Kioxia Corporation, a subsidiary of Kioxia Holdings Corporation (TOKYO: 285A) and Sandisk Corporation (Nasdaq: SNDK) today unveiled their next-generation Quad-Level-Cell (QLC) 3D flash memory technology, which delivers up to 60% increase in bit density compared to their 8th-generation, surpassing 37 Gb/mm² and setting the industry benchmark for bit density, performance and power efficiency.

Leveraging the companies' revolutionary CMOS directly Bonded to Array (CBA) technology which fabricates CMOS logic and the memory array on separate wafers before bonding them together with high-precision wafer-to-wafer alignment, the new generation improves read and write bandwidth compared to the 8th-generation 3D flash memory and becomes the industry's first QLC 3D flash memory technology to reach a 4.8 Gb/s interface.

ASRock Industrial announces the launch of the iEPF-11000S Series, a powerful Expandable Edge AIoT Platform engineered for next-generation edge AI applications. Powered by Intel Xeon 600 processors with W890 chipset, the iEPF-11000S Series delivers professional grade CPU performance, support for up to four graphic cards, PCIe Gen 5 connectivity, and up to 2 TB of RDIMM/RDIMM-3DS DDR5 memory with ECC protection for mission-critical edge processes. Designed for versatility, the iEPF-11000S Series features a comprehensive I/O with multiple expansion slots, high-speed networking including 10 GbE, and advanced storage capabilities. Built for professional computing environments, it includes a robust 1600 W power supply unit, TPM 2.0 security, and Intel vPro manageability. With support for both 4U tower or rack-mount configurations, the series is primed for advanced edge AI computing platforms, powering Gen AI LLMs, AI training and inference, visual computing, data analytics, and compute-intensive industrial applications that demand exceptional processing power and reliability.

iEPF-11000S: Quad-GPU Edge AI Platform with Intel Xeon 600
Powered by Intel Xeon 600 processors, the iEPF-11000S Series delivers high performance for edge AI computing, real-time analytics, and compute intensive industrial automation. Supporting up to 2 TB of quad-channel DDR5 ECC RDIMM memory, it ensures fast, reliable, and memory-intensive processing for AI model training, predictive maintenance, and automation. Designed for AI acceleration, deep learning, and high-performance visual computing, the iEPF-11000S Series supports up to four discrete GPUs, delivering the compute power needed for multimodel parallel inference, AI training, and intensive visual computing. Its powerful computing resources enable accelerated deployment of real-time AI inference, data analytics, and intelligent industrial automation.

Last week, we received a few teasers from ASUS about its upcoming 30th anniversary special edition GPU, which will be available in the form of the GeForce RTX 5090 ROG MATRIX SKU. Today, ASUS officially showcased what we thought was an air-cooled design. Confirming that the card is air-cooled, it features four massive fans, which closely resemble ASUS's RTX 5090 Astral GPU, with three fans in the front and one in the back, performing a push-pull air cooling design. The GPU shroud features a massive ROG red design with a distinct ring on one fan, carrying an acrylic plate with the ROG MATRIX logo. ASUS also offers an option for BTF-supplied power delivery, along with a 16-pin 12V-2x6 connector, allowing for a total power setting of up to 800 Watts, which significantly exceeds the regular 575 Watts of the Founders Edition GPU. ASUS claims this supplies a 10% performance boost on its own, and the boost clock frequency is confirmed at 2,730 MHz.

For maximum performance, ASUS utilizes 3 Oz copper PCB layers to enhance heat dissipation and minimize voltage drop across componentry, resulting in improved overall performance and potentially higher overclocking capabilities. For die-to-heatsink contact, liquid metal is used to maximize heat dissipation in this beast, which is necessary given its ability to consume 800 W of power. ASUS still hasn't announced pricing and final specifications, like memory clock, but we assume it will also be overclocked out of the box. For serious tuning, the card has yet to be put through professional overclocking labs. Given that only 1,000 units will be sold, it is a question whether anyone will attempt any extreme OC record on the card.

Alphacool International GmbH from Braunschweig is a pioneer in PC water cooling technology. With one of the industry's most comprehensive product portfolios and over 20 years of experience, Alphacool is now expanding its Enterprise Solutions series with the new Alphacool ES 80 mm HPE-60 Full Copper X-Flow 5 Bar radiators - available in triple and quad radiator versions. The Radiators are designed specifically for industrial and server environments. Thanks to thicker cooling channels and reinforced welds, they are built to withstand operating pressures of up to 5 Bar, ensuring maximum reliability in demanding industrial use. Constructed entirely from copper, they offer superior thermal conductivity, while the X-Flow design allows efficient integration even in flat server racks.

