NZXT, a leader in PC gaming hardware and services, today announces the H6 Flow and H6 Flow RGB, a compact dual chamber mid-tower ATX case. The H6 Flow offers a harmonious blend of performance and visual appeal for PC enthusiasts. Designed for an expansive and uninterrupted view, the H6 Flow is adorned with consistent tempered glass on the front and sides, granting a panoramic peek into the insides of your build. Leveraging its dual chamber architecture, the new angel front panel directs the airflow from the three pre-included 120 mm fans (or 120 mm RGB fans for the H6 Flow RGB version) and two 140 mm fans at the base of the case allow you to cool your heat generating components. The revamped perforated panels come with a design fine-tuned for optimal airflow and superior performance. While all being easy to build with the H6 Flow facilitates generous cable-routing channels and straps, ensuring organized cable management.

Cougar introduced several new gaming chair models at Computex 2023 including the Hotrod, NxSys Aero and Armor EVO. The NxSys Aero has been getting plenty of attention from attendees due to its mounted 200 mm aRGB cooling fan - this is positioned to provide cooling for the sweatiest of rears torsos. The advanced integrated cooling solution is apparently a first for the gaming chair market - Cougar thinks that this is a game changer - a power bank provides the necessary juice to run the fan and lighting system from a discreetly placed perch. The NxSys Aero features an innovative elastomeric mesh and ventilated back cover ensuring an airy yet cushioned seating experience. A physiotherapy-grade lumbar pillow and magnetic head cushion complete the package.

The Hotrod is a "motorsports-inspired" gaming chair designed to react to the intense maneuvers of fast-paced action. Cougar has studied real world racing seat in order to figure out the right balance of flexibility and resistance to body movements. The Hotrod's structure is formed out of synthetic PA fiberglass-reinforced plastic, yet the chair offers a high level of comfort thanks to multi-density cushioning along its backrest. An integrated height-adjustable head cushion adds comfy support for necks and heads - it is ergonomically engineered to prevent whiplash resulting from the most serious of high-octane gaming situations.

Lian Li has updated the impressive V3000 Plus case to a beautiful new white finish. The Lian Li V3000 Plus White is the ideal choice for the enthusiast who wants plenty of space to build a custom white gaming PC. Boasting an impressive ability to facilitate three different modes of interior layout, this case is an ideal foundation for a wide range of builds.

New Look for an Old Favorite
The Lian Li V3000 Plus White keeps the same outstanding styling found on its black counterpart. The V3000 Plus has kept the impressive glass panels on each side, but made them crystal clear, alongside changing the finish to a pure white. Thanks to these two factors combined, you can build a clean gaming PC that highlights your components.

Semiconductor manufacturers worldwide are estimated to increase 200 mm fab capacity 20% from 2021 through 2025, adding 13 new 200 mm lines as the industry reaches a record high of more than 7 million wafers per month (wpm), SEMI announced today in its 200 mm Fab Outlook to 2025 report. Surging demand for automotive and other applications are driving the capacity expansion for power semiconductors and MEMS.

Chipmakers including ASMC, BYD Semiconductor, China Resources Microelectronics, Fuji Electronics, Infineon Technologies, Nexperia and STMicroelectronics have announced new 200 mm fabs to meet growing demand.The SEMI 200 mm Fab Outlook to 2025 report shows fab capacity for automotive and power semiconductors growing at a rate of 58% from 2021 to 2025, followed by MEMS at 21%, foundry at 20% and analog at 14%.

Global fab equipment spending for front-end facilities is expected to increase approximately 9% year-over-year (YOY) to a new all-time high of US$99 billion in 2022, SEMI announced today in its latest quarterly World Fab Forecast report. The report also shows the global fab equipment industry increasing capacity this year and again in 2023. "After achieving a record level in 2022, the global fab equipment market is projected to remain healthy next year driven by new fabs and upgrade activity," said Ajit Manocha, SEMI President and CEO.

