CPU, APU & Chipsets News - Page 1

AMD's next-gen Ryzen 9050 series "Strix Halo" APU specs have been circulating the rumor mill for a while now, but some new details have surfaced that are getting us excited.

The new Strix Halo APU will be quite the beast, offering 16 cores and 32 threads of next-gen Zen 5 processing power, with 1MB of L2 cache per core, and 32MB per CCD of unified L3 cache (MALL cache). We should see not one but two CCDs on the Strix Halo APU, which will see 8MB of L2 cache per CCD (8 cores per CCD, two CCDs = 16 cores = 16MB of L2 cache in total).

AMD's next-gen Strix Halo APU will feature an upgraded XDNA2-based NPU for AI workloads, offering a much higher 60 TOPS of AI workload performance. Remember: this is 60 TOPS just for the NPU, and not counting what will be capable from the CPU and GPU on Strix Halo. Speaking of the GPU, AMD will include an RDNA 3.5-based GPU with 20 Work Group Processors (WGP).

MSI is the latest motherboard maker to pop up with advice for those who are experiencing PC games crashing with their Core i9 14th-gen or 13th-gen processors - and it includes "some workarounds recommended by Intel."

This advice is delivered in a blog post from MSI on the topic of 'Improving Gaming Stability for Intel Core i9-13900K and Core i9-14900K' processors.

So, let's dive in: Suggested workaround number 1 is simply notching back the processor's power limit to Intel's default of 253W.

AMD will most likely announce its new line of Zen 5 desktop processors at Computex 2024 - and now we can confirm that the line-up will be called the AMD Ryzen 9000 Series thanks to GIGABYTE.

In preparation for AMD's not officially confirmed or announced next-gen Ryzen CPU launch, the big AM5 motherboard makers have started releasing BIOS updates to support future or next-gen Ryzen CPUs. Joining companies like MSI and ASUS, GIGABYTE has released an 'AM5 Next Gen' BIOS update for its GIGABYTE AM5 X670, B650, and A620 motherboards.

The announcement makes it very clear what this is for, stating that the update brings support "for the coming AMD Ryzen 9000 Series" of processors. It doesn't get any more clear-cut than that. Zen 5 is coming very soon, and the desktop line-up will be called the Ryzen 9000 Series.

Qualcomm has been trying for many, many years now to get its Windows on Arm chips up to scratch -- with very, very mixed results -- and now we're being introduced to the new Snapdragon X Elite, which Qualcomm calls the "world's fastest NPU for laptops".

The new Snapdragon X Elite laptop chip has the Qualcomm AI Engine with integrated Qualcomm Hexagon NPU (Neural Processing Unit) with 45 TOPS of AI workload performance. In comparison, Intel's current-gen Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" CPUs top out with 10 TOPS (pun not intended, but it works so well here), while AMD's new Ryzen 8040 "Hawk Point" APUs have 16 TOPS of AI performance.

Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X Elite chip has 75 TOPS of AI performance across the CPU + GPU + NPU and micro NPU, while it's made on the 4nm process by TSMC. On the CPU side of things, we've got the Arm-baed Oryon CPU with 12 cores on the Snapdragon X Elite, or 10 cores on the Snapdragon X Plus.

Capsule toy vending machines, or 'gacha' machines, can be found all over Japan. They dispense random toys and collectibles for a small fee, with themed machines covering everything from popular anime franchises to Hello Kitty to stuff as simple and pure as dinosaur toys. Now, we can add Intel CPUs to the list, as someone has spotted a capsule toy machine in Japan that dispenses random Intel CPUs.

Over on X, user @LaurieWired posted a link and YouTube clip from Sawara-San (which is in Japanese) showing that they managed to snag an Intel Core i7-8700 CPU for just 500 Yen (which is around $3 USD) from this CPU Gacha machine. The machine is located outside 1's PC, a store that sells new and second-hand PC parts and things like cameras.

