Intel is expected to finally refresh its mainstream desktop platform with the introduction of the 14 nm "Comet Lake-S" processors, in Q2-2020. This sees the introduction of the new LGA1200 socket and Intel 400-series chipsets, led by the Z490 Express at the top. Platform maps of these PCI-Express gen 3.0 based chipsets make them look largely similar to current 300-series platform, with a few changes. For starters, Intel introducing its biggest ACPI change since C6/C7 power states that debuted with "Haswell;" with the introduction of C10 and S0ix Modern Standby power-states, which give your PC an iPad-like availability while sipping minimal power. This idea is slightly different from Smart Connect, in that your web-connected apps and processor work at an extremely low-power (fanless) state, rather than waking your machine up from time to time for the apps to refresh. 400-series chipset motherboards will also feature updated networking interfaces, such as support for 2.5 GbE wired LAN with an Intel i225-series PHY, 802.11ax WiFi 6 WLAN, etc.

HyperThreading will play a big role in making Intel's processor lineup competitive with AMD's given that the underlying microarchitecture offers an identical core design to "Skylake" circa 2015. The entry-level Core i3 chips will be 4-core/8-thread, Core i5 6-core/12-thread, Core i7 8-core/16-thread; and leading the pack will be the Core i9-10900K, a 10-core/20-thread processor. According to a WCCFTech report, this processor will debut in April 2020, which means at CES 2020 in January, we'll get to see some of the first socket LGA1200 motherboards, some even based on the Z490. The platform also mentions an interesting specification: "enhanced core and memory overclocking." This could be the secret ingredient that makes the i9-10900K competitive with the likes of the Ryzen 9 3900X. The LGA1200 platform could be forwards-compatible with "Rocket Lake," which could herald IPC increases on the platform by implementing "Willow Cove" CPU cores.

Players of Minecraft on PlayStation 4 rejoice! Minecraft is now getting an update on the PS4 platform that enables all PlayStation users to gain access to cross-play features, so they are now able to play with millions of other players on Xbox, PC, Switch, iOS, Android, and even Samsung Gear VR platform. In the so-called "Bedrock Edition" update that arrives today, Microsoft will push new features to Minecraft and connect millions of players.

In the words of Microsoft's game studio boss Helen Chiang: "One of Minecraft's core missions is to connect players across devices and provide the best experience regardless of platform. We continue to fulfill that mission here today by welcoming PS4 players to Minecraft on Bedrock and growing our cross-platform multiplayer community".

ASUS today rolled out the Pro WS X299 SAGE II, a redesign and refresh of its WS X299 SAGE series quasi-workstation motherboards, designed for those who want to use Intel's 10th generation Core XE "Cascade Lake-X" HEDT processors in a workstation-like environment (CEB form-factor) and can make do without ECC memory. The board draws power from a combination of 24-pin ATX and two 8-pin EPS power connectors, along with an optional 6-pin PCIe power input to stabilize add-on card power delivery. An 8-phase VRM conditions power for the socket LGA2066 processor. The board employs PLX PEX8747 bridge chips to convert two x16 PCIe gen 3.0 links from the LGA2066 processor to four PCI-Express 3.0 x16 slots with full bandwidth, or seven slots with x16/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8/x8 wiring.

Storage options on the ASUS Pro WS X299 SAGE II include three U.2 ports, two M.2 slots (one right below the PCH heatsink, and the other vertical); and eight SATA 6 Gbps ports. Network connectivity includes two 2.5 GbE interfaces driven by a pair of Intel i225-LM controllers. USB connectivity includes two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports driven by an ASMedia controller (from which one is type-C), a second such controller driving an internal port, and eight USB 3.2 gen 1 ports from the X299 PCH. A high-grade onboard audio solution featuring Realtek S1220A HDA codec, headphones amp, ground-layer isolation, and audio-grade capacitors, make for the rest of this board. The company didn't reveal pricing.

In a confirmation that a future NVIDIA graphics architecture will be codenamed "Hopper," the company has trademarked the term with the US-PTO. The trademark application was filed as recently as December 4, and closely follows that of "Aerial," another trademark, which is an SDK for a GPU-accelerated 5G vRANs (virtual radio-access networks). Named after eminent computing scientist Grace Hopper, the new graphics architecture by NVIDIA reportedly sees one of the first GPU die MCMs (package with multiple GPU dies). It reportedly succeeds "Ampere," NVIDIA's next graphics architecture.