Features

• High fin density maximizes the cooling surface and thus the cooling performance
• Additional cooling channels
• Significant reduction of water temperature in push/pull mode

Team Group Inc., a global leader in memory solutions, today announced the launch of its new high-capacity 256 GB (4×64 GB) DDR5 memory kits under its gaming brand T-FORCE and creator brand T-CREATE. Developed in close collaboration with leading motherboard manufacturers and validated on AMD's latest X870 platform, these kits provide a stable and high-efficiency upgrade solution for users seeking the perfect balance between speed and capacity.

The T-FORCE LAB continues to strengthen its high-performance gaming memory portfolio with the launch of the T-FORCE DELTA RGB DDR5-6000 CL32 256 GB (4×64 GB) Quad-Channel Kit. Designed to reinforce the brand's leadership in the high-end gaming market, this new release delivers an elevated user experience by combining high speeds, large capacity, and system stability. Supporting AMD EXPO memory overclocking technology, gamers can effortlessly activate the EXPO profile via BIOS to unlock ultra-smooth gameplay and optimized system performance powered by high-capacity DDR5 memory.

Other World Computing (OWC), a trusted leader in high-performance storage, memory, connectivity, software, and accessories that empower creative and business professionals to maximize performance, enhance reliability, and streamline workflows, today announced the general availability (GA) of the new OWC USB-C Quad HDMI 4K Adapter, ideal for creative professionals and power users, and the redesigned OWC USB-C Dual HDMI 4K Adapter, ideal for everyday tasks, classroom use, and bring-your-own-device environments.

OWC USB-C Quad HDMI 4K Adapter
Expanding visual workspace with up to four 4K UHD displays just became easier, more efficient, and cost-effective with the OWC USB-C Quad HDMI 4K Adapter. All that's needed is a single Thunderbolt, USB4, or USB-C port on a Mac, PC, or Chromebook to create a dramatically immersive viewing experience. No more multiple adapters hassle and the burden they put on a notebook's CPU, interface bandwidth, and battery life. Simply plug in this visual upgrade to utilize multiple Ultra-High Definition monitors in business presentations, creative projects, stock trading, or WFH settings. Powered by cutting-edge DisplayLink Pro technology, this adapter simply delivers a smooth and reliable multi-display experience while simultaneously charging a computer.

NVIDIA has unveiled a radical graphics card prototype that never reached production, offering insight into its design process. In a YouTube video called "Designing the Founders Edition | GeForce RTX 5090", NVIDIA showcases an unreleased design that would have occupied four PCIe slots, featuring a "three-thirds flow-through" cooling system with an unconventional three-fan stair-step configuration. NVIDIA ultimately rejected the quad-slot concept as impractical for most computer systems.
Engineers refined the cooling approach for the RTX 50-series, developing a more streamlined "two-thirds flow-through" design that maintains thermal performance while reducing the card's footprint to two PCIe slots.

Technical challenges emerged during development, particularly in connector design. The team struggled to create a ribbon cable supporting high-bandwidth UHBR20 DisplayPort 2.1b and HDMI 2.1b connections. Their solution involved infusing glass fibers into the cable, enabling support for three DisplayPort and one HDMI connector. Critical engineering focus was placed on the liquid metal thermal interface material. Extensive stress testing ensured reliability across various orientations, with particular attention to preventing oxidation. Given the electrically conductive nature of liquid metal, an air-tight seal around the GPU die became crucial to prevent potential hardware failure.

The 63rd edition of the TOP500 reveals that Frontier has once again claimed the top spot, despite no longer being the only exascale machine on the list. Additionally, a new system has found its way into the Top 10.

The Frontier system at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, USA remains the most powerful system on the list with an HPL score of 1.206 EFlop/s. The system has a total of 8,699,904 combined CPU and GPU cores, an HPE Cray EX architecture that combines 3rd Gen AMD EPYC CPUs optimized for HPC and AI with AMD Instinct MI250X accelerators, and it relies on Cray's Slingshot 11 network for data transfer. On top of that, this machine has an impressive power efficiency rating of 52.93 GFlops/Watt - putting Frontier at the No. 13 spot on the GREEN500.

According to Bloomberg's latest investigation, Huawei and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC) have submitted patents on the self-aligned quadruple patterning (SAQP) pattern etching technique to enable SMIC to achieve 5 nm semiconductor production. The two Chinese giants have been working with the Deep Ultra Violet (DUV) machinery to develop a pattern etching technique allowing SMIC to produce a node compliant with the US exporting rules while maintaining the density improvements from the previously announced 7 nm node. In the 7 nm process, SMIC most likely used self-aligned dual patterning (SADP) with DUV tools, but for the increased density of the 5 nm node, a doubling to SAQP is required. In semiconductor manufacturing, lithography tools take multiple turns to etch the design of the silicon wafer.

