TechPowerUP NEWS

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With the explosion of digital content, people need bigger and more robust solutions to help access and preserve it all. Western Digital today is introducing a portable HDD expansion across its WD, WD_BLACK and SanDisk Professional product lineups, boasting the world's highest storage capacity in a 2.5" portable HDD. The WD My Passport portable HDD line, WD_BLACK P10 Game Drive and SanDisk Professional G-DRIVE ArmorATD will all now be available in 6 TB capacities.

"Expanding our portfolio with the world's first 2.5" 6 TB portable hard drive is an incredible technological achievement, and it enables us to continue pushing the boundaries of what's possible," said Nitin Kachhwaha, Director of Product Management at Western Digital. "Offering up to 6 TB in such a small form factor and accessible price point gives everyone - from students, gamers, professional videographers, and more—greater flexibility to create and keep even more of their essential content in one portable drive."
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ORIGIN PC, a leader in custom high-performance systems, today launched their latest laptops - the EON16-SX, NSX-16, NSL-14, and NSL-16. For gamers, the EON16-SX offers powerful 40-Series performance and the latest in processing efficiency with an Intel Core Ultra processor. Professionals have a much broader selection of workstation laptops moving forward with the introduction of the brand new NSX-16, NSL-14, and NSL-16 laptops. Designed for the Generation of AI, the new Intel Core Ultra processors also feature a built-in NPU and Intel AI Boost. Experience improved productivity, efficiency, and performance with AI-acceleration that can be used for video editing, multi-tasking, and more. All four of the new laptops meet MIL-STD-810H-SPEC standards, meaning they have passed extensive stress tests including extreme temperatures, humidity, shock, and more. Durable and powerful, yet completely portable, ORIGIN PC is proud to announce the newest editions to their world-class lineup of custom PCs.

The brand new EON16-SX and NSX-16 laptops are a fusion of high-performance and fully portable design. While only 4.29 lbs light and 0.77 inches thin, they offer high-performance via quality hardware like an Intel Core Ultra 7 155H, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070, DDR5 memory, and a spacious amount of high-speed SSD storage. Both laptops are also designed with a 16" 240 Hz 2560x1600 display, providing an expansive view of games, videos, and software. The two new laptops also take advantage of NVIDIA Optimus which automatically switches between the high performance dedicated GPU and power-efficient integrated GPU to maximize power efficiency. Packed with the latest technology, they boast a generous battery lifespan of 4 hours and 40 minutes. Customize the EON16-SX or NSX-16 with up to 64 GB of DDR5 memory and 16 TB of SSD storage, while also accessing a wide array of connectivity options.
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XFX earlier this month debuted the Phoenix Nirvana line of premium custom-design Radeon RX 7900 series graphics cards with the China-exclusive RX 7900 XTX Phoenix Nirvana. The company is expanding this lineup with two new models, both of which are draped in white. These are the company's first white-themed graphics cards. The lineup now includes the Radeon RX 7800 XT Phoenix Nirvana White, and the RX 7900 GRE Phoenix Nirvana White. Both cards appear to share a common board design, because the compacted "Navi 31" ASIC powering the RX 7900 GRE is pin-compatible with the "Navi 32" ASIC that the RX 7800 XT is based on. Since both GPUs feature a 256-bit GDDR6 memory interface, and a nearly identical typical board power value of around 260 W, AMD's board partners get to use their RX 7800 XT custom board designs for RX 7900 GRE products.

The XFX RX 7900 GRE Phoenix Nirvana White features a significantly different board design to the company's Merc 319 product that's available in the west. The heatsink is noticeably larger, the cooler shroud appears better ventilated, and XFX is using thicker 100 mm fans for higher static pressure than from the ones you find in the global Merc 319 card. The most striking design element of course is its color trim. White makes up the cooler shroud, the fan impellers, and the backplate. The heatsink protrudes out of the edges of the black PCB that's barely noticeable. The card is 33.7 cm long, and 5.9 cm-thick, with a 13.2 cm height. The RX 7900 GRE Phoenix Nirvana White comes with a hearty 6.7% factory overclock, with a 2394 MHz boost clock (vs. 2245 MHz reference); while the RX 7800 XT Phoenix Nirvana White ticks AMD reference 2430 MHz boost. Both these cards, unfortunately, are China-exclusive products, just like the RX 7900 XTX card XFX launched earlier this month.

