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Intel Corp.’s latest “Skylake” processors officially support only DDR3L and DDR4 memory, but there are motherboards for the new chips that can also use DDR3. While the chips can work with previous-gen memory, prolonged usage of such dynamic random access memory (DRAM) can damage microprocessors, according to Intel. DDR4 memory …

Nvidia Corp. is working on a new flagship graphics card that will use two code-named GM200 graphics processing units. The new adapter will offer extreme levels of performance and will compete against AMD’s upcoming Radeon R9 Fury X2 with two “Fiji” graphics processors. Not a lot is known about the …

Asrock has introduced its new Fatal1ty-branded mini-ITX high-end motherboard for gaming PCs. The new system board is designed for Intel “Skylake” processors and sports numerous advanced features that modern PC platforms can offer. Among the highlights are unique voltage regulator module, extreme overclocking capabilities, HDMI 2.0 connector that supports 4K …

Toshiba Corp. has finally started to sell its 2.5” hard disk drive with extreme 3TB capacity in retail. The drive is not compatible with the vast majority of mobile personal computers, but can be installed into servers and network area storage (NAS) systems. The Toshiba MQ03ABB300 hard disk drive with …

GlobalFoundries on Friday confirmed that the first products to be made using the company’s advanced 14nm LPP [low-power plus] manufacturing technology had been taped out. The contract maker of chips did not reveal any details, but indicated that prototype chips had demonstrated “excellent” performance and yields. One of the customers, …

Manufacturers of inexpensive tablets recently increased orders for Intel Corp.’s previous-generation Atom “Bay Trail” system-on-chips before the company cancels discounts and starts to gradually phase-out production of such microprocessors. Going forward Intel will cease to offer heavy price cuts on mobile SoCs. At present, the average price of an Intel …

GlobalFoundries, which started to manufacture chips using 14nm low-power early (14LPE) manufacturing technology several months ago, said on Friday that its yields exceed its original expectations. One of the world’s largest contract makers of semiconductors does not reveal its actual 14nm volumes, but since the chips are made for customers, …

Intel Corp. has quietly introduced its new family of solid-state drives designed for datacentres. The new Intel DC P3608 SSDs feature up to 4TB capacity as well as up to 5GB/s sequential read speed, they are among the highest-performing solid-state drives in the industry right now. The drives are designed …

MSI has made a bold move by giving the company's Z170 XPower motherboard a Titanium theme. What exactly does that mean? Well firstly the motherboard features a unique metallic styling which is sure to turn heads. And then there's the application of a sixteen phase power delivery system that makes …

Serial Attached SCSI continues to be the interface of choice for mission-critical storage sub-systems. At a recent conference, the SCSI trade association, the organization that oversees development of the technology, said that the next-generation of SAS – the SAS-24Gb/s – remains on-track for commercial launch in 2018 or 2019. The …

Earlier this year it transpired that Gigabyte Technology was working on a new ‘Super Overclock’ motherboard designed for extreme overclocking and setting records in benchmarks. As it appears, the release of the platform is getting closer. The Gigabyte Z170X-SOC Force LN2-CF platform was designed from the ground up to offer …

MicroStar International has announced that for a limited time it will bundle Assassin’s Creed Chronicles with select AMD Radeon R9 and R7-based graphics adapters. Since the AC Chronicles use 2.5D graphics, they should run perfectly on systems powered by such graphics boards. MSI will bundle the Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China and …

G.Skill is working on new Trident Z memory modules, which will hit unbelievable 4.40GHz frequency. The modules are designed for extreme enthusiasts and will be compatible with select Intel Z170-based platforms for overclockers. G.Skill’s Trident Z DDR4-4400 (PC4-35200) memory modules will feature 4GB capacity and will be based on hand-selected …

Asustek Computer this week introduced its Z170I Pro Gaming mainboard, which is desinged for Intel Corp.’s latest microprocessors code-named “Skylake” and provides ultimate feature-set. The platform not only uses high-quality/high-performance components and has rich expansion capabilities, but even features advanced overclocking functionality. The Asus Z170I Pro Gaming is based on the Intel …

At the GPU Technology Conference in Japan, Nvidia Corp. once again revealed key features of its next-generation graphics processing architecture code-named “Pascal”. As a it appears, the company has slightly changed its plans concerning memory capacity supported by its upcoming GPUs. As expected, Nvidia’s high-end graphics processor that belongs to …

