TechPowerUP NEWS

[NextPowerUP]

ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, is reportedly working with American chip designer Broadcom to develop a cutting-edge AI processor. This collaboration could secure a stable supply of high-performance chips for ByteDance, according to Reuters. Sources claim the joint project involves a 5 nm Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), designed to comply with U.S. export regulations. TSMC is slated to manufacture the chip, though production is not expected to begin this year.

This partnership marks a significant development in U.S.-China tech relations, as no public announcements of such collaborations on advanced chips have been made since Washington implemented stricter export controls in 2022. For ByteDance, this move could reduce procurement costs and ensure a steady chip supply, crucial for powering its array of popular apps, including TikTok and the ChatGPT-like AI chatbot "Doubao." The company has already invested heavily in AI chips, reportedly spending $2 billion on NVIDIA processors in 2023.

More...

[NextPowerUP]

TerraMaster, a professional brand focused on providing innovative storage products for homes and businesses, recently introduced the TPC Backupper, a free Windows backup and synchronization software for TDAS users. It allows easy backup of the operating system, settings, applications, and any data on a Windows PC. The tool facilitates the quick synchronization of files to another location, meeting users' comprehensive data protection needs.

TPC Backupper Key Features

Simple and Efficient
With its diverse backup features and user-friendly interface, TPC Backupper ensures the constant protection of your system and data security, performing quick recovery when needed. Most importantly, it is completely free for personal use.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

A new startup emerged out of stealth mode today to power the next generation of generative AI. Etched is a company that makes an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) to process "Transformers." The transformer is an architecture for designing deep learning models developed by Google and is now the powerhouse behind models like OpenAI's GPT-4o in ChatGPT, Antrophic Claude, Google Gemini, and Meta's Llama family. Etched wanted to create an ASIC for processing only the transformer models, making a chip called Sohu. The claim is Sohu outperforms NVIDIA's latest and greatest by an entire order of magnitude. Where a server configuration with eight NVIDIA H100 GPU clusters pushes Llama-3 70B models at 25,000 tokens per second, and the latest eight B200 "Blackwell" GPU cluster pushes 43,000 tokens/s, the eight Sohu clusters manage to output 500,000 tokens per second.

Why is this important? Not only does the ASIC outperform Hopper by 20x and Blackwell by 10x, but it also serves so many tokens per second that it enables an entirely new fleet of AI applications requiring real-time output. The Sohu architecture is so efficient that 90% of the FLOPS can be used, while traditional GPUs boast a 30-40% FLOP utilization rate. This translates into inefficiency and waste of power, which Etched hopes to solve by building an accelerator dedicated to power transformers (the "T" in GPT) at massive scales. Given that the frontier model development costs more than one billion US dollars, and hardware costs are measured in tens of billions of US Dollars, having an accelerator dedicated to powering a specific application can help advance AI faster. AI researchers often say that "scale is all you need" (resembling the legendary "attention is all you need" paper), and Etched wants to build on that.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Theorycraft Games has revealed SUPERVIVE (previously codenamed 'Project Loki') as the title of their first game, which will enter open beta in late 2024. SUPERVIVE is a neon-apocalyptic hero BR, set in an improvisational action sandbox where strategic, explosive shootouts meet a new era of storm chasing hunters - all with the aim of becoming the world's next "10,000-hour game" for competitive squads. In celebration, Theorycraft is hosting their largest public playtest from June 27 to July 4. Players can pre-register here.

SUPERVIVE, a free-to-play, squad-based hero battle royale, has players team up in groups of two or four to battle enemies across a vast, sky-bound map while a deadly storm encroaches upon them. Players engage in dynamic combat, complete objectives, and use unique powers and equipment to devise creative strategies to outplay other teams and be the last squad standing. SUPERVIVE will always be free-to-play and is designed to ensure that cosmetics are the only in-game purchases, with no pay-for-power elements, ever.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

The European Commission has preliminarily concluded that Microsoft breached EU antitrust rules by tying its Teams communication product to Office 365 and Microsoft 365 productivity suites. The Commission considers Microsoft dominant in the global SaaS productivity applications market and is concerned that since at least April 2019, the company has been unfairly promoting Teams by bundling it with core productivity applications.

