Computex is Asia's largest high-tech event and will run from June 4th to to 8th, 2013 in Taipei, Taiwan and BIOSTAR will be showcasing their embedded/IPC solutions and graphics cards products as well as their line of Intel and AMD based motherboards in the Nangang Exhibition Hall at Booth M0402. The theme of their exhibition this year is their Hi-Fi Puro integrated products, including Intel's next generation Haswell based boards and their FM2 motherboards that support AMD's new Fusion "Richland" CPU. Continuing the tradition of their own in-house audio technology called "Puro Hi-Fi Technology"; Biostar is going to present the 2nd generation of this technology, called "Hi-Fi 3D".

Targeting audiophiles, HTPC enthusiasts and high-end gamers alike, Puro Hi-Fi features an integrated independent audio power design with a built-in amplifier. The technology utilizes audio components with an independent power delivery design for a significant reduction in electronic noise producing superb sound quality. The unique noise-blocking multi-layer PCB layout is conducive for an exceptionally clean signal. That design feature, together with a sampling rate of 192 kHz/24-bit, delivers high quality audio through an analog connection to your home theater system, multi-channel speakers or high-end headphones, allowing you to enjoy true high-definition 7.1-channel surround sound.

According to the latest global graphics card market share seen by Taiwanese tech industry observer DigiTimes, Palit Microsystems and PC Partner have each surpassed ASUSTek. The two relegated ASUS to the position of third biggest graphics card vendor by volume. ASUS is a vendor-neutral graphics card vendor, selling both NVIDIA GeForce and AMD Radeon graphics cards; while Palit beat it with a predominantly GeForce-based product stack. Although Palit Microsystems is vendor-neutral on paper, it virtually stopped making AMD Radeon-based products.

Palit Microsystems runs two major brands, Palit, and Gainward, which target different global markets, and are seldom found in the same market. PC Partner, on the other hand, runs Sapphire, which focuses on AMD Radeon products, and ZOTAC, focusing on NVIDIA GeForce. Both Palit Microsystems and PC Partners also contract-manufacture graphics cards for other companies. With the surge of Palit Microsystems and PC Partner, ASUSTek is pushed down to the third place in global market-share, followed by MSI and GIGABYTE.

Source: DigiTimes

EVGA entered the Taiwanese market, which is the backyard of several major NVIDIA and AMD board partners, including ASUS, Gigabyte, and MSI. The American company launched almost its entire GeForce 600 series lineup, including GT 610, GT 620, GT 630, GT 640, GTX 650 Ti, GTX 660 Ti, GTX 670, and GTX 680. Missing in action are the flagship GTX 690, and non-reference design "Classified" series of graphics cards, in which EVGA puts in a lot of design, cooling, and PCB customization. EVGA's products are launched at leading ground and online stores, at competitive prices. They are backed by 5-year product warranties.Source: MyDrivers

A little earlier today, the U.S. branch of Scythe posted a message saying it decided to leave the U.S. market because its parent company halted operations. This spread confusion, with many believing that Scythe was ending operations everywhere. That is false. Not only is Scythe not ending operations everywhere, but it's not leaving the U.S. market, either. With the U.S. office closed for the night, other regional distributors such as Scythe EU swung into action, and allayed concerns.

According to Scythe's EU office in Germany, Scythe U.S. is undergoing "restructuring," with the company likely changing its U.S. distributor, and letting the Taiwan office run things in the interim. With all other branches of Scythe, including EU, Japan, China, and Taiwan, it's business as usual. It's likely that U.S. buyers won't even feel the transition, as it might complete before inventories begin to dry up. Scythe specializes in a range of enthusiast PC components, such as coolers, fans, PSUs, and accessories.