Especially with smaller nodes getting ever-increasing density requirements, it is becoming challenging to etch sub-10 nm designs using DUV tools. That is where Extreme Ultra Violet (EUV) tools from ASML come into play. With EUV, the wavelengths of the lithography printers are 14 times smaller than DUV, at only 13.5 nm, compared to 193 nm of ArF immersion DUV systems. This means that without EUV, SMIC has to look into alternatives like SAQP to increase the density of its nodes and, as a result, include more complications and possibly lower yields. As an example, Intel tried to use SAQP in its first 10 nm nodes to reduce reliance on EUV, which resulted in a series of delays and complications, eventually pushing Intel into EUV. While Huawei and SMIC may develop a more efficient solution for SAQP, the use of EUV is imminent as the regular DUV can not keep up with the increasing density of semiconductor nodes. Given that ASML can't ship its EUV machinery to China, Huawei is supposedly developing its own EUV machines, but will likely take a few more years to show.

AMD and JEDEC are collaborating to create a new industry standard for DDR5 memory called MRDIMMs (multi-ranked buffered DIMMs). The constant need for bandwidth in server systems provides trouble that can not easily be solved. Adding more memory is difficult, as motherboards can only get so big. Incorporating on-package memory solutions like HBM is expensive and can only scale to a specific memory capacity. However, engineers of JEDEC, with the help of AMD, have come to make a new standard that will try and solve this challenge using the new MRDIMM technology. The concept of MRDIMM is, on paper, straightforward. It combines two DDR5 DIMMs on a single module to effectively double the bandwidth. Specifically, if you take two DDR5 DIMMs running at 4,400 MT/s and connect them to create a single DIMM, you get 8,800 MT/s speeds on a single module. To efficiently use it, a special data mux or buffer will effectively take two Double Data Rate (DDR) DIMMs and convert them into Quad Data Rate (QDR) DIMMs.

The design also allows simultaneous access to both ranks of memory, thanks to the added mux. First-generation MRDIMMs can produce speeds of up to 8,800 MT/s, while the second and third generations modules can go to 12,800 MT/s and 17,600 MT/s, respectively. We expect third-generation MRDIMMs after 2030, so the project is still far away. Additionally, Intel has a similar solution called Multiplexer Combined Ranks DIMM (MCRDIMM) which uses a similar approach. However, Intel's technology is expected to see the light of the day as early as 2024/2025 and beyond the generation of servers, with Granite Rapids likely representing a contender for this technology. SK Hynix already makes MCRDIMMs, and you can see the demonstration of the approach below.

People want to know how to work smarter as the world is constantly evolving. To adapt to those changes, individuals are actively thinking of methods to be more productive while getting more out of life. The renowned company, INNOCN, has become the master of enhancing customer productivity with its revolutionary display gadgets. INNOCN continues to push the limits of what a good display monitor should deliver to industrious people all around the world. All of the company's display monitors are wonderfully constructed and include cutting-edge technology as well as unique features. The superbly crafted 44C1G Ultra-Wide 43.8" WFHD Monitor launched by INNOCN is the ideal display device that is changing the lives of many in their homes and in the workplace.

Working is how most people spend their time, and let's face it, work environments can rapidly get crowded and disorganized. Making a mess is the last thing on anyone's mind, and with the 44C1G Ultra-Wide Monitor, a person can concentrate on what is important. This monitor is wall mountable, so there is more area to work and the necessities may be left on the desk, but it does come with a swivel stand with adjustable height and tilt for those that prefer their alternatives. With this equipment, it is simple to conduct business from home. The split screen can be utilized to host a Zoom Meeting with business partners on one side and notes, graphs, and other important information on the other, ensuring that meetings operate smoothly. Not to mention that the monitor's HDMI 2.0, Type-C 65 W, and DisplayPort connections allow it to connect to a variety of devices.

ASUS has today announced two new gaming headsets during their ROG CES 2022 livestream with the ROG Fusion II 500 and ROG Fusion II 300. The headsets both feature the high-resolution ESS 9280 Quad DAC paired with 50 mm ASUS Essence drivers to deliver a virtual 7.1 surround sound experience. They also feature addressable ASUS Aura RGB lighting and integrated beamforming microphones featuring AI noise-cancellation. The Fusion II 500 features extensive connectivity options including 3.5 mm, USB-C and USB-A along with a dedicated game volume chat control wheel while the Fusion II 300 is limited to USB-C and USB-A. The ROG Fusion II 500 (179 USD MSRP) and ROG Fusion II 300 will both be available to purchase worldwide in Q1 2022.