This practice allegedly restricts competition in the communication and collaboration products market, prevents customers from choosing whether to acquire Teams, and may limit interoperability with competitors' products. The Commission fears this could hinder innovation and harm customers in the European Economic Area, potentially violating Article 102 of the TFEU, which prohibits abuse of a dominant position.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

ORIGIN PC, a leader in custom high-performance systems, today announced the launch of the latest Dark Metal design for the Corsair ONE ORIGIN EDITION. Known for uncompromised performance in a compact case, power through today's most demanding games and applications with ease. Design your Corsair ONE ORIGIN EDITION with the choice of the new Dark Metal, as well as Dark and Bright wood panels. Exclusive and beautiful HD UV printing is available - add a special design of your choice to fully personalize your PC and show off some style.

Your needs are met with the Corsair ONE ORIGIN EDITION. Customizable with up to 192 GB of DDR5 memory and 24 TB of storage, elevate creative, multitasking, and gaming performance. Both versatile and powerful, it raises the standard of desktops by unlocking greater capacities, and better bandwidth with quality hardware like an Intel Core i9-14900K processor, up to an NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX 4090 graphics card, and Corsair VENGEANCE DDR5 Memory. Additional SSD slots make it easy to expand your storage, up to 24 TB, so you have space for every game, file, and software you need. The ORIGIN configurator also offers options to add in capture cards, network cards, audio cards, USB expansion cards, and more, enabling you to do what you love.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Broadcom Inc. today unveiled the latest updates to VMware Cloud Foundation (VCF), the company's flagship private cloud platform. The latest advancements in VCF support customers' digital innovation with faster infrastructure modernization, improved developer productivity, and better cyber resiliency and security with low total cost of ownership.

"VMware Cloud Foundation is the industry's first private-cloud platform to offer the combined power of public and private clouds with unmatched operational simplicity and proven total cost of ownership value," said Paul Turner, Vice President of Products, VMware Cloud Foundation Division, Broadcom. "With our latest release, VCF is delivering on key requirements driven by customer input. The new VCF Import functionality will be a game changer in accelerating VCF adoption and improving time to value. We are also delivering a set of new capabilities that helps IT more quickly meet the needs of developers without increasing business risk. This latest release of VCF puts us squarely on the path to delivering on the full promise of VCF for our customers."
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Yaber, a pioneer of entertainment projectors, announces the global launch of the Projector T2/T2 Plus. This innovative, battery-powered portable projector features native 1080p resolution and superior audio quality, achieved through a close partnership with JBL. With built-in batteries, the T2 Series are perfect for movie marathons, camping trips, and outdoor gatherings.

The T2/T2 Plus projector series features 450 ANSI Lumens of brightness and native 1080p resolution, delivering clear and detailed images. Intelligent auto-correction technologies ensure seamless operation without manual adjustments. Moreover, equipped with dual JBL speakers and Dolby Audio support, the T2/T2 Plus projectors provide a balanced and immersive sound experience.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

MINISFORUM, a leading manufacturer of high-quality Mini PCs, is proud to announce the release of its latest product, the UM890 Pro. This powerful Mini PC is designed with the latest generation AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor, utilizing the cutting-edge Zen 4 architecture, providing enhanced performance for multitasking, gaming, and creative work.

The UM890 Pro is equipped with the Cold Wave 2.2 cooling system, ensuring the PC's stability and robust connectivity capabilities. It also supports quick disassembly, making it easy to upgrade and maintain. With DDR5 dual-channel memory, speeds up to 5600 MHz, and a maximum capacity support of 96 GB, the UM890 Pro offers exceptional performance. Additionally, it can install two M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 SSD solid-state drives simultaneously, with a maximum capacity support of 8 TB, effectively enhancing storage performance and boosting system responsiveness.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Kensington, a worldwide leader of desktop computing and mobility solutions for IT, business, and home office professionals, today announced the availability of the Pro Fit Ergo KB675 EQ TKL Rechargeable Keyboard. Winner of a 2024 Red Dot Design award in the product design category, the keyboard is compatible with Windows and macOS and features an ergonomically-sculpted TKL (tenkeyless) design that delivers style, comfort, and performance for use in the office and on the road.

