Computer Systems News - Page 19

Microchips are found almost everywhere in technology these days, and as our needs grow and microchips become more complex, so does the manufacturing process.

The microchip manufacturing process began way back in 1977, and since then, scientists, engineers, and everyone else in between has been working hard at making the process not only be more efficient but also more powerful. The current process of chip manufacturing is called 'photolithography'. This is the process of using light to transfer geometric patterns onto silicon, which are then engraved into the metal.

This whole process is extremely specific, and as humans have made chips more advanced, they have gotten smaller, acquired more transistors, have more performance, and are more energy-efficient. But what if the process required a change in manufacturing to achieve even better chips? Manufactures have already thought of this and have redesigned a new process that will create faster and better chips.

Apple is reporting working on a new "gaming-focused" Mac that it would introduce in 2020, with new reports suggesting that Apple's new gaming Mac would compete against high-end pre-built gaming PCs.

A new report by Patently Apple suggests that Apple's new gaming Mac could cost up to $5000, which is no surprise given Apple is not afraid of charging ridiculous prices for its products. Hell, we have a new Mac Pro that costs over $50,000 -- with its Pro Display XDR costing $5000 and requiring Apple's specific-made cloth to clean, and it can even be configured with wheels that cost $400.

Apple's new gaming-focused Mac would cost up to $5000 and be aimed at the esports market, which would be an interesting flex for Apple which has -- at least right now -- zero interest in the esports market. The new Apple gaming PC could be an all-in-one desktop gaming PC or a new gaming-ready MacBook Pro (or a new moniker).

A device invented in 1804 by French weaver and merchant Joseph Marie Jacquard called the Jacquard machine is an essential part of computing history, and it just sold for $43,750.

Since you might not have heard of the device before, here's a quick rundown. The device attached to a weaving loom and used printed punch cards to "program" patterns into the looms woven fabric. Jacquard's machine had extreme precision when it came to weaving patterns, and in 1886 it was used to create a prayer book that was woven together with silk.

Due to the Jacquard machine relying on replaceable punch cards to control the outcome of what was being woven, the machine was titled a precursor of computer programming. It became a staple point for future creations, such as Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine. The Jacquard mechanism just sold at the Sotheby's annual History of Science and Technology auction for $43,750.

Oh, so you thought over $50,000 for the highest-end Apple Mac Pro was too much? Too bad, because the wheels inside of your credit card are going to be going round and round at the $400 price on the optional wheels for your new Mac Pro.

Apple's new Mac Pro has a base starting price of $5999 that quickly gets out of control once you start beefing it up, where going up to 1.5TB of RAM will cost you an additional $25,000 on its own. Boosting up the CPU to a 28-core unit costs $7000 more, while throwing in 2 x Radeon Pro Vega II Duo graphics cards will cost an additional $10,800.

But it would have to be the new optional wheels that cost $400 more, meaning that each individual wheel will cost you $100. But don't worry, you've probably just purchased that $1000 Pro Stand at the same time, and now you'll need to drain that bank account a little more -- so here, I've made it a little more convenient for you to show you some new League of Legends biker jacket from Louis Vuitton that costs $5650.

You can now officially order Apple's new Mac Pro, which might start at just $5999 -- but the price can get pretty hairy, pretty damn quickly. Apple's impressive new Mac Pro costs north of $50,000 when you've got it fully specced.

What do you get for the massive price of $53,247 you ask? Well, you do get 1.5TB of RAM and quad GPUs -- but everything else is either just alright, or good. The base model Apple Mac Pro for $5999 comes with an 8-core Intel Xeon-W processor, while spending an additional $7000 will see you upgraded to the much-faster 28-core CPU.

Upgrading from the stock 32GB of DDR4 ECC RAM to a simply crazy 1.5TB of RAM will cost you a huge $25,000 -- you could buy 4 x stock Mac Pros for that money and have change to buy the $400 wheels. Heh. There is one issue with the 1.5TB RAM upgrade: you will be stuck at the 24-core Intel Xeon-W processor at a minimum, you can't have an 8-core CPU + 1.5TB of RAM.

Back in late September, Google announced that it had achieved what they called 'Quantum Supremacy', what does this mean exactly?

Thankfully, Elizabeth Gibney, a Senior Reporter at Nature can explain it to us in just three short minutes. If you didn't know, when Google announced that they had achieved 'Quantum Supremacy', IBM's head of research, Dario Gil said that Google's claim to 'Quantum Supremacy' was "just plain wrong". Why is that?

Well, Gibney explains that Google's quantum computer called 'Sycamore' performed a task that isn't particularly useful, and was just designed so the company could claim quantum supremacy. This can also be backed up by Gil, who said that Google's quantum computer is a specialized piece of hardware that is designed to solve one problem, while IBM's own quantum computer can pursue multiple. Either way, Google did complete a monumental task in an impressive amount of time.

Corsair has just updated its Corsair ONE family of gaming PCs, adding the new Corsair ONE i145, ONE i64, and ONE PRO i82.

Starting with the new Corsair ONE PRO i82 which can be configured to be quite the beast of a gaming PC, with Corsair offering up a HEDT monster with an Intel Core i9-9920X (12C/24T) processor and X299-based motherboard.

Inside, you can configure the Corsair ONE PRO i82 with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti (heck, even the $2499 monster TITAN RTX) while Corsair provides up to 64GB of DDR4-2666 RAM and a 750W Platinum-rated SFF power supply.

Apple talked about manufacturing its new Mac Pro inside of the US, as the costs of manufacturing it in China and bringing it over to the US would prove too high for Apple to make its sky-high products on.

Well, now it's official - Apple is making the new Mac Pro at its plant in Austin, Texas. Apple needs specific parts for the machine, something that with Trump's tariffs on China making difficult -- but Trump offered exemptions on them, if Apple built the Mac Pro in the USA.

10 out of 15 requested exemptions for components that Apple required have been greenlit by the Trump administration, but the manufacturing of other parts will be secured by US-based suppliers.

Alienware has just unveiled its new Aurora R9 desktop today with a super-sleek, rounded aesthetic that looks out of this world. The new look is part of an extension to Alienware's "Legend" design that started earlier this year with the Area-51m.

With the Aurora R9 desktop PC, we have an awesome-looking system that doesn't look too crazy, but it definitely stands out. The entire front is curved, and looks like a Dyson bladeless fan, except there's a hardcore gaming PC inside of it. It can be specced pretty high, up to the RTX 2080 Ti and 64GB RAM.

Alienware says that it built the new Aurora R9 with improved airflow in mind, so the new rig has been built with less obstruction than the previous design meaning airflow increases leading to cooler temps. Alienware says these changes have reduced temps by 8% which is not bad at all.

Intel has a new mobile NUC workstation kit in the works with its new "Quartz Canyon" NUC, with FanlessTech reporting on the new Zeon-powered NUC that supports high-end graphics cards.

The new Intel Quartz Canyon NUC supports up to an 8-core Xeon-E and 9th-gen Core i7 vPro processor, as well as high-end graphics cards that would normally go into a high-end PC. The tiny size will attract a large userbase, offering high-end desktop performance in a portable carry-with-you size.

It's also packed with a bunch of connectivity and features including dual Thunderbolt 3 connectors, dual Ethernet ports, Intel Optane and ECC RAM support. Intel is also including a 500W power supply to get it all juiced, as well as 2.4Gbps Wi-Fi 6 connectivity.