CTL announced the launch of two new monitor models, the CTL IP2381 24" VA FHD Monitor and the CTL IP2781 27" ADS QHD Monitor. The CTL IP2381 is a 24" 1920 x 1080 Full High Definition display that supports better productivity in the office, in the classroom, or when working from home. The CTL IP2781 is a 27" 2560 x 1440 Quad High Definition monitor that features ADS plane control technology for superior performance. Both monitors deliver outstanding performances on content-rich pages for easy viewing. The CTL IP2381 24" and CTL IP2781 27" monitors offer an incredible viewing experience for any type of workflow.

Both monitors have a thin bezel for a more interactive feel along with high luminance controls for better brightness regulation. The CTL IP2381 24" and CTL IP2781 27" monitors have FreeSync capabilities for the most accurate monitor refresh rates to keep up with any level of productivity from graphic-heavy presentations to consistent gameplay. Each monitor has 16:9 aspect ratios with integrated speakers and HDMI connection capabilities and can be paired with Chromebox, Chromebook or any other computer device. Both monitor models can also be bundled with a Chromebox to create a 2-in-1 work station.

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.

Winbond Electronics Corporation, a leading global supplier of semiconductor memory solutions, today extended its record of leading the industry's innovation in specialty Flash memory with the introduction of a more flexible, high-speed read capability in its latest QspiNAND Flash products. Automotive and IoT device manufacturers are increasingly adopting high-performance Single-Level Cell (SLC) NAND Flash as a low-cost alternative at densities of 512 Mbits and higher to the NOR Flash traditionally used for code storage. Previous Winbond innovations in high-performance NAND Flash include the Quad SPI-NAND interface, which shares the same 6-pin signals and QSPI command set as Quad SPI-NOR, and the Continuous Read function, which achieves up to a 52 MB/s continuous data transfer rate at a 104 MHz clock frequency.

The leading global motherboard & graphics card manufacturer, ASRock, a pleasure to launch brand new compact Mini PC - Mars Series. Supports up to Intel Core i5 Quad-Core processor, 32 GB DDR4-2666 MHz, PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD, 2.5-inch hard drive, and wireless connectivity; all implies into 0.7-liter chassis with 26 mm height.

ASRock Mars offers abundant USB devices connectivity, features a total of 7 USB ports, including one Type-C port; In addition, the native SD card reader and dual display outputs to provide more productive and convenience.

Not content with presenting their Frostbit M.2 cooling solution (even if it's as exotic as it is), Cryorig took the opportunity at COMPUTEX to present would-be consumers with part of their product portfolio. The H7 Quad Lumi CPU cooler is the company's flagship offering, featuring a total of four 6 mm high-end copper heatpipes, NZXT CAM Powered Lumi Lighting System as well as a new QF120 1.600 RPM LED fan. The H7 Quad Lumi also incorporates an RGB controller into its design, making it not just a cooling solution, but the centerpiece for a given rig's RGB chops.

The company's C7 Cu full-copper cooler also made a showing, with its expensive, all-copper solution. The thrice-more-expensive-than-aluminum copper offers only double the thermal conductivity of the former, which is why it gives diminishing returns in cooling performance. However, in the SFF builds this low-profile cooler will more likely be used, all performance gains matter so as to allow for a small, silent solution that nonetheless dissipates copious amounts of heat.

DeepCool, at its 2018 International CES showed off the Quadstellar Electro limited edition case. This isn't simply whitewashing the original Quadstellar the company closed 2017 with, where white metal replaces black, while contrasting black-tinted tempered glass panels take over the clear ones; but a re-styling. The primary color is silver and not white. Silver-chrome accents frame the front ends of the four lobes instead of glossy black, there are hints of orange along its feet and main LED elements. The central LED ornament, which can be configured to the color of your choice, glows orange out of the box, which makes this case look like something out of the "Portal" or "Half Life" universes (we can't decide which). If you can imagine your next big mod to appease Lord Gaben to hurry up with his Rapture (read: next installment of "Half Life,") then you better haul. DeepCool is only making 100 of these, and the one on display is already 001/100.

Dell has announced at CES their new ultrathin 27" monitor. Aptly (and maybe unoriginally) named the "Dell 27 Ultrathin Monitor", it sports a Quad HD (2,560 by 1,440 pixels) screen with a 178º viewing angle which also supports HDR (though apparently, and according to Dell, not the same as HDR standards you'll find in 4K TVs. However, it will still be able to display higher contrast and color range than most consumer monitors, with support for up to 99 percent of the SRGB gamut.