Designed to position the wrists and arms in an ergonomically correct position to promote a more natural posture, the Pro Fit Ergo KB675 EQ TKL Rechargeable Keyboard (K75491) minimizes strain and discomfort when utilizing the keyboard over extended periods. Compared to a traditional, flat keyboard, the ergonomic design of the KB675 keyboard can potentially reduce the risk of repetitive strain injuries (RSIs), such as carpal tunnel syndrome and other typing-related issues, which could require medical treatment or result in lost time at work.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Small, fast, hot—M.2 SSDs. The compact power packs require additional cooling to ensure consistently high performance. ARCTIC offers the right solution with the M2 Pro. M.2 SSDs are true speed miracles. However, they tend to reach high temperatures quickly during intensive use and reduce performance early to avoid overheating. The M2 Pro was specifically designed for 2280 M.2 SSDs. Thanks to its additional mass, it not only keeps the temperature under control, but also ensures that the SSD can cool down more quickly. This enables reliable performance and a long service life. The cooler is extremely compact at 73 x 24.2 x 10.5 mm and comes with two precisely fitting ARCTIC TP-3 Premium Performance thermal pads.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Philips, or rather its brand licence partner MMD—which is a division of TPV—has launched a new gaming monitor under its Evnia brand, namely the 32M2N8800. The model name doesn't really give away much about the specs, but what we're looking at is a 31.5-inch 4K QD-OLED display with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The panel is VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 400 certified and ClearMR 13000. Like most displays of this type it has a 10-bit panel with a 0.03 ms grey to grey response time and 99 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. The Evnia display also features a range of gaming mode features like a smart crosshair and various game mode settings. There's also support for picture by picture and picture in picture.

Connectivity wise, it's sadly stuck with DisplayPort 1.4, as well as a pair of HDMI 2.1 ports. There's also a built-in USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps) hub with two USB Type-A ports, of which one supports the older USB battery charging 1.2 standard, which delivers 5 V at up to 1.5 A. There's also a 3.5 mm audio output jack and the display is also equipped with Philips' Ambiglow LED backlight on four sides. The stand supports height, swivel and tilt adjustments. The Evnia 32M2N8800 is expected to retail for around US$1000, based on pricing in Hong Kong.

More...

[NextPowerUP]

TrendForce has observed that in 2024, major CSPs such as Microsoft, Google, Meta, and AWS will continue to be the primary buyers of high-end AI servers, which are crucial for LLM and AI modeling. Following establishing a significant AI training server infrastructure in 2024, these CSPs are expected to actively expand into edge AI in 2025. This expansion will include the development of smaller LLM models and setting up edge AI servers to facilitate AI applications across various sectors, such as manufacturing, finance, healthcare, and business.

Moreover, AI PCs or notebooks share a similar architecture to AI servers, offering substantial computational power and the ability to run smaller LLM and generative AI applications. These devices are anticipated to serve as the final bridge between cloud AI infrastructure and edge AI for small-scale training or inference applications.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

Amid a field of over 20,000 submissions from 60 countries, the QNAP Thunderbolt 4 NAS TBS-h574TX and TVS-h874T won the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2024. The TBS-h574TX Thunderbolt 4 all-flash NASbook is designed for film sets, small studios, small-scale video production teams and SOHO users. Powered by an Intel Core i9 16-core / i7 12-core processor, the TVS-h874T Thunderbolt 4 NAS is a great sidekick for your creative talents. The professional jurors of the Red Dot Jury highly recognized the TBS-h574TX and the TVS-h874T with distinction, signifying high quality design.

The TBS-h574TX packs high-speed I/O and Intel Core performance required by video production, allowing creators using Mac or Windows to enjoy the smoothest experience ever in real-time video editing, large file transfer, video transcoding, and backup. The TBS-h574TX, acting as the bridge between pre-production and post-production, takes video projects and team collaboration to the next level. The TBS-h574TX runs the ZFS-based QuTS hero operating system that ensures data integrity. You can also switch to the QTS operating system based on your needs.
Read full story

More...

[NextPowerUP]

JEDEC Solid State Technology Association, the global leader in standards development for the microelectronics industry, today announced the publication of JESD405-1B JEDEC Memory Module Label - for Compute Express Link (CXL ) V1.1. JESD405-1B joins JESD317A JEDEC Memory Module Reference Base Standard - for Compute Express Link (CXL ) V1.0, first introduced in March 2023, in defining the function and configuration of memory modules that support CXL specifications, as well as the standardized content for labels for these modules. JESD405-1B and JESD317A were developed in coordination with the Compute Express Link standards organization. Both standards are available for free download from the JEDEC website.

JESD317A provides detailed guidelines for CXL memory modules including mechanical, electrical, pinout, power and thermal, and environmental guidelines for emerging CXL Memory Modules (CMMs). These modules conform to SNIA (Storage Networking Industry Association) EDSFF form factors E1.S and E3.S to provide end-user friendly hot pluggable assemblies for data centers and similar server applications.
Read full story

More...