CPU, APU & Chipsets News - Page 1

Intel's next-generation Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake" CPUs have been spotted in new shipping manifestos, in both Arrow Lake-S (desktop) and Arrow Lake-HX (laptop) form.

We've seen new Intel Core Ultra 200 series "Arrow Lake" CPUs in shipping manifestos already, but now we have more of the range: 6-core, 14-core, 16-core, and 24-core variants for both desktops and laptops have been spotted this time. Here's the full list so far:

So we'll have a trio of desktop Arrow Lake-S processors with a 24-core CPU with 36MB of L3 cache, a 14-core CPU with 24MB of L3 cache, and a 6-core CPU with 18MB of L3 cache. On the laptop side of things, we've got the Arrow Lake-HX processors in a 16-core part with 30MB of L3 cache, and a 14-core CPU with 24MB of L3 cache.

Earlier this year, AMD launched its latest Ryzen 8000G Series of desktop processors, which featured built-in Radeon graphics (up to a Radeon 780M), offering PC gamers an entry-level option that doesn't require a discrete graphics card. With the AMD Ryzen 7 8700G, you've got a CPU that can play modern PC games in 1080p without a GPU.

The Ryzen 8000G Series is AMD's first desktop processor lineup to include dedicated AI NPU hardware - with up to 39 TFLOPs of AI processing power. Combining AMD XDNA AI hardware, Zen 4 CPU architecture, and RDNA 3 graphics, you've got a series of AMD chips to suit all workloads.

This week, AMD unveiled two new entries to the lineup: the AMD Ryzen 7 8700F and AMD Ryzen 5 8400F. These variants ship without Radeon graphics and are optimized for efficiency and low-power draw.

NVIDIA and MediaTek are reportedly working on a new Arm-based AI processor, co-developing the new SoC that will be finalized in Q3 2024... just months from now.

The new silicon will support advanced technologies, and will be mass-produced on TSMC's new 3nm process node, and will compete against Apple's new M4 chip, and Qualcomm's upcoming Snapdragon X Elite SoC according to Chinese media outlet UDN.

The site reports that the price of NVIDIA and MediaTek's new Arm-based AI processor will be "as high as $300" adding that this is the first time NVIDIA and MediaTek have cooperated on PC processors, and that it's expected we'll get details on the new AI PC processor during Computex 2024 in just a few weeks' time in Taipei, Taiwan.

DIY gadget YouTuber "Bitluni" has built his own personal RISC-V megacluster, inside of a compact design, check it out:

Overall, the megacluster features 256 x RISC-V-based microcontrollers, operating at a mind-boggling 14.7GHz single-core frequency. Impressive. Remember, these are RISC-V chips, not x86-based processors inside of a regular PC.

The idea behind this is to fit 16 of the superclusters into a single interface, but that created issues down the line, so he designed his own "cluster blade" that featured two microcontrollers mounted on the board, each of them managing the supercluster on top of it. The cluster blade allowed Bitluni to give each supercluster its bus interface.

AMD's next-generation high-end Ryzen AI "Strix Halo" APUs have turned up in new shipping manifestos, featuring up to 64GB capacities and up to 120W TDPs.

The shipping manifestos were noticed by "nbd.ltd" and @harukaze5719, with multiple shipments of the same APU that would've been sent out for evaluation and testing purposes. These manifestos show the Maple DAP reference evaluation platform, which is available in both 32GB and 64GB memory capacities.

The Maple DAP reference systems feature 32GB or 64GB of pre-soldered memory, set by AMD, unlike Intel which is using on-package memory with its next-generation Lunar Lake CPUs.

Intel has just splashed out on buying ASML's bleeding-edge High-NA EUV lithography machines, placing orders for the rest of the machines that the Netherlands-based company will make this year.

In a new report from The Elec, we're hearing that Intel is buying ASML's latest High-NA EUV lithography machines by placing reserve orders for the 5-6 kits that the company will make this year. Intel will be using ASML's new High-NA EUV lithography machines for its upcoming Intel 18A (1.8nm) and Intel 14A (1.4nm) process nodes.

Intel will have the most High-NA EUV lithography machines in 2025, with competitors including SK hynix and Samsung set to get their first batches of High-NA EUV lithography machines in the second half of 2025. Intel will have a rather large advantage over their competitors, especially if production goes well, yield rates are healthy, and the chips that Intel is pumping out are performance leaders.

AMD's next-generation Zen 5-based "Ryzen AI 100 series" processors will be unveiled and launched at Computex 2024 next month, with the latest Ryzen AI 165 processor teased in new leaks.

In a new leak from Chinese reviewer and leaker Golden Pig Upgrade, we can expect the AMD Ryzen AI 165 "Strix Point" APU to feature 10 cores and 20 threads, with an XDNA2-based NPU for AI workloads, offering 45 TOPS of AI performance from the NPU alone.

We've already heard rumbles of a Strix Point APU being officially called the Ryzen AI 9 HX 170, with 12 cores and 24 threads of Zen 5-based CPU power boosting at up to 5.1GHz with the same XDNA2-based NPU for AI workloads. But the new 10-core, 20-thread Ryzen AI 165 "Strix Point" APU could feature a 2+8 or 4+6 configuration (AMD will have Zen 5 and Zen 5c CCXs for Strix Point).

Intel's Panther Lake is still a good way off - if the rumor-mongers are right, Arrow Lake might even be further off than we hoped - but that hasn't stopped the leak machine churning out speculation about Panther Lake CPUs.

Mind you, this latest Panther Lake leak, which comes from X (formerly Twitter) as flagged up by VideoCardz, should be treated with more skepticism than normal, as we're not familiar with the source - a certain Prakhar Verma.

So, fistfuls of salt in hand, the contention is that Panther Lake will be mobile chips only - with no desktop offerings. Theoretically we will get Panther Lake U series CPUs, efficient variants to follow Lunar Lake (which should debut late this year), and Panther Lake H chips to succeed Arrow Lake high-end mobile processors.

AMD's Zen 5 desktop processors - which should be Ryzen 9000, based on previous leaks - might end up with a generational increase in performance that'll disappoint many folks, or that's the conclusion some are drawing given fresh chatter from the grapevine.

Wccftech flagged up this rumor which comes from Weibo - add extra seasoning because of that, but then again, we are told that this is a post from Lenovo China's manager.

According to that manager, we can expect Ryzen 9000 desktop to bring forth an IPC increase of 10% compared to Ryzen 7000 chips - and that's a much lower figure than we've heard from other sources. Although it's worth noting that the source does observe that gains are higher than this in Cinebench single-threaded benchmarks (without mentioning any exact figure).

Intel has been in a spot lately regarding its flagship high-end 13th and 14th Gen Core i9 desktop processors, with widespread reports of instability. The extent and detailed causes of the crashes are still unknown. Still, many believe it to be due to the increased power requirements of high-end Intel CPUs and motherboard profiles and official specs and guidelines bypassing proper voltage regulation.

Various motherboard makers have released BIOS updates to address the issue, implementing new 'Intel Baseline Profiles' to improve stability at the cost of performance. The band-aid approach was simple: reign everything in, and the issues will disappear.

In a new statement for its customers and partners, Intel states that the new 'Intel Default Settings' represent a range of power delivery profiles based on a motherboard's capabilities. In fact, Intel wants customers to continue pushing the new CPUs as it "recommends customers implement the highest power delivery profile compatible with each individual motherboard design."