It looks like recent Ultrabook platform growth forecasts by DRAMeXchange are on the money, as sources associated with PC ODMs in Taiwan are coming forward with expectations of 100% growth in Ultrabook and Ultrabook-like notebook shipments in 2013. It's important to note that the figure is augmented with shipments of various "Ultrabook-like" notebooks, which are tough to classify. By the end of 2013, Ultrabooks will make up 10% of the global notebook shipments, according to the sources.Source: DigiTimes

TSMC broke ground for construction of Fab 14 Phase 6, located in Southern Taiwan Science Park (STSP). The new facility will boost the foundry's 12-inch wafer production capacity, leading the way to construction of Phase 7 in 2013. TSMC's facilities in STSP generate 42% of the company's revenues, with a production value of US $6 billion, hiring over 9,000 employees. Phases 1~4 of Fab 14, which specializes in 12-inch wafers, has a quarterly foundry capacity of 540,000 12-inch wafers to produce over 1,200 different types of ICs for about 150 clients a year, according to company executive vice president and co-COO Chiang Shang-yi. In 2013-14, TSMC Fab 14 will become the world's first fab with 20 nanometer SoC volume production, and the company's first plant to start 16 nanometer FinFET volume production.Source: DigiTimes

Global Foundries could soon howdy-neighbor TSMC in upstate New York, with the Taiwanese semiconductor giant looking to set up a fab there. According to an X-bit Labs report, TSMC began groundwork on its US venture by consulting with Deloitte, to look for viable sites in Rensselaer, Saratoga and Oneida counties, that have abundant water, power, and gas to operate 3.2 million square feet buildings with 1,000 employees, 40 percent of which are college-graduated engineers.

Deloitte also took a look around Luther Forest Technology Campus, where Global Foundries' Fab 8 is located. A little earlier this week, Bill Owens, a Congressman from upstate New York flew to Taiwan, to meet with TSMC CFO Lora Ho to pitch upstate a little more. TSMC is a principal foundry partner of companies such as Qualcomm, NVIDIA, and AMD.Source: X-bit Labs

Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS) today announces it is teaming up with Thermaltake, G.skill and various media partners to announce its first ever worldwide Modmen PC modding competition. Starting on October 11, 2012, ECS is searching for the Modmen of the year. The Grand Prize winner will become a Taiwan millionaire (approx. US $33,333). To register for the contest head to www.ecs.com.tw. All submissions must be sent before February 28, 2013. To be eligible for this contest all contestants need to have an ECS motherboard purchased after 9/20/2012 or have an ECS Golden Board.

There are two stages of competition. The first stage takes place online. The top 10 case modders will be determined by a combination of online votes and ECS' own modding judges. The modder with the most votes will win US $1,000. The top 5 PC modders that qualify for the second stage of the competition, besides winning cash and prizes, will be flown to Taiwan and given accommodation to compete at Computex for a chance to win the Grand Prize – approx. US$33,333. During the competition the top five contestants will showcase their mods at ECS' booth and a panel of accredited judges and the audience will determine the grand prize winner.

Tt eSports, a division of Thermaltake which specializes in PC gaming peripherals, opened its first specialty ground store in Taiwan. The store deals with Tt eSports-branded products, though in the future, it could be used to sell products under Thermaltake's mainline brand. The store, located in downtown Taipei, is in the ground floor of an IT and consumer electronics-centric mall opposite the Taipei Railway Station. It is jointly operated by Thermaltake, Super A Electronics, which also operates the Studio A retail chain of Apple products in Taiwan, and Taiwan Tea Corporation (TTC).

Starting off with gaming peripherals, indications are, that Tt eSports could expand into pre-built gaming PCs that combine Thermaltake's components such as casing, power supply, cooling, and of course, peripherals. Launch of the new product line could follow that of Windows 8, in October. The joint venture between Thermaltake, Studio A, and TTC plans to start as many as 30 Tt eSports retail stores in Taiwan, over the next two years, according to Thermaltake.Source: DigiTimes

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced that it has released new compliance test specifications (CTS) for DisplayPort cable adaptors. The new CTS documents allow VESA members to have DisplayPort cable adaptors compliance tested through VESA’s Authorized Test Centers (ATCs) worldwide, or by completing the new self-testing and reporting option.