Taiwan is expected to lead fab equipment spending in 2022, increasing investments 47% YOY to US$30 billion, followed by Korea at US$22.2 billion, a 5.5% decline, and China at US$22 billion, a 11.7% drop from its peak last year. Europe/Mideast this year is forecast to log record high spending of US$6.6 billion, a 141% YOY surge this year though outlays remain comparatively smaller than in other regions. Strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) advanced technologies is driving the region's jump in spending. The Americas and Southeast Asia are also expected to register record high investments in 2023.

Global fab equipment spending for front-end facilities is expected to increase 20% year-over-year (YOY) to an all-time high of US$109 billion in 2022, marking a third consecutive year of growth following a 42% surge in 2021, SEMI announced today in its latest quarterly World Fab Forecast report. Fab equipment investment in 2023 is expected to remain strong.

"The global semiconductor equipment industry remains on track to cross the $100 billion threshold for the first time as shown in our latest update of the World Fab Forecast,"said Ajit Manocha, president and CEO of SEMI. "This historic milestone puts an exclamation point on the current run of unprecedented industry growth."

GLOBALFOUNDRIES (GF ), the global leader in feature-rich semiconductor manufacturing, and GlobalWafers Co., Ltd. (GWC), one of the top silicon wafer manufacturers in the world, today announced an $800 million agreement to add 300 mm silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer manufacturing and expand existing 200 mm SOI wafer production at GWC's MEMC facility in O'Fallon, Missouri.

The silicon wafers produced by GWC are key input materials for semiconductors and an integral part of GF's supply chain. The wafers are used in GF's multi-billion dollar manufacturing facilities, or fabs, where they are used to manufacture the computer chips that are pervasive and vital to the global economy. Today's announcement expands GF's domestic silicon wafer supply from the United States.

Alphacool introduces four new extremely large radiators. The first two radiators are for 180 or 200 mm fans and are a thickness of 86 mm. The 200 and 400 mm NexXxoS Monsta radiators offer a huge cooling surface. Both radiators have 7x standard G1/4" ports. 6 of the ports are for inlet/outlet and the 7th port is located at the end chamber and can only be used for filling, draining, or bleeding the radiator. The fin density has been reduced from 16 to 12 FPI to allow the use of lower static pressure fans and lower RPMs.

The new Nova 1080 UT60 radiator is a thicker version of the Nova 1080 XT45 radiator. The enormous cooling surface is comparable to three 360 mm UT60 radiators. This makes it easy to cool more than 1000 W of excess heat with extremely quiet to silent spinning fans. This is equivalent to a 64 core AMD Threadripper of the latest generation and at least two GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards.

As the tensions between China and the US seem to have come to stay for the foreseeable future, Chinese companies are now opting to resort to older technologies so as to shore up their semiconductor manufacturing capability and reduce dependency from US-based imports. With several companies feeling the tight rope of US-imposed sanctions on their ability to purchase critical supplies (which brought even giant Huawei to its proverbial knees), it seems like a safe bet that China doesn't really care to be on the cutting edge for all but the most mission-critical applications. This happens at a time when the world is still reeling from general semiconductor shortages (some 30% below demand levels). This results in used semiconductor manufacturing equipment - which according to some sources, was "worthless several years ago" - to now be flying from storage warehouses and directly onto factory floors as fast humanly possible. And sometimes, that equipment is acquired for a cool $1 million.

The litography equipment being bought-up (apparently, 90% of the available supply is headed to China) mostly churns out 200 mm wafers, as opposed to today's most modern processes' 300 mm. This means that it's not only the wafer etching machines that are required, but also all the other peripheral equipment that is indispensable to the manufacturing process, such as etching and cleansing machines. This has prompted certain companies, such as Canon, to re-release litography equipment for 200 mm processes - nine years after their last offering was put to sale. This could actually be a way to supplement existing semiconductor requirements, as not everything has to be in the cutting edge of semiconductor capabilities - the old "satisficing" adage could indeed prove a good solution to the increasing demand for semiconductors.