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Ampere Computing today released its annual update on upcoming products and milestones, highlighting the company's continued innovation and invention around sustainable, power efficient computing for the Cloud and AI. The company also announced that they are working with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to develop a joint solution for AI inferencing using Qualcomm Technologies' high-performance, low power Qualcomm Cloud AI 100 inference solutions and Ampere CPUs.

Semiconductor industry veteran and Ampere CEO Renee James said the increasing power requirements and energy challenge of AI is bringing Ampere's silicon design approach around performance and efficiency into focus more than ever. "We started down this path six years ago because it is clear it is the right path," James said. "Low power used to be synonymous with low performance. Ampere has proven that isn't true. We have pioneered the efficiency frontier of computing and delivered performance beyond legacy CPUs in an efficient computing envelope."
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The ROG Ally X handheld gaming console ASUS plans to unveil on June 2, has not just a fixed microSD card slot, and a 40% larger battery, but also an upgraded main memory, MysteryLupin, a reliable source with ASUS leaks, reports. The console features 24 GB of LPDDR5X memory, compared to 16 GB on the regular ROG Ally with the Ryzen Z1 Extreme. The larger battery should give it usage of up to 8 hours on a full charge, while the larger memory should definitely improve performance, given that the SoC is the same Z1 Extreme ASUS uses in the regular ROG Ally. Besides the larger memory and battery, the console features an industry standard M.2-2280 NVMe SSD drive bay, with a pre-installed 1 TB SSD. This should open users up to the widest possible range of SSD upgrades. ASUS is reportedly pricing the ROG Ally X at $799, a $100 increase over the original ROG Ally with the Z1 Extreme—a premium that's actually shaping up to be good value.

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[NextPowerUP]

This new Evnia gaming monitor is stacked with visual power. Philips Monitors introduces its latest addition to the premium Evnia 8000 monitor series. The Philips Evnia 49M2C8900L is jam-packed with powerful features like a 48.9-inch (124.3 cm) QD-OLED panel, a 32:9 SuperWide aspect ratio, 5120 x 1440 resolution, 144 Hz refresh rate, Ambiglow lighting, and DTS Sound. All in all, this monitor is made for all kinds of game genres, but its visual fidelity is what makes it stand out.


A hallmark feature of the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900L is the QD-OLED panel. Certified with VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 for an exceptional HDR experience, and certified with VESA ClearMR 8000 for butter-smooth gameplay, visuals on this monitor are assured to be rich in colour, sharp and blur-free. Furthermore, the SuperWide (32:9) QD-OLED panel, when combined with the monitor's 1800R curvature, provides a high-quality and immersive adventure to all gamers. With a 10-bit colour depth, supreme sRGB colour accuracy (DeltaE < 2) and a high gamut coverage (99% DCI-P3), the Evnia monitor reproduces vibrant, true-to-life colours. The large screen is like having two 16:9 QHD monitors side by side and allows gamers to play on a singular screen instead of a dual-monitor setup; thereby creating a more seamless and smooth usage.
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Noctua today launched its new HOME product line for home, office and multi-purpose ventilation. Starting with two fan sets and nine modular accessory products that enable Noctua fans to be used for various cooling tasks outside the realm of PC cooling, the new HOME line is all about leveraging Noctua's award-winning fan technology in novel fields of application. "Noctua originates from the PC cooling market, but our fans' award-winning performance, quietness of operation and long-term stability are just as useful in various other applications" says Roland Mossig (Noctua CEO). "Our industrial clients as well as tech-savvy DIYers have already been using our fans for applications beyond the PC cooling space for many years, so the new HOME line marks the next step in leveraging our technologies for a wider scope of cooling demands and making them more accessible for a broader audience."

The launch lineup of Noctua's HOME line comprises two complete, ready-to-use fan sets as well as nine modular accessory products, all of which make it possible to employ Noctua fans for typical home, office or multi-purpose ventilation tasks. For example, the NV-FM1 is a highly versatile, pivoting mount for 120 and 140 mm fans that cannot only be used as a simple stand on desks or other level surfaces, but can also be fixed to walls, ceilings, furniture, or other objects. For applications that require a strong, focused beam of airflow, it can be paired with the tailored NV-AA1-12 airflow amplifier that significantly enhances the fan's ventilation performance. Both products are bundled in the NV-FS1 set with the award-winning NF-A12x25 fan, an NA-FC1 fan controller as well as the new NV-PS1 230/115 V AC to 12 V DC power supply plus a fan grill and extension cable. In sum, the NV-FS1 is a sturdy, premium grade quiet desk or room fan that can be installed just about anywhere using screws, zip-ties or the integrated magnets.
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[NextPowerUP]