The Intel Core i7 8700 is not that old, with the eighth-generation Coffee Lake from 2018 closely matching the performance of the flagship Intel Core i7 8700K. It's old by 2024 standards for mid-range CPUs, but for around $3, it's a bargain. It's a 6-core 12-thread CPU with a 4.7 GHz Boost Clock - not too shabby. Except, this random 'gacha' version ran into issues.

Hot on the heels of huge success in designing its own custom chips for use in Macs, iPhones, iPads, and more, Apple is now reportedly turning its attention to designing the chips that will power its future AI endeavors. Apple is strongly thought to be working on new AI features for the iPhone and its other platforms and while some of the large language models and other components will run on those devices, a server in the cloud will also be required for some features. Now, it's thought Apple is working to design the chips that will power those servers.

That's according to a poster on the Weibo Chinese social network, at least. The user is said to have 25 years of experience in the integrated circuit industry, including work on the famous Intel Pentium chips, and suggests that the new AI server chips will be based on TSMC's 3nm manufacturing process. That process is already used to produce Apple's M3 Mac and future iPad chips as well as the A17 Pro that powers its best iPhones.

TSMC has long been a key partner in Apple's supply chain and is already producing some of its most important chips, including those that power the new Apple Vision Pro spatial computer. That means it's the obvious choice to produce future AI server components as well, and it's easy to see why Apple might want to go that route. By designing its own chips Apple can ensure that it has full control over what they can do and how they work. It's a process that has stood Apple in good stead in other products, and there is little reason why it won't do the same server-side.

Qualcomm is rumored to be revealing its Snapdragon X Plus chip at an event tomorrow, and it seems like this will indeed be happening, as the details of the SoC have just been leaked.

VideoCardz has got hold of some apparent press slides detailing the three variants of the Snapdragon X Elite, as well as the Snapdragon X Plus silicon which will run alongside it (there'll just be one version of that - to begin with, anyway).

The rumor mill was correct in its assertion that the Snapdragon X Plus would be a 10-core SoC, cut down a pair of cores compared to the 12-core Elite CPU. At least assuming this leak is correct anyway - we must treat any pre-release spillage with some caution until the info is confirmed by Qualcomm, which will no doubt happen at the mentioned event tomorrow.

Intel's 14th-gen and 13th-gen Core i9 CPUs have been hit by issues with crashing when running some PC games, and while a cure of sorts has been pushed out by one motherboard vendor, namely ASUS, we now know the extent of the catch with this fix.

You're unlikely to have missed this one, but just in case, the crashes for the mentioned top-end processors seem to be worse with games that use the Unreal Engine - but whatever the case, they're a definite pain, and at this point, widely reported.

Cue ASUS with a band aid that arrived in the form of a firmware update for its Intel Z790, B760, and H770 motherboards, which came packing a new 'Intel Baseline Profile.'

Intel and the Pentagon have partnered up under the CHIPS Act to begin manufacturing advanced microchips, according to a recent press release from Intel.

Specifically under the national security accelerator program that is funded by the CHIPS Act, Intel and Pentagon have agreed to team up to produce early test samples of advanced microchips, granting the US government access to leading chip manufacturing technologies for the first time. The advanced chips Intel and the Pentagon are developing will be part of Intel's 18A manufacturing process, the company's next-generation process node.

The 18A process node is expected to be manufacturer ready sometime in the second half of 2024, and the 20A manufacturing process expected to begin around the same time. What will the 18A chips offer? According to Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger, 18A provides exceptional power management capabilities that is comparable to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company's (TSMC) 2-nanometer technology.

Fresh revelations on the rumor mill about the highest-end next-gen APUs from AMD have prompted excitement levels around Strix Point Halo to spike upwards.

If the info taken from the Chiphell forums is correct - and we should definitely add a whole load of salt to these claims, as it isn't the most reliable source in our experience - the Strix Point Halo APU will bristle with 16 cores.

In fact, this processor will supposedly run with a pair of CCDs with 8 cores apiece, meaning it'll be an APU with 16 full Zen 5 cores - effectively using the same chiplets that will be deployed inside 'Granite Ridge' (likely Ryzen 9000) next-gen desktop CPUs - quite a prospect.