“The DisplayPort logo signifies that a product is based on next-generation display technology,” said Bill Lempesis, executive director at VESA. “By simplifying the certification process for our member companies, we’ve given them easier access to the logo.”

Round 3 of the MSI MOA (Master Overclocking Arena) qualifiers starts on June 15 and allows the top overclockers in the Asia-Pacific region to battle it out for a ticket to Taiwan. During the qualifiers, which have seen many new records so far, the overclocking experts from the Asia-Pacific region compete for eight tickets to the MOA 2012 grand finals to become the master of the "Steel World" competition!

The annual overclocking competition MOA (Master Overclocking Arena) 2012 held by the world's leading mainboard and graphics card manufacturer MSI, has held regional qualifier competitions since April to select powerhouse overclockers to compete in the annual worldwide Grand Final. After the Americas regional qualifier and the EMEA regional qualifier have successfully ended, the Asia-Pacific regional qualifier battle is about to begin; the competition will go on from June 15 to July 12, overclockers can participate in the competition with any model of MSI mainboard and graphics card, but is limited to a single CPU and GPU.

Russian Communication Technology LTD. launched DETSEL-01, one of the smallest Intel x86-powered mini-PCs ever. Measuring just 125 x 74 x 12 mm (roughly the size of a Seagate GoFlex 2.5-inch portable HDD), the DETSEL-01 is driven by an Intel Atom E680 processor (1.60 GHz, single-core with HTT, 4.5W TDP), with 1 GB of DDR2-800 memory, with 128 GB or 64 GB SATA 3 Gb/s SSD handling storage, and an external 12V DC input powering it. Connectivity is aplenty, with 802.11 b/g/n, gigabit Ethernet, Bluetooth 4.0, D-Sub display output (HDMI coming soon), stereo HD audio, and two USB 2.0 ports. The best part about this pocket-sized PC is its ability to run 32-bit Windows XP and Windows 7.Source: FanlessTech

Today during a keynote address at COMPUTEX, Steven Guggenheimer, corporate vice president of the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) division at Microsoft Corp., demonstrated the breadth of innovation happening across Windows and the Windows ecosystem. He announced the second community technology preview (CTP) for Windows Embedded Standard 8, unveiled Quanta's new private cloud server solution, highlighted Ford's launch of its award-winning SYNC in-car connectivity system for Taiwan, and showed off some of the latest Windows devices.

When it comes to delivering Windows technologies across PCs, servers, phones and specialized devices, Microsoft is taking a holistic approach by providing familiar tools and technologies that enable customers and partners to maximize their investments. To that end, Microsoft today announced the second CTP for Windows Embedded Standard 8, which delivers the power of Windows for specialized devices running line-of-business applications within intelligent systems. Windows Embedded Standard 8 encompasses tools for natural, immersive user experiences and the ability for OEMs to define and control the device capabilities, with additional technologies that extend the power of Windows on industry devices. The CTP is available immediately for download by visiting this page.

Intel Corporation Senior Vice President Tom Kilroy officially introduced the next wave of Ultrabook systems during a keynote address at Computex Taipei 2012. Making a bold statement around the importance of touch technology, Kilroy also announced that Intel has signed agreements with several leading touch panel manufacturers to ensure adequate capacity to meet the expected demand for touch-enabled Ultrabook experiences over the next several years.

He also highlighted the company’s efforts to deliver user-centric experiences across a range of mobile devices from the Ultrabook to smartphones and tablets, pointing to momentum across all three.

G.SKILL International Co. Ltd., the world’s leading manufacturer of extreme performance memory and superior solid-state storage, has teamed up with ASUS, MSI, EVGA and GIGABYTE and will be hosting an industry-first, “G.SKILL World-Class Overclocking Invitational” with G.SKILL’s extreme performance DDR3 memory at the Computex 2012.

