joint Electron Device Engineering Council), is a product that not only features utmost speed but ultra-low power consumption. "The company pushed the technology to new limits in just two months after LPDDR5X, mobile DRAM with 8.5 Gbps specification, was introduced to the market in November 2022," SK hynix said. "We will solidify our leadership in the mobile DRAM market by providing products of various storage capacities that meet customers' needs."
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AMD Software Adrenalin 23.1.2 for RX 7900 Series Third Straight Exclusive Driver, No New Driver for RX 6000 Series Since 48 Days
AMD today released the Adrenalin 23.1.2 drivers exclusively for the Radeon RX 7900 series, making it the third straight driver of the kind. There has been no new driver for older GPUs, including the RX 6000 series, including the 7-month old RX 6950 XT, since December 8, 2022 (48 days now), which means the overwhelming majority of AMD Radeon users don't yet have optimization for games such as Forspoken, and Valhiem. The latest 23.1.2 drivers only work with the RX 7900 XT and RX 7900 XTX. These introduce day-zero optimization for "Forspoken," and a handful background improvements for the Vulkan API. AMD fixed the "Delayed Write Failed" error noticed on Windows 11 22H2; less than expected performance with "SpaceEngine," and flickering issues noticed with "Emergency 4."



DOWNLOAD: AMD Software Adrenalin 23.1.2 for RX 7900 Series
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Western Digital and Kioxia Said to be Considering Merging Flash Production Business
According to a report from Bloomberg, Western Digital and Kioxia are holding new talks about a potential merger of both companies' flash production businesses. The merger appears to be quite complex, as not only does it involve Western Digital spinning off its flash production business unit, which is then said to be merged with Kioxia, into what will be a publicly traded company in the US, but there will also be a second listing in Japan for the company.



Considering that Kioxia came out of Toshiba's DRAM and NAND flash manufacturing business, in which Western Digital was a partner until Toshiba divested its business into Kioxia. This caused quite some tension between the two companies, but Western Digital and Kioxia kept producing NAND flash in the shared facilities. The report by Bloomberg suggests that a management team from Western Digital will be running the combined company, which could potentially lead to future issues between the US and Japanese sides of the company. Time will tell if a merger will actually take place or not, as the two companies failed to come to an agreement in 2021, but it's possible that something has changed since then. Back in 2021, the merger was valued at US$20 billion plus.

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AMD Announces Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Bundle with Ryzen 7000-series CPUs
From today, until the first of April, AMD will bundle a game code for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor with all of its Ryzen 7000-series CPUs. The promotion appears to be largely global, but limited to certain retailers, so if your favourite shop doesn't offer the bundled game code, you might have to look elsewhere. AMD offers a list on its website with participating retailers and in the US and Canada, this only appears to be Amazon and Newegg, whereas it varies much more widely in other parts of the world.



Oddly enough, many large retailers in various countries are missing and several countries are absent too, especially in Europe, for no apparent reason. What's even stranger, is that AMD doesn't appear to be offering the game code bundle through its own online shop, at least not in Europe. We should also point out that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor doesn't launch until the 17th of March, so if you jump the gun now, you're going to have to wait a few weeks before you'll be able to play the game.

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(PR) HyperX's "Coco" the Cozy Cat Collectable Keycap Arrives Soon for Gamers, Streamers and Cat Enthusiasts
HyperX, the gaming peripherals team at HP Inc. and brand leader in gaming and esports, today announced the first 3D product drop of 2023 for the new HyperX HX3D program, a limited-edition "Coco" the Cozy Cat Keycap available on Jan. 26 at 9 a.m. EST exclusively on Hyperx.com. Designed to add a personal and unique flair to gaming setups, the custom keycap can be used as an escape key enhancement or a modified key of your choice. Gamers, influencers, streamers and cat lovers alike can enjoy the "purr-fect" feline companion on their keyboard or showcase it as part of their favorite cat collectibles and memorabilia.



HyperX HX3D is an exciting new program bringing gamers a range of ways to customize and personalize their favorite gaming gear by leveraging HP's best-in-class 3D printing technology. The first planned series of 3D printed peripheral upgrades are limited edition custom keycaps, designed to fit on HyperX and most other mechanical keyboards. These will be available to consumers over the coming months. "Coco" is the first of many planned HX3D products to personalize keyboards, headsets, mice, and other gaming products.
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(PR) Intel Board of Directors Appoints Frank D. Yeary as New Independent Chair
Intel Corporation today announced that Frank D. Yeary has been appointed as the new independent chair of its board of directors. This follows Dr. Omar Ishrak's decision to step down as chair. Ishrak will remain on Intel's board as an independent director and continue to serve on the audit and finance committee and corporate governance and nominating committee.



"I'm pleased to welcome Frank as chair of Intel's board. His expertise in unlocking stockholder value, focus on corporate governance and familiarity with Intel are powerful assets to both the board and the company as we execute our strategy," said Pat Gelsinger, CEO of Intel. "I also want to thank Omar for his tremendous contributions as chair. He was instrumental in bringing me back to the company as CEO and has fostered a high-impact working dynamic across the board and management team. I look forward to his continued service as a valued member of the board."
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TechPowerUp NVCleanstall v1.15.0 Released
TechPowerUp today released the latest version of TechPowerUp NVCleanstall, a handy utility that lets you take greater control over your NVIDIA GeForce software installation. NVCleanstall lets you disable stuff you probably don't need, such as Telemetry, or legacy components, giving your PC a leaner set of system software from NVIDIA. Version 1.15.0 introduces several handy changes. To begin with, the title screen shows whether the currently installed driver is a Studio driver (optimized for creators). A crash during the background update check for new NVIDIA drivers has been fixed.



We've added two more installer tweaks with this release. The first one lets you disable Multiplane Overlay (MPO)—doing so is known to fix certain rare system stuttering issues. Another tweak lets you disable the NVENC concurrent session encoding limits, so you can encode more than two streams in parallel. This tweak uses keylase's patch scripts from GitHub. The "build package" option has been improved to ensure it runs well on systems with more than 20 CPU cores, and better error reporting has been added. Grab TechPowerUp NVCleanstall v1.15.0 from the link below.



DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp NVCleanstall 1.15.0
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