Centaur Technology today revealed in-depth information about its new processor-design technology for integrating high-performance x86 CPUs with a specialized co-processor optimized for artificial intelligence (AI) acceleration. On its website, Centaur provides a new independent report from The Linley Group, the industry's leading authority on microprocessor technology and publishers of Microprocessor Report. The Linley Group reviewed Centaur's detailed design documents and interviewed Centaur's CPU and AI architects to support the analysis of both Centaur's newest x86 microarchitecture and the AI co-processor design.

"Centaur is galloping back into the x86 market with an innovative processor design that combines eight high-performance CPUs with a custom deep-learning accelerator (DLA). The company is the first to announce a server-processor design that integrates a DLA. The new accelerator, called Ncore, delivers better neural-network performance than even the most powerful Xeon, but without the high cost of an external GPU card," stated Linley Gwennap, Editor-in-Chief, Microprocessor Report.The report can be accessed here (PDF).

2K Games has confirmed that a new Bioshock game is under development. 2K set up a whole new studio, "Cloud Chamber", that will helm development on this (can I say much beloved?) franchise "for the next several years". Cloud Chamber will set up quarters in both San Francisco and Montreal. Kelley Gilmore, who has been attached to Firaxis Studios and worked in other 2K franchises such as XCOM and Sid Meier's Civilization, has been appointed Cloud Chamber's Studio Head.

The new Cloud Chamber studio opens its doors with "a deeply experienced group of game makers, including many responsible for BioShock's principal creation, advancement and longstanding notoriety." No other details were available at time of writing. While it's obviously too soon to scream happily from the top of your lungs (and it usually always is until you've actually finished the game), this is definitely a positive sign for the franchise and all those who value it.

"Nothing Really Ends" is the title of a song from dEUS, a Belgian "art-rock" band. And it would seem this applies all too well to the world of technology too. Intel has issued a Product Change Notification (PCN) which has changed the previously dead and buried, Haswell-era, 22 nm Pentium G3420 from its "Discontinued" status back to a worded "canceling this Product Discontinuance completely per new roadmap decision and enabling the product long term once again." Which means the Pentium G3420 will have a new lease of life, and will be available to customers until May 2020, with final shipments on December of the same year.

This is clearly an attempt from Intel to increase part availability for OEMs and system manufacturers, who have already been quoted as considering AMD due to both increases in performance and efficiency in their processors, as well as constrained supply from Intel, with giant Dell already having pointed the finger at Intel as a cause for their lower than expected revenue.

EK Water Blocks, the leading premium computer liquid cooling gear manufacturer, is releasing EK-Quantum Vector Strix RX 5700 +XT D-RGB water blocks that are compatible with ROG Strix version of AMD Radeon RX 5700 and RX 5700 XT graphics cards. The new Quantum water blocks feature addressable D-RGB 5V LEDs for even more visual customizations.

EK-Quantum Vector Strix RX 5700 +XT D-RGB
With this full cover water block, cooling is directed at the GPU, 8 GB of GDDR6 memory, and VRM (voltage regulation module) as liquid is channeled directly over these critical areas. These newly developed Vector water blocks feature a redesigned cooling engine that has a larger footprint compared to the previous generation of EK Full Cover water blocks. This results in a larger surface area for heat transfer which increases the thermal performance of these water blocks.

DIYPC partners with TechPowerUp to give our readers from the US a chance to bring home a DIYPC S2-BK-RGB Black PC case. This ATX mid-tower case covers all the essentials to build a contemporary game PC build, including a RGB LED embellishments across the front panel, tempered glass side panel, room for graphics cards up to 37 cm in length, and dust-filters for the intakes and top fan vents. We're giving two of these cases away. To drop your hat in the ring, all you need to do is fill up a short form that helps us get back to you if you've won. Entries close December 16th.

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Sharkoon Technologies is an international supplier of PC components and peripherals, offering performance at a reasonable price. Sharkoon now introduces the Mobile DAC and the Mobile DAC PD. These are two audio converters that are compatible with the most popular Android-based mobile devices. Both devices deliver a high-resolution audio amplification of sound output for headsets and headphones which have a TRRS connection, and, in addition, they provide quality voice transmission thanks to an integrated microphone input. Therefore, podcasters and streamers will also benefit from the Mobile DACs.

TechPowerUp today released the latest version of GPU-Z, the handy standalone graphics subsystem information, diagnostic, and monitoring utility no enthusiast can leave home without. Version 2.28.0 adds support for the new AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT and Radeon Pro W5700. Support is also added for an upcoming new version of AMD Radeon Software drivers. Detection of 4 GB video memory amount on certain "Navi" graphics cards has been improved. Also improved are detection for AMD RX 470D, RX 560 Mobile, and Picasso and Raven Ridge iGPUs. Clock speeds and DirectX version support reading on some very old ATI graphics cards has also been fixed. Grab it from the link below.DOWNLOAD: TechPowerUp GPU-Z v2.28.0

The change-log follows.