Today is a good day for those of you that have wanted a glossy OLED gaming monitor, as ASUS has launched the ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG, which is a glossy WOLED gaming monitor. The ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG sports a 2560 x 1440 pixel WOLED display with a 240 Hz refresh rate and a 0.03 ms grey to grey response time. ASUS also claims up to 20 percent brighter image in SDR mode and deeper black hues under any lighting conditions, quite something to live up to. On the more technical side, the panel is said to offer a 1.5 million to one contrast ratio, support for 99 percent of the DCI-P3 colour space or 135 percent of the RGB colour space and it's should also have 10-bit colour support.

Connectivity wise, there will be disappointing sights from some, as the ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG relies on a single DP 1.4 with DSC and a pair of HDMI 2.0 ports for video inputs, which means the HDMI ports are limited to 144 Hz. It also only has two USB 3.2 Gen 1 5 Gbps ports and no USB Type-C input, although there's a headphone jack for those that want to use that. Other features include FreeSync Premium and G-Sync Compatible support, as well as ASUS' trace free technology, GamePlus, shadow boost and OLED care. No word on official pricing at this point in time, but it's non-glossy counterpart retails for US$900.

Update May 21st: ASUS has announced the offical pricing for the ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG and the MSRP is US$699, which makes it around US$200 cheaper than its non-glossy counterpart. It'll go on sale from the 30th of May.
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[NextPowerUP]

GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of premium gaming hardware, today announced the new AORUS ELITE series power supplies. This series offers four models to meet the needs of different users, including: AORUS ELITE P1000W 80+ Platinum Modular PCIe 5.0 (Black), AORUS ELITE P850W 80+ Platinum Modular PCIe 5.0 (Black), AORUS ELITE P1000W 80+ Platinum Modular PCIe 5.0 ICE (White), and AORUS ELITE P850W 80+ Platinum Modular PCIe 5.0 ICE (White).
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Certified with 80 Plus Platinum and fully compliant with Intel ATX 3.0 and PCIe Gen 5.0 standards, the AORUS ELITE series power supplies cater to high-end gamers and users with stable computing needs, offering exceptional performance and reliability. Their compact design packs a 120 mm Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) smart silent fan and the AORUS unique magnetic plate, combining quiet operation with a stylish look.
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The open-source RISC-V instruction set architecture is shaping up for explosive growth over the next several years, primarily fueled by the increasing demand for artificial intelligence (AI) across industries. A new forecast from tech research firm Omdia predicts that shipments of RISC-V-based chips will skyrocket at an astonishing 50% annual growth rate between 2024 and 2030, sitting at a staggering 17 billion RISC-V units in 2030. The automotive sector is expected to see the most significant growth in RISC-V adoption, with a forecasted annual increase of 66%. This growth is largely attributed to the unique benefits RISC-V offers in this industry, including its flexibility and customizability.

The rise of AI in the automotive sector, particularly in applications such as autonomous driving and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), is also expected to contribute to RISC-V's success. Industrial applications will continue to be the largest domain for RISC-V, accounting for approximately 46% of sales. However, the growth in the automotive sector is expected to outpace other industries, driven by the increasing demand for AI-enabled technologies in this sector. The forecast from Omdia is based on current trends and the growing adoption of RISC-V by major players in the tech industry, including Google and Meta, which are investing in RISC-V to power their custom solutions. Additionally, chip producers like Qualcomm are creating their RISC-V chips for consumer use, further solidifying the technology's future position in the market.

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BIWIN is a rather large OEM of consumer NAND flash and DRAM products for some of the largest PC brands, including HP and Acer, among several others. It is based out of Shenzhen, China, and trades as 688525 on the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The company has been making retail overclocking PC memory; high performance M.2 NVMe and SATA SSDs; as well as portable SSDs and USB flash drives for several years now. We've reviewed several of these including. BIWIN now wants to break cover, and sell these products under its own brand in the retail channel. BIWIN is planning to make a big splash at the 2024 Computex next month, where it will showcase not just the products it's making for the big PC brands, but also those it plans to directly market under its own marquee.