ViewSonic Corp., a leading global provider of visual solution products, is expanding its product family of professional displays by announcing the availability of its 27" VP2772 Adobe Color QHD display. "Color performance is of the utmost importance to our professional series customers," said Kenneth Mau, Product Marketing Manager for ViewSonic. "The VP2772 delivers the ultimate in image quality with its Adobe Color capability and a 10-bit panel that delivers 1.07 billion colors. It is also equipped with all the premium features the pros need including flexible connectivity options, and daisy chain functionality."

Ideal for photography, graphic design, media creation, publishing and other color-critical applications, this 27" display delivers outstanding levels of detail and clarity with 2560×1440 QHD resolution. Accurately displaying 99 percent of the wider Adobe RGB color space, the VP2772 features an advanced 12-bit color engine and 14-bit LUT that processes up to 68.7 billion colors, creating stunning images with true-to-life colors.

A store listing by Danish online retailer Proshop reveals a couple of things, one, that NVIDIA's next flagship graphics card will indeed be called "GeForce GTX Titan," and two, it could be out of reach of a vast majority of enthusiasts. The retailer is listing an ASUS-branded card for 5,820.80 Danish Krone (US $1,046), and that's before Europe's famous taxation kicks in. After, that goes up to 7,276 DKK ($1,307).

If one has to infer performance of the card from this price, given that NVIDIA won't botch up price-performance in relation to GTX 690, the GTX Titan should perform on-par, or outperform the GTX 690. Even if it's a tiny bit slower, NVIDIA could focus its marketing efforts on the card's 4-way and 3-way SLI capabilities, using which one could outperform GTX 690 QuadSLI setups.

HP today announced the new HP Z220 Workstations and HP EliteBook Mobile Workstations, packed with reliable and professional-class features.

HP's most affordable, no-compromise workstations, the Z220, features next-generation Intel Core and Intel Xeon processors, the latest integrated and discrete professional graphics from Intel, NVIDIA and AMD and four integrated USB 3.0 high-speed ports. The Z220 entry-level workstation is available in a choice of an exceptionally expandable, Convertible Mini-Tower (CMT) or a highly compact Small Form Factor (SFF) that's 65 percent smaller and perfect for tight spaces.

Introducing the Icy Dock MB994SP-4SB-1 Full Metal Quad Bay 2.5" SATA 6Gbps backplane for use in a single 5.25" device bay. This new model uses a SATA 6Gbps interface and adds a fan power switch to control when you need it. The dual 40mm cooling fans in addition to the power switch for the fans allow for the best flexibility - Turn off when using SSD's and on when using mechanical SATA hard drives. The single 4 pin power connector reduces the amount of cables required and making installation simpler.

The MB994SP-4SB-1 utilizes our EZ Slide Mini Trays that accommodate 9.5mm & 12.5mm drives which makes drive interchangeability and maintenance completely hassle free. The MB994SP-4SB-1 is made completely of metal to ensure protection of your drives as well as reliability. With it's small form factor, the MB994SP-4SB-1 is perfect for use in gaming PCs, RAID systems, and in small form factor cases where 5.25" bays are limited and large drive capacity or SSD's are needed.

ZiiLABS, a pioneering media processor and platforms company (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Creative Technology Ltd), today unveiled its ground-breaking 100-core ZMS-40 StemCell Media processor optimized for Android. The ZMS-40 combines 96 of ZiiLABS' StemCell media processing cores with four 1.5GHz ARM Cortex-A9 CPUs to deliver stunning multi-tasking application and media processing performance.

By doubling the number of StemCell Media processors compared to the previous ZMS-20, the ZMS-40 delivers twice the peak media performance, while running the larger array at lower clock speeds to achieve the same performance leads to greater energy efficiency and a reduction in power consumption of up to 50 percent. With 2X the performance and 2X the power efficiency, the ZMS-40 delivers ground-breaking media capabilities to handheld devices such as tablets, including ultra-high-resolution H.264 HP decoding of up to 3840x1080 for true 1080p 3D stereo, a rich and interactive desktop browsing experience, 2560x1600 (WQXGA) display resolution support, higher-quality video encoding and immersive OpenGL ES graphics and future support for High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC).

If you thought the overclocking and benchmark feats we reported on a few days ago here and here were impressive, wait until you see what four cards can do. Overclocking champion Shamino over at Kingpin Cooling has set four 3DMark and one Unigene benchmark record: