Computer Systems - Page 3

Apple has pulled the plug on its long-running tower workstation line, discontinuing the Mac Pro. The tech giant confirmed to 9to5Mac that there are no plans for future Mac Pro hardware. The Mac Studio will now sit at the top of Apple's desktop lineup, powered by the M5 Ultra, which is due for release in the first half of this year.

Apple has since removed the Mac Pro from its website, with the buy page now redirecting users to Mac's homepage. For professional users, the Mac Studio is available in M4 Max and M3 Ultra configurations, offering up to a 32-core CPU, up to an 80-core GPU, Thunderbolt 5, and support for up to 512GB of unified memory.

The decision is not a surprise. The Mac Pro last received an update in June 2023, when Apple moved the system to M2 Ultra while keeping the aging 2019 chassis. Even then, it sat in an awkward spot. The Mac Studio, equipped with the same chip and offering similar performance, was available for $3,000 less.

According to a new report from the Taiwanese publication UDN (translated), ASUS plans to raise prices on PCs, including the new Qualcomm-powered Zenbook A16, by 25 to 30% in Taiwan next quarter. Naturally, if you've been following the current memory crisis affecting the industry, this news won't be unsurprising, but it's still alarming.

This news comes from a recent press conference that ASUS held in the region with Qualcomm, and is from Liao Yi-hsiang, General Manager of ASUS United Technology Systems Business. The price increases will reportedly vary by model; however, the report is clear that ASUS is referring only to Taiwan, as it didn't disclose whether these price increases will make their way to other global markets and regions.

Although steep, the price increases are a direct response to the dramatic increases in memory costs. For example, 32GB of memory cost around 3,000 Yuan last year, and it's now around 20,000 Yuan as we head into the second quarter.

ASUS has announced the new ExpertCenter PN55 Mini PC powered by AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series Processors. And although the simple design is built to offer a compact Copilot+ PC with up to 55 TOPS of XDNA2 NPU performance and 96GB of DDR5-5600 memory, these little black boxes can also become Steam Machine-like devices that could comfortably sit underneath or next to a TV.

With the flagship AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 option, including AMD Radeon 890M graphics, you're looking at one of the most capable PC gaming APUs currently available, with enough performance to handle current AAA-style games running at a lower resolution with optimized settings. And with 16 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units and a Boost Clock speed of 3100 MHz, it's enough to deliver a smooth 60 FPS experience in a wide range of games with Medium or High graphics settings.

Of course, that's not what the ASUS ExpertCenter PN55 is built for; it's a compact and powerful productivity device for the AI era of computing. With the AMD Ryzen AI 400 Series Processors and integrated Radeon 800M graphics, it supports up to four 4K displays, NVMe SSD storage, WiFi 7, and Bluetooth 5.4, and includes six USB ports (including USB4) in its compact 130 x 130 x 34mm build.

The International Data Corporation (IDC) has published a new report stating that the current "memory and supply chain" issues facing the consumer technology and PC markets are much worse than expected. Back in November 2025, the firm published a report that stated that global shipments would shrink by 2.4% in 2026, which it's now revising to 11.3% - a substantial downturn.

"These reductions are driven by a convergence of memory shortages, rising component prices, and broader supply constraints, all of which are expected to limit production well into 2027, making recovery timing a challenging and shifting target," the latest IDC report reads. Also adding that the unforeseen escalation of conflict in the Middle East has introduced a new layer of challenges driven by the seemingly insatiable appetite for building AI data centers and infrastructure.

IDC's Ryan Reith says this revised forecast and updated outlook will result in "massive disruption," meaning it will be "nearly impossible" for some companies to survive the memory crisis affecting all corners of the consumer PC market.

ASRock's DeskMeet mini PCs are powerful, versatile, and configurable, and can also double as portable gaming PCs. With the launch of Valve's Steam Machine delayed until later this year, ASRock has come out to say that if you take one of its DeskMeet mini PCs, like the DeskMeet B660 that we've previously reviewed, and pair it with the Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX 6GB OC GPU, you've got an affordable alternative.

Intel's first-generation Arc graphics cards have come a long way since their debut; however, the recent release of XeSS 3 has breathed new life into the Intel Arc A380. With new, updated AI-powered upscaling (Super Resolution), Frame Generation, and now Multi-Frame Generation, the Intel Arc 380 can deliver decent 1080p gaming performance that could theoretically compete with the Steam Machine.

According to ASRock, the arrival of XeSS 3 sees the Intel Arc A380 perform more in line with the Radeon RX 6600, with better image quality than AMD's FSR. Of course, as a 6GB GPU, the Intel Arc A380 Challenger ITX won't be able to render games at Ultra settings, but at a price of only $139.99 USD, it's worth considering.

We got our first look at the ACEMAGIC Retro X5 Mini Gaming PC back at CES earlier this year, with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370-powered device turning more than a few heads thanks to its retro-inspired design. And by that, we mean it looks a lot like the classic 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System console from the 1980s, but with modern hardware, including 32GB of DDR5 5600MHz memory and a 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD.

With the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370's integrated RDNA 3.5 Radeon 890M graphics, it's a fairly capable little gaming rig that can play most modern AAA titles at 1080p 60 FPS with optimized settings. And all of that in a tiny 138 x 128 x 45mm footprint. And with WiFi 7, BT 5.4, USB4, USB 3.2, HDMI 2.1, and DisplayPort support, it's a capable PC that is more than capable of being a daily productivity driver and running local AI models.

Of course, with its retro-gaming design, the ACEMAGIC Retro X5 Mini Gaming PC is being marketed as a Steam Machine-like gaming PC that can sit next to a TV or on a desk. And with that, it's available for purchase on Amazon at a special launch price of $1,049.99.

The analysts at Gartner are predicting that PC shipments will decline by 10.4% in 2026 due to the current memory and storage crisis affecting the consumer technology market. And with that, Gartner estimates that DRAM and SSD prices will surge by 130% by the end of the year, driving PC prices up by 17%.

"This is the steepest contraction in device shipments witnessed in over a decade. Higher prices will narrow the range of devices available, prompting buyers to hold on to devices for longer, fundamentally altering upgrade cycles," said Ranjit Atwal, Sr Director Analyst at Gartner. A sentiment shared by many, and one that feels like the expected outcome of a situation where data centers and the AI market are buying up anything and everything, and are willing to spend the money to do so.

However, as prices rise, Gartner predicts a sharp increase in the total bill of materials (BOM) for building PCs and laptops, effectively killing the entry-level laptop and PC market. "This sharp increase removes vendors' ability to absorb costs, making low-margin entry-level laptops nonviable. Ultimately, we expect the sub-$500 entry-level PC segment will disappear by 2028," Ranjit Atwal adds.

Select products in Lenovo's 'Intelligent Devices Group' portfolio, which includes PCs, tablets, and mobile devices, are reportedly going to experience a price increase in early March 2026. This news arrives via CRN, citing Lenovo's Wade McFarland as the source.

In a letter to its partners, confirmed by Lenovo, "the scope and impact of any updates will vary, and specific details will be communicated directly where applicable." In a follow-up statement provided to CRN, Ryan McCurdy, Lenovo's North America president, added that "there's no way around it" and that the company "absolutely had to adjust and continue to adjust" prices in response to the global DRAM and NAND crisis.

The last couple of months, or the beginning of 2026 to be more precise, have been tumultuous for the consumer technology market as the dramatic increase in memory and storage prices, alongside limited supply, has led to an unprecedented situation where the biggest players in the space, like Lenovo, are having to deal with the situation brought on by the current AI boom.

NZXT has just launched its latest stylish and impressive compact case, the H2 Flow Mini-ITX. With its fine-mesh panels, 20.7L vertical GPU-mounted tower design, and toolless construction, NZXT is aiming to make small-form-factor (SFF) builds more viable, accessible, and powerful than ever.

In addition to the standalone case, which supports liquid cooling and modern GeForce RTX 50 Series graphics cards, NZXT is launching an all-in-one H2 Mini PC powered by a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080. As one of the most powerful 4K gaming cards on the market, the impressive compact H2 Mini PC is small enough to fit on any desk or sit comfortably in a living room.

NZXT confirms that the H2 Mini PC will only be available in the US. Even though it's priced at $3,499 USD for both the AMD and Intel CPU variants, it packs some impressive hardware. In addition to the GeForce RTX 5080, you've got your choice of an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D or an Intel Core Ultra 9 285 K, both paired with 32GB of DDR5 memory and 2TB of M.2 storage.

Puget Systems, which has a strict testing process for components and RMA reviews for the systems it builds, has prepared its annual report on the most reliable PC hardware of 2025. Although it doesn't cover the entire brand landscape, it's still a great indicator of performance and reliability across the components that make up a modern desktop PC: CPU, GPU, motherboard, RAM, storage, and power supply.

Looking at the desktop CPU space, both AMD Ryzen 9000 Series and Intel Core Ultra processors have an almost identical failure rate: 2.52% for AMD and 2.49% for Intel. Although AMD edges out Intel here, the company notes that it's too close for there to be a "statistically significant difference."

When drilling down to specific models, the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K takes the crown as the most reliable processor, with a failure rate of only 0.77%. This is followed by AMD's Ryzen 9000 X3D Series processors, which have a failure rate of just 1.51%.

MAINGEAR has just unleashed a super-limited Retro98 series of desktop gaming PCs, sporting AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor, and so much more... inside of an unbelievably awesome chassis. Check it out:

The new MAINGEAR Retro98 gaming systems are a limited-edition gaming PC drop that is inspired by what started the company's -- and millions of PC gamers worldwide -- an old-school beige tower, but with monster PC hardware inside. MAINGEAR is using the SilverStone FLP02 tower PC case, looking like it was ripped right out of 1998.

Inside, you can option for a super-high-end liquid-cooling system that was co-developed by Alphacool, with MAINGEAR configuring its Retro98 system with up to a Ryzen 9 9950X3D, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 with 24GB of GDDR7 memory, ultra-fast Kingston FURY DDR5 RAM and SSDs, as well as modern airflow engineering, and more.

ZOTAC has announced a new model in its ZBOX series of mini PCs: the ZOTAC ZBOX MAGNUS EAMAX395C. Described as its "most powerful AMD-powered ZBOX mini PC," it packs AMD's impressive Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 processor, aka 'Strix Halo,' in a compact 2.65L form factor. With up to 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory, 16 cores and 32 threads, and integrated Radeon 8060S Graphics, it's an impressive unit.

The Radeon 8060S is AMD's most powerful integrated GPU, with 40 RDNA 3.5 Compute Units, and in a Ryzen AI MAX+ 395 system with 128GB of memory, which also means up to 96GB of VRAM. Of course, the Radeon 8060S is still a 1080p gaming graphics card; however, it won't have any issues running most AAA games at 60 FPS with impressive visual fidelity and detail settings.

In addition to gaming, there's also up to 126 Total AI TOPS of performance when you combine the NPU and GPU, making the MAGNUS EAMAX395C an impressively compact unit for running local AI workloads.

The new MINISFORUM AtomMan G7 Pro is a slimline mini PC built for gaming, featuring a GeForce RTX 5070 Laptop GPU and the powerful Intel Core i9 14900HX processor. In addition to supporting the latest RTX technologies, such as DLSS 4 with Multi Frame Generation, the GPU also delivers up to 798 TOPS of AI performance.

Although compact, the AtomMan G7 Pro features a 200W sustained "dual-load performance design," which means the Intel Core i9-14900HX can draw up to 85W while the GeForce RTX 5070 8GB Laptop GPU delivers its full performance at 115W. MINISFORUM notes that this makes it a powerful rig for gaming, content creation, and demanding AI workloads.

The AtomMan G7 Pro's sleek design features a slimline aluminum mini PC that's only 33mm thick, and the compact tower features a custom cooling solution with dual fans, six heat pipes, and a three-sided exhaust system. In addition to a customizable RGB light bar, the AtomMan G7 Pro also has a physical performance-mode switch, or Turbo Button, for maximizing performance or switching between Office and Game modes.

At CES 2026, Acemagic showcased a range of new Mini PCs, some of which were powered by AMD's new Ryzen AI 400 Series, which was announced at the show. Two designs that immediately stood out from the pack were the NES-inspired Retro X5, announced late last year, and a new design described as a blend of the original Sony PlayStation and the Sega Dreamcast.

The Retro X5's Nintendo Entertainment System look is unmistakable, with the mini PC resembling the classic 1985 console while featuring modern USB and display ports. Acemagic calls the design '1985 Reimagined,' and it's clear that this is a Mini PC aimed at retro gaming and PC gaming fans.

Underneath the hood, it's powered by AMD's new Gorgon Point-powered Ryzen AI 400 Series, with up to a Ryzen AI 9 HX 470. This 12 Core (4 x Zen 5 and 8 x Zen 5c) and 24 Thread processor includes integrated RDNA 3.5 powered Radeon 890M graphics with 16 CUs. GPU-wise, it's powerful enough to run most games at 60 FPS at 1080p as well as 'emulate' classic console and gaming hardware.

A new report from International Data Corporation (IDC) indicates that global PC shipments grew by an impressive 9.6% year over year in Q4 2025. With shipments estimated at 76.4 million units, the big winners were Lenovo, HP, Dell, and ASUS, all of which experienced double-digit growth compared to the same period in 2024. Lenovo led the quarter with 25.3% market share.

The growth is attributed to several factors, including increased demand driven by the holiday season, Windows 10 officially reaching the end of life, and early 2025 tariff concerns, which led to more inventory hitting the market. Another factor that drove growth in Q4 2025 was the upcoming memory shortages that are expected to hit all aspects of the PC market as we head into 2026.

And so, even though 9.6% year over year is definitely good news, the overall outlook for 2026 isn't so bright. In fact, IDC predicts that the PC market will look very different in 12 months based on "how quickly the memory situation is evolving."

Thunderobot had its new MIX GAMING 2 Mini-PC on display at CES 2026 this year, with enough power to easily run 4K @ 120FPS gaming.

The MIX GAMING 2 system is thin-and-tall, looking quite unique standing up and solid on its stand, but inside you can configure it with up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX processor, and up to an ultra-fast NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU with 24GB of GDDR7 memory.

Thunderbolt allows for up to 230W of power to flow into the system, with the CPU allowed to use 120W on its own, and up to 175W on the GPU. Thunderobot uses an in-house "Night Owl" thermal system, with the internal layout integrated into one huge heatsink, fin stack, and dual fans that keep the 275HX and RTX 5090 cool.

Minisforum had plenty of products showcased at CES 2026, but one of the main ones that I wanted to see in the flesh was the MS-S1 MAX. A powerful AI workstation packing the AMD Strix Halo APU, up to 128GB of RAM, and more, all in a small form factor system.

The new Minisforum MS-S1 MAX workstation packs the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 "Strix Halo" APU which has 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 processing power, the powerful Radeon 8060S with 40 CUs of RDNA 3.5 GPU power, and up to 128GB of LPDDR5X-8000 memory.

On the front I/O we've got 2 x USB4, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 (10Gbps), 1 x 3.5mm audio combo jack, and 2 x DMIC. On the rear, you've got 2 x 10GbE ports, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps), 2 x USB 2.0, 2 x USB4 V2 (80Gbps), 1 x HDMI 2.1 FRL (up to 8K @ 60Hz and 4K @ 120Hz).

AMD showed off its impressive new Ryzen AI Halo Mini-PC at CES 2026, powered by its Ryzen AI Max series "Strix Halo" APUs, acting as an answer to the NVIDIA DGX Spark.

AMD's flagship Strix Halo APU features up to 16 cores and 32 threads of Zen 5 CPU power, 40 cores of RDNA 3.5 GPU power, an XDNA 2-based NPU for AI workloads, and up to 128GB of RAM. AMD has used the power of its Strix Halo APU and created the Ryzen AI Halo, which will take the mini AI supercomputer battle to NVIDIA's doorstep with its DGX Spark.

The new AMD Ryzen AI Halo has been designed as an AI Developer Platform, similar to how it works with the NVIDIA DGX Spark, designed to speed up AI development and workloads.

Dell has announced its very latest Area-51 desktop gaming PC will arrive with the world's fastest gaming CPU: AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D which just launched at CES 2026.

Dell launched the Alienware Area-51 desktop gaming PC at CES 2025 but only had Intel Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake" processors, but in November 2025 it unlocked AMD Ryzen 9000 series "Zen 5" processors. At CES 2026 this week, the company announced the Alienware Area-51 would be available with AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor.

You can configure a new Alienware Area-51 desktop gaming PC with AMD's new Ryzen 7 9850X3D processor, up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 with 24GB of GDDR7 memory... however, only 64GB of DDR5 (there are only two DIMM slots), and up to 12TB of SSD storage.

ASUS has just unleashed its new ROG G1000 at CES 2026, a next-level desktop gaming PC that has the best PC gaming hardware money can buy, and show-stopping innovation. Check it out:

At the core of the new ASUS ROG G1000 desktop gaming PC is the built-in AniMe Holo fan, which is the world's first holographic fan system inside of a pre-built gaming PC, and it's capable of projecting customizable holographic visuals on your PC.

The AniMe Holo module is housed inside of an independent chamber that features a hinge-door design, making sure that airflow isn't interfering with the rest of the components thermal path, helping reduce overall system noise by limiting vibration from the AniMe Holo system.