From what we gather, BIWIN will continue to be an OEM for the big ticket brands it's serving, but will also run a first-party product stack. This would give its product managers freedom to come up with original product designs and specifications for their products, and choose where and how to sell them. The company in its LinkedIn post announcing this move, also posted teasers from its upcoming Computex booth, showcasing BIWIN-branded PC overclocking memory, portable SSDs, USB flash drives, memory cards, and M.2 NVMe SSDs. We'll be sure to give you a detailed tour of this booth from Computex.

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Apple is locked in a fierce competition to stay ahead in the client AI applications race, and needs access to the latest foundry process at TSMC to built its future-generation SoCs on. The company's COO, Jeff Williams, reportedly paid a visit to TSMC CEO CC Wei to discuss Apple's foundry allocation of the Taiwanese foundry's 2 nm-class silicon fabrication process, for its next-generation M-series and A-series SoCs powering its future generations of iPhone, iPad, and Macs. Taiwan based industry observer, Economic Daily, which broke this story, says that it isn't just an edge with performance and efficiency that Apple is after, but also leadership in generative AI, and client AI applications. The company has reportedly invested over $100 billion in generative AI research and development over the past 5 years.

Apple's latest silicon, the M4 SoC, which debuted with the iPad Pro earlier this month, is built on TSMC's N3E (3 nm-class) node, and it's widely expected that the rest of the M4 line of SoCs for Macs, and the "A18," could be built on the same process, which would cover Apple for the rest of 2024, going into the first half of 2025. TSMC is expected to commence mass-production of chips on its 2 nm node in 2025, which is why Apple is in the TSMC boss's office to seek the first foundry allocation.

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Following the success of the de next form factor, which included the world's smallest single board computers to host Intel Core and AMD Ryzen V2000 Series processors, AAEON has announced de next brand's first edge system, the de next-TGU8-EZBOX. Mirroring its record-breaking SBC counterparts, the de next-TGU8-EZBOX is the world's smallest edge PC with an embedded Intel Core processor, measuring just 95.5 mm x 69.5 mm x 42.5 mm with a heatsink, and 95.5 mm x 69.5 mm x 45.4 mm with an active cooler. The system is suitable for edge computing and IoT gateway solutions, especially in scenarios with there is limited space. Furthermore, the benefits that come with fanless heat dissipation, such as low noise and protection against dust, will appeal to customers in both the digital signage and industrial markets.

The system retains many of the I/O features of its board counterparts, including multiple high-speed interfaces for industrial-grade performance. Two LAN ports, operating at both 2.5GbE and GbE speeds, are conveniently grouped together with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports and one HDMI 1.4b port for easy interface access during operation.
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AMD is slated to deliver a "Zen 5" microarchitecture deep-dive at the Hot Chips 2024 conference, on August 25. The company is widely expected to either unveil or announce its next-generation processors based on the architecture, in its 2024 Computex keynote on June 3, so it remains to be seen if the deep-dive follows a product launch, or predates it. Either way, Hot Chips talks tend to be significantly more detailed than the product launch pre-briefs that we get; and so we hope to learn a lot more about the architecture.

A lot rides on the continued success of "Zen 5" to deliver a double-digit percentage IPC increase over its predecessor, while also introducing new microarchitecture-level features; and leveraging new foundry processes at TSMC, to deliver competitive processors to Intel. Unlike Intel, which has implemented hybrid CPU cores across its product stack, AMD continues to make traditional multicore processors, and refuses to level even the chips that contain regular and high-density versions of its "Zen 4" cores as "hybrid."

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AMD on Monday said that its 2024 Computex Keynote address slated for June 3, will see a slew of next-generation product announcements. "Join us as Dr. Lisa Su delivers the Computex 2024 opening keynote and shares the latest on how AMD and our partners are pushing the envelope with our next generation of high-performance PC, data center and AI solutions," the brief release said.

AMD is widely expected to unveil its next-generation Ryzen 9000 "Strix Point" mobile processors for AI PCs capable of powering the recently announced Microsoft Copilot+, its next-generation Ryzen 9000 "Granite Ridge" desktop processors, its 5th Generation EPYC "Turin" server processors, and possibly even its next-generation Radeon RX RDNA 4 generation. At the heart of all its processor announcements is the new "Zen 5" CPU microarchitecture that's expected to introduce an over 10% IPC improvement with significant improvements in AVX512 performance over "Zen 4," which should benefit certain kinds of AI workloads.

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