Microsoft Corp.’s DirectX 12 application programming interface promises to significantly improve performance of video games in Windows 10 operating system thanks to efficient usage of modern hardware. However, Valve Software believes that it makes no sense to use DX12, but to utilize cross-platform Vulkan API instead. Modern application programming interfaces – …

XFX is gearing up to release a Radeon R9 Fury-based graphics adapter featuring a liquid cooling system. The card will feature overclocking potential on par with AMD’s Radeon R9 Fury X, which will help to at least partially close performance gap between the “Fury” and the “Fury X” products. The …

Sales of personal computers have been sluggish in the recent quarters, which decreased revenue of PC makers and PC hardware manufacturers. Apparently, Intel Corp. has prepared for slow demand for PCs and significantly reduced shipments of its central processing units in the first half of the year, draining inventory at …

The “Zen” micro-architecture is a tremendously important project for Advanced Micro Devices. If the new technology is successful, AMD will become a viable developer of central processing units again. If not, the company will have troubles with surviving. Fortunately, “Zen” is a completely new micro-architecture that promises to be very …

Samsung Electronics is working on a new solid-state drive with 4TB capacity. The SSD will be available in early 2016, but its performance and pricing are yet unknown. Samsung 850 Pro solid-state drive with 4TB capacity will be based on the company’s third-generation 48-layer 3D V-NAND memory, reports AnandTech. While …

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. has successfully produced the first samples of Nvidia Corp.’s code-named GP100 graphics processing unit. Nvidia has already started to test the chip internally and should be on-track to release the GPU commercially in mid-2016. 3DCenter reports that Nvidia has sent the first graphics cards based on the …

Samsung Electronics has introduced its new family of solid-state drives that offer extreme performance and moderate pricing. The new SSDs come in M.2 form-factor, fully support NVMe protocol and use the company’s second-generation 3D V-NAND flash memory. The Samsung 950 Pro-series solid-state drives are based on the second generation MLC …

Gaming Notebooks have come a long way over the last few years, they have gotten thinner, lighter and now they are going to come with full-blown desktop-grade GPUs packed inside. Nvidia has today revealed that it has managed to cram a fully spec'd GTX 980 in to gaming notebooks. This …

As developers of graphics processing units start to use high-bandwidth memory (HBM), manufacturers of graphics cards cease their ability to buy memory directly from DRAM makers. A good news is that Nvidia Corp. intends to buy second-gen HBM from two suppliers, which potentially means flexible pricing. Nowadays manufacturers of graphics …

The market of solid-state drives is growing exponentially. In fact, total available market of SSDs hit $15.1 billion in 2014, if the numbers from Transparency Market Research are to be believed. Moreover, SSD sales are expected to grow by 40 per cent next year. According to a new market report …

Nvidia Corp. has slightly changed its roadmap concerning GPU architectures. As it appear, its next-gen GPUs code-named “Pascal” are now due in 2016, whereas their successors will be released only in 2018. Based on a new roadmap that Nvidia showcased at a tech conference in Japan, the company will release its …

Western Digital Corp. plans to unify its Green and Blue product lineups. The move will help the company to increase its profit margins. For end-users, the unification of low-cost HDD brands could mean increased performance of affordable hard disk drives. Western Digital is set to unify its Green and Blue …

GlobalFoundries is working on its own 7nm and 10nm fabrication processes and it does not look like the company has plans to license technologies from the outside. The contract maker of semiconductors hopes that specialists from IBM’s microelectronics unit will help it to design world-class leading-edge manufacturing processes. GlobalFoundries, which …

PowerColor and XFX are preparing to add another graphics card into their range of adapters based on AMD’s “Fiji” graphics processing unit. In the coming weeks the two companies will start to sell their AMD Radeon R9 Fury graphics cards, thus, expanding availability of AMD’s latest product. Although all partners …

Advanced Micro Devices on Friday said that Jim Keller, a legendary microprocessor architect, will leave the company, effective immediately. Mr. Keller worked on multiple future generations of central processing units (CPUs) and system-on-chips (SoCs) at AMD, his departure will have an effect on the company’s long-term roadmap, but will not …