Intel marketing is at it again, making sweeping performance claims about its embattled 9th generation Core processors against AMD's 3rd generation Ryzen. In a recent press conference in China, the company was shown claiming that its mid-tier 6-core/6-thread Core i5-9600KF is a "better" processor than AMD's 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 3800X. This claim is hard to defend with gaming, when even the "slower" 3700X is seen performing within 1% of the i5-9600K (identical CPU specs to the i5-9600KF) at gaming, and 22 percent faster at CPU tests, beating the i9-9900K in quite a few multi-threaded tests.

The marketing slide makes four key claims: 1. that Intel processors are faster in "real-world" use-cases (gaming, home/office, light content-creation), ; 2. that with boost-frequencies reaching 4.60 GHz, the higher IPC of these chips benefit gaming; 3. that the K-series chips easily overclock to 5.00 GHz yielding even more performance; and 4. that Intel processors have "smooth and stable drivers" compared to AMD. As if that wasn't bad enough, the slide claims that the 4-core/4-thread Core i3-9350KF is "better" than the 6-core/12-thread Ryzen 5 3600X, and the entry-level i3-9100F being better than the 6-core/6-thread Ryzen 5 3500. This incident closely follows its September gaffe that sought to sourgrape AMD's HEDT creator performance leadership by discrediting its lead in certain applications by claiming they don't reflect "real world usage." Making Intel's test relevance claims comically wrong was the fact that it used app usage data gathered exclusively from notebooks.

ChangXin Memory Technologies, a Chinese startup founded in 2016 that was formerly known as "Innotron Memory", now claims that it has become China's first and only domestic DRAM supplier. Following the announcement that it started production of domestic DRAM chips, ChangXin is now reportedly shipping its first DRAM wafers. With an output of around 20000 wafers per month, the company is currently building LPDDR4, DDR4 8Gbit chips using the "10-nanometer class" node, which is supposed to be 18 or 19 nm size in reality.

The company expects to double its wafer output to 40000 wafers per month sometime around Q2 of 2020 when additional expansion facilities will start production. ChangXin plans to soon open two more manufacturing facilities to start manufacturing even more wafers, in addition to its Fab 1. So far ChangXin has laid-out plans to start manufacturing DRAM technology based on stack capacitor, which is different from the usual trench capacitor technology few companies are pursuing.

Thermaltake, the leading PC DIY premium brand for Cooling, Gaming Gear and Enthusiast Memory solutions, today announced the release of the Thermaltake TOUGHRAM Z-ONE RGB DDR4 Memory Kit 3,200 MHz, which is supported by Intel and AMD platforms. Featuring 10-layer PCB construction for enhanced performance and stability, the TOUGHRAM Z-ONE RGB is equipped with high-performance components including tightly-selected memory chips, 2oz copper inner layer for enhanced electrical conduction, and 10μ gold fingers for high resistance ensuring ultimate gaming performance.

Furthermore, the TOUGHRAM Z-ONE RGB memory can be controlled by our software to monitor the real-time temperatures, frequency and performance and create stunning lighting effects with over 25 lighting modes. Users can also sync with TT RGB PLUS to maximize unique settings for their RGB color theme. Synchronize TT RGB PLUS, TT AI Voice Control, Razer Chroma, and Amazon Alexa RGB with TOUGHRAM Z-ONE RGB, users can build their own ecosystem with 10 super-bright addressable LEDs for stunning 16.8M RGB illumination. The TOUGHRAM Z-ONE RGB also support motherboards that have 5 V addressable RGB headers - ASUS Aura Sync, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, MSI Mystic Light Sync and ASRock Polychrome.

AMD's "Zen 4" CPU microarchitecture is on track for a 2021 launch as its principal foundry partner, TSMC, is optimistic about early yields of its 5 nm silicon fabrication node. TSMC supports the 5 nm product roadmaps of not just AMD, but also Apple and HiSilicon. "Zen 4" is particularly important for AMD, as it will release its next enterprise platform, codenamed "Genoa," along with the new SP5 socket. The new socket will present AMD with the opportunity to significantly change the processor's I/O, such as support for a new memory standard, a new PCIe generation, more memory channels, more PCIe lanes, etc. As early as 2019, the foundry is seeing yields of over 50 percent for the 5 nm node (possibly risk production designed to test the node), which is very encouraging for its customers.