G.SKILL invited up to 8 professional overclockers from across the world, including legendary overclockers from the United States, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Australia and Japan. Collaborating with 4 industry leading motherboard brands, G.SKILL aims to smash all overclocking world records by using ultra high performance motherboards, VGA and the fastest DDR3 memory, the “TridentX”.

Taiwanese proverclocker TIN set a new 3DMark 11 record by scoring P20962 points using a single GeForce GTX 690 graphics card. The score included 25179 graphics, 15213 physics, and 12412 combined scores. The feat was achieved by overclocking an EVGA GeForce GTX 690 to clock speeds of 1509 MHz (base), 1639 MHz (GPU Boost), and 7336 MHz (memory, effective); and sustaining it using liquid nitrogen cooling. The double-headed eagle on steroids was supported by an Intel Core i7-3960X processor clocked at 4.50 GHz, 16 GB of quad-channel DDR3-2133 MHz memory, and EVGA X79 Classified motherboard. Find more information on the feat here.

Logitech today introduced its first TAA-compliant products – a keyboard, two mice and a keyboard/mouse combo – for U.S. federal agencies covered by the Trade Agreements Act. The Trade Agreements Act of 1979 (TAA) requires federal agencies to purchase products, including computer peripherals, that are made in the United States or other designated countries.

Logitech, a world leader in computer peripherals, is now meeting the needs of federal IT buyers with four TAA-compliant products manufactured in Taiwan: The Logitech Keyboard K120-TAA, with a spill-resistant corded USB design, for $19.99; The Logitech Mouse B100-TAA, with high-definition optical tracking and a corded USB connector, for $14.99;The Logitech Mouse B120-TAA, which adds a corded PS/2 connector in addition to USB, for $19.99; and The Logitech Desktop MK120-TAA, a combo of the Logitech Keyboard K120-TAA and the Logitech Mouse B100-TAA, for $34.99.

ASUSTek plans to release its holdings in of a 24.5% stake Pegatron Technology, according to a report by Taiwanese business daily Commercial Times. This release is said to occur some time in May, according to the report. ASUS will generate an income of NT$2.8-3.8 billion (US$94.69-128.51 million), or NT$3.7-5 EPS, according to the report. This release will grant Pegatron more autonomy, which holds a sizable share of the notebook contract-manufacturing business, and channel brands such as ASRock.Source: DigiTimes, Image Courtesy: ZiggyTech

Even as Elpida has filed for bankruptcy protection and is dealing with restructuring, its disposal of a subsidiary Taiwan-based DRAM foundry Rexchip will impact DRAM supply and pricing, sources told DigiTimes. Rexchip has a monthly foundry capacity of 800,000 12-inch wafers and uses 65,000 wafers currently. Elpida has just finished development of 25 nm DRAM technology, which gives it competitiveness over other DRAM majors, Samsung Electronics and SK-Hynix.

As analyzed in an older report, should Elpida's restructuring take a turn for the worse, leading to an exit from the DRAM industry, it could have huge consequences on the competitive environment of the industry. DigiTimes currently reports that DRAM prices are slowly, but surely creeping back up. DRAM contract prices for March have risen 5.7% on average, the prices of 4 GB DDR3 modules have gone as high as US $18.75, with average prices of $18.50.Source: DigiTimes

With the new Ultrabook specification being governed by Intel, and compatible Ivy Bridge Core processors facing delays, Taiwan-based notebook vendors are finding incentives in launching "Ultrabook-like" PCs, notebooks that are about as compact as Ultrabooks, but with vendors' own hardware specifications. Such PCs are also said to be designed keeping in mind lower price-points, such as $600. These notebooks will do away with expensive metal unibody chassis, hollow hinges, and SSDs, and replace them with more cost-effective ones. For example, 7 mm-thick HDDs are already announced. Those could make viable alternatives for SSDs. Such Ultrabook-alternatives could be launched as early as in Q2-2012, sources note.Source: DigiTimes