AMD's roadmap for 2020 sees the introduction of "Zen 3" on the 7 nm EUV process (dubbed 7 nm+). AMD recently commented that the performance uplift of "Zen 3" versus "Zen 2" will be "right in line with what you would expect from an entirely new architecture." The 7 nm EUV node provides a significant 20 percent increase in transistor-density compared to the current 7 nm DUV node "Zen 2" chiplets and the company's "Navi" family of GPUs are built on. "Zen 3" could see the company do away with the CCX (quad-core CPU complex), and make chiplets monolithic blocks of CPU cores without sub-divisions. For the client-segment, 5 is a recurring number in 2021. It will see the introduction of the 5th generation Ryzen processors (5000-series), built on the 5 nm process, supporting DDR5 memory, PCI-Express gen 5, and the new AM5 client-segment CPU socket.

Here are some of the first pictures of the Frost Spirit by Thermalright, the company's next flagship air CPU cooler. Featuring a dual fin-stack design, the Frost Spirit features dense fin-stacks, in which the fins bunch up toward the center, creating turbulence and increasing heat-dissipation to the medium (air-flow). The fin-stack gets slimmer toward the base, adding clearance for your motherboard's memory and CPU VRM areas. Four 8 mm-thick nickel-plated copper heat pipes pull heat from the mirror-finish nickel-plated copper base, spreading it across the fin-stacks. Both stacks are capped off by metal top-plates. Up to three 140 mm fans can be mounted. The heatsink weighs 1 kg on its own (without fans). Among the CPU socket types supported are AM4, LGA115x, and LGA2066. It could see a product launch soon.

Akasa are proud to announce partnership with Razer, a leading global gamer's lifestyle brand, for its flagship and award-winning lighting technology: Razer Chroma.

Enabling Akasa's array of addressable RGB products to sync with Razer Chroma brings the full-spectrum of vivid RGB to your build. Taking full advantage of the Razer Chroma software platform and Akasa's addressable RGB devices such as the new Vegas TLY cooling fan and Dual M.2 PCIe SSD adapter with RGB LED light and heatsink, gamers can truly immerse themselves in popular games. Syncing individually addressable LED nodes adds RGB vibrancy and ambience to gamer's systems and surroundings for epic gaming experiences.

EIZO announced the release of the 23.8-inch FlexScan EV2460 and 22.5-inch FlexScan EV2360 - two LCD monitors with a frameless design for business environments such as trading rooms, back offices, and control rooms. They feature environmental-friendly specifications to aid companies in achieving their sustainable development goals, which are becoming more recognized worldwide.

The FlexScan EV2460 is the successor model to the FlexScan EV2450 and uses a 23.8-inch LCD panel with 1920 x 1080 native resolution. The FlexScan EV2360 uses a 22.5-inch LCD panel - the smallest amongst EIZO's frameless models. The small-footprint EV2360 has a width of 499 mm and a large native resolution of 1920 x 1200. Both monitors implement LED-backlit IPS (in-plane switching) panel technology with 178° wide viewing angles.

Creative Technology today announced the release of Sound Blaster G3, a portable gaming USB DAC Amp that marks the latest addition to the Sound Blaster revolution ignited 30 years ago. Designed and built with game console users in mind, Sound Blaster G3 is the first Sound Blaster that works directly on PS4 and Nintendo Switch via a driverless plug-and-play format, and is also compatible with PC and Mac. Palm-sized and weighing in at a mere 32 grams, it boasts a great balance of the fabled Sound Blaster audio signature, on-the-go customization and other nifty gaming features at an attractive price tag.

VideoCardz has spotted custom editions of AMD's upcoming RX 5500 XT graphics cards from AIB partners. The models, from ASRock and Gigabyte, showcase the respective companies' custom cooling solutions for the new batch of midrange graphics cards based on the Navi 14 silicon. ASRock, for one, is pictured with a Challenger graphics card which will join the company's top of the line Phantom Gaming brand. The Challenger D 8G OC (which will also be available in 4 GB VRAM) features a dual-slot, dual-fan cooler with a black shroud and yellow accents, and comes factory-overclocked to 1737 MHz. I/O is taken care of by 3x DisplayPort and 1x HDMI connectors.

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TSMC is delivering record results day after day, with a 5 nm manufacturing process starting High Volume Manufacturing (HVM) in Q2 next year, 7 nm process getting plenty of orders and the fact that TSMC just became the biggest company publicly trading in Asia. Continuing with the goal to match or even beat the famous Moore's Law, TSMC is already planning for future 3 nm node manufacturing, promised to start HVM as soon as 2022 arrives, according to JK Wang, TSMC's senior vice president of fab operations. Delivering 3 nm a whole year before originally planned in 2023, TSMC is working hard, with fab construction work doing quite well, judging by all the news that the company is releasing recently.

We can hope to see the first wave of products built using 3 nm manufacturing process sometime around end of year 2022, when the holiday season arrives. Usual customers like Apple and HiSilicon will surely utilize the new node and deliver their smartphones with 3 nm processors inside as soon as the process is ready for HVM.

TechPowerUp and Seagate brought you the IronWolf Black Friday Giveaway, throwing three of Seagate's finest pieces of consumer storage up for grabs. The IronWolf series from Seagate represent durable internal HDDs and SSDs for NAS, DAS, NVR, and other high-uptime client applications. Among the prizes are the 14 TB IronWolf internal SATA HDD, and 480 GB IronWolf 110 high-endurance SSD. Without further ado, the winners:

• Neil from The Philippines, wins a 14 TB IronWolf SATA HDD and 480 GB IronWolf 110 SATA SSD (one of each)
• Lisa from Virginia, USA, wins a 480 GB IronWolf 110 SATA SSD

A huge Congratulations to you two! TechPowerUp and Seagate will return with more such interesting Giveaways!

Cougar today launched the Conquer 2, a premium ATX full-tower chassis it unveiled at Computex 2019. It features a "chassis within chassis" design, in which an inner SECC steel chassis holds all your components and slides into the outer chassis that has the case's industrial design that combines aluminium and tempered glass panels. Massive ARGB LED diffusers dominate the front portion. The inner chassis has a horizontally-partitioned layout. The upper compartment has the motherboard tray with room for CEB, ATX, and smaller motherboard form-factors. You get room for graphics cards up to 40 cm in length. There are 10 expansion slots in all, from which two are vertical.

The bottom compartment houses the PSU bay with up to 22 cm headroom; and two 3.5-inch drives. Two additional 2.5-inch drives can be mounted behind the motherboard tray. Cooling options include two 120 mm front intakes that can hold onto a 240 mm radiator, and three 120 mm top exhausts, which can hold a 360 mm radiator. Measuring 368 mm x 631 mm x 744 mm (WxHxD), the case weighs about 18 kg. The company didn't reveal pricing.

Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, announces a broad Qualcomm Snapdragon Compute platform portfolio with long battery life, cellular connectivity, and AI accelerated performance to enable fanless, thin and light designs for modern computing. Built with mobility in mind, the portfolio accommodates the evolving needs of mobile consumers. The Snapdragon 7c and 8c now join the previously announced Snapdragon 8cx, delivering lightning fast cellular connectivity to premium, mainstream, and entry-level notebook PCs. The portfolio is available in various price points allowing partners to design always on, always connected PCs for a wide array of consumers. In addition, the Snapdragon 8cx enterprise compute platform brings connected security software and secured-core PC support for modern enterprises looking to bring mobility to their workers.

Patriot Memory, under its Viper Gaming brand announced the VPR100 RGB line of M.2 NVMe SSDs. Built in the M.2-2280 form-factor, the drive features a wide heatspreader with RGB LED embellishments. You can play with the lighting not just with the Viper RGB app, but also popular lighting software such as ASUS Aura Sync RGB, MSI MysticLight, GIGABYTE RGB Fusion, etc. The drive takes advantage of the PCI-Express 3.0 x4 host interface with NVMe 1.3 protocol. Patriot is kind and brave enough to disclose that enabling RGB LED sync lighting can decrease read/write speeds by up to 20-30 percent. Leaving them unsynchronized (following a preset) leaves drive performance untouched.

Available in 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB capacities, the VPR100 RGB combines a Phison E12-series controller with 3D TLC NAND flash memory, cushioned by a DRAM cache. All four capacity variants offer sequential read speeds of up to 3,300 MB/s, but write speeds vary. The 256 GB model offers up to 1,000 MB/s, the 512 GB model up to 2,100 MB/s, and the 1 TB and 2 TB models up to 2,900 MB/s. Endurance figures (TBW) for the four models are 380 TB, 800 TB, 1,600 TB, and 3,115 TB, respectively. Backed by 5-year warranties, the 256 GB, 512 GB, 1 TB, and 2 TB variants of the VPR100 RGB are priced at 74.90€, 119.90€, 189.90€, and 379.90€, respectively (including VAT), in the EU. Across the big pond, they're priced at USD $94.99, $134.99, $229.99, and $399.99, respectively.