Taiwan's premier chip foundry, TSMC, is reportedly seeing strong demand for sub-40 nm chip manufacturing. It's easy to manufacture smaller, simpler chips on new foundry nodes than complex devices such as GPUs. Hence, the source notes that it's wireless communication device chip manufactures that have sub-40 nm nodes at TSMC fully booked up. The foundly also scored orders from local and foreign fabless audio IC firms. "In fact, TSMC's 6-inch fab dedicated to process analog and LCD driver ICs has been running at full capacity since late February, with shipment delivery times to customers being extended to more than 12 weeks, the sources pointed out," notes DigiTimes.Source: DigiTimes

Shipments of tablet PCs is bound to go down by 30% in Q1 2012, according to market research carried out by DigiTimes. The various vendors will ship 14.97 million tablet PCs in the first quarter of 2012, dropping 30.6% on quarter but rising 77.6% on year. This figure can be broken down to 11 million iPad 2 and iPad 3 units, and some 3.97 tablets comprising of various other models than iPads. Shipments of these non-iPad tablets will decrease by 50.8% on quarter and include 1.5 million Kindle Fires and 300,000 Nook Tablets, DigiTimes Research said.

Of all the tablets shipped in Q1 2012, 26.3% will run Android, and 13.3% will be running Texas Intruments' processors, the research said. Taiwan-based ODMs alone will comprise a huge 90.25% of all tablet shipments in Q1, of which Foxconn will account for 83%, followed by Quanta Computer with 9.6%, DigiTimes Research indicated.Source: DigiTimes

Idaho-based Micron Technology is reportedly going to spend at least US $500 million in purchasing a stake in its Japanese rival, Elpida, according to a Economic Daily News report. This development closely follows reports of an equity tie-up between the two companies, with a decision emerging in February.

Taiwanese Nanya Technology and Inotera Memories stated in recent reports that DRAM makers should consider uniting their operations as such moves could contribute to the industry's sustainable development. Elpida refused to comment on this latest report. What does this mean to the consumer? The year 2011 has been a bloodbath for DRAM makers as overproduction led to drastic drops in PC memory prices, and a watershed for PC consumers as a result. These latest developments could contribute to the inevitable rebound of DRAM prices in 2012.Source: DigiTimes

Cavium, Inc. (NASDAQ: CAVM), a leading provider of semiconductor products that enable intelligent processing for networking, communications, and digital home applications, today announced a technology and marketing collaboration with Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to offer Intel(R) WiDi-based products designed to enable superior wireless display consumer experience. The resulting end-to-end solution will combine Intel(R) WiDi's ease-of-use and innovation with Cavium's super low latency technology and advanced video processing techniques to further enhance Intel(R) WiDi's interactivity and broaden its target applications. As a part of the marketing collaboration, Intel and Cavium will work together to expand and grow the market for wireless display products. A range of OEMs will soon be offering Intel(R) WiDi compatible receivers with Cavium's PureVu(TM) media SoC. Live demonstrations of Cavium's new Intel(R) WiDi receivers are available at Cavium's suite at the 2012 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, between Jan 10th and 13th.

AMD has been slapped with a lawsuit by Quanta for allegedly selling faulty CPUs & GPUs that were unfit for purpose, since they didn't meet specified heat tolerances and subsequently failed. Taiwan-based Quanta may not have a name that the general public immediately recognizes, however they are actually the world's largest contract manufacturer of notebooks, so this lawsuit is a big deal. They claim that the faulty parts were used in notebooks made for NEC. The lawsuit was filed in a district court in San Jose, California and in the filing, Quanta claims they have "suffered significant injury to prospective revenue and profits". As Bloomberg reports, "the lawsuit also claims breach of warranty, negligent misrepresentation, civil fraud and interference with a contract."