Apacer, Zadak Announce World's First PCIe Gen 5 M.2 SSD
Tue, 24 May 2022
The first shot in the oncoming war of the PCIe Gen5 SSD war has been claimed by a duo of companies that likely wouldn't make anyone's first guess: Zadak and Apacer. Both companies entered a partnership towards developing and launching a PCIe Gen 5 SSD - despite platform support for us PC enthusiasts being available ever since Intel's launch of its Tiger Lake-based Gen 12 Core design and accompanying Z690 motherboards. Both Apacer and ZADAK have developed their own SKUs surrounding the SSD: AS2280F5 for Apacer, and the TWSG5 for ZADAK.
According to the companies, their respective SSDs can deliver up to 13,000 MB/s sequential read speeds and a scorching 12,000 MB/s sequential writes. Both SSDs are delivered in an M.2 Gen 5 form-factor, with support for the NVMe 2.0 protocol, and yet retain full backwards compatibility with PCIe Gen 4 designs. Both also feature an integrated heatsink design that betrays the SSD's joint development, as only the stickers change between both models - but ZADAK offers an "ultra thin graphene" heatsink option in addition to the heatsink-cooled model. No word on pricing or availability was available at time of writing.
According to the companies, their respective SSDs can deliver up to 13,000 MB/s sequential read speeds and a scorching 12,000 MB/s sequential writes. Both SSDs are delivered in an M.2 Gen 5 form-factor, with support for the NVMe 2.0 protocol, and yet retain full backwards compatibility with PCIe Gen 4 designs. Both also feature an integrated heatsink design that betrays the SSD's joint development, as only the stickers change between both models - but ZADAK offers an "ultra thin graphene" heatsink option in addition to the heatsink-cooled model. No word on pricing or availability was available at time of writing.
(PR) Taiwan's Tech Titans Adopt World's First NVIDIA Grace CPU-Powered System Designs
Tue, 24 May 2022
NVIDIA today announced that Taiwan's leading computer makers are set to release the first wave of systems powered by the NVIDIA Grace CPU Superchip and Grace Hopper Superchip for a wide range of workloads spanning digital twins, AI, high performance computing, cloud graphics and gaming. Dozens of server models from ASUS, Foxconn Industrial Internet, GIGABYTE, QCT, Supermicro and Wiwynn are expected starting in the first half of 2023. The Grace-powered systems will join x86 and other Arm-based servers to offer customers a broad range of choice for achieving high performance and efficiency in their data centers.
"A new type of data center is emerging—AI factories that process and refine mountains of data to produce intelligence—and NVIDIA is working closely with our Taiwan partners to build the systems that enable this transformation," said Ian Buck, vice president of Hyperscale and HPC at NVIDIA. "These new systems from our partners, powered by our Grace Superchips, will bring the power of accelerated computing to new markets and industries globally."
"A new type of data center is emerging—AI factories that process and refine mountains of data to produce intelligence—and NVIDIA is working closely with our Taiwan partners to build the systems that enable this transformation," said Ian Buck, vice president of Hyperscale and HPC at NVIDIA. "These new systems from our partners, powered by our Grace Superchips, will bring the power of accelerated computing to new markets and industries globally."
AMD today unveiled its next-generation Ryzen 7000 desktop processors, based on the Socket AM5 desktop platform. The new Ryzen 7000 series processors introduce the new "Zen 4" microarchitecture, with the company claiming a 15% single-threaded uplift over "Zen 3" (16-core/32-thread Zen 4 processor prototype compared to a Ryzen 9 5950X). Other key specs about the architecture put out by AMD include a doubling in per-core L2 cache to 1 MB, up from 512 KB on all older versions of "Zen." The Ryzen 7000 desktop CPUs will boost to frequencies above 5.5 GHz. Based on the way AMD has worded their claims, it seems that the "+15%" number includes IPC gains, plus gains from higher clocks, plus what the DDR4 to DDR5 transition achieves. With Zen 4, AMD is introducing a new instruction set for AI compute acceleration. The transition to the LGA1718 Socket AM5 allows AMD to use next-generation I/O, including DDR5 memory, and PCI-Express Gen 5, both for the graphics card, and the M.2 NVMe slot attached to the CPU socket.
Much like Ryzen 3000 "Matisse," and Ryzen 5000 "Vermeer," the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" desktop processor is a multi-chip module with up to two "Zen 4" CCDs (CPU core dies), and one I/O controller die. The CCDs are built on the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, while the I/O die is built on the 6 nm process, a significant upgrade from previous-generation I/O dies that were built on 12 nm. The leap to 5 nm for the CCD enables AMD to cram up to 16 "Zen 4" cores per socket, all of which are "performance" cores. The "Zen 4" CPU core is larger, on account of more number-crunching machinery to achieve the IPC increase and new instruction-sets, as well as the larger per-core L2 cache. The cIOD packs a pleasant surprise—an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture! Now most Ryzen 7000 processors will pack integrated graphics, just like Intel Core desktop processors.
Much like Ryzen 3000 "Matisse," and Ryzen 5000 "Vermeer," the Ryzen 7000 "Raphael" desktop processor is a multi-chip module with up to two "Zen 4" CCDs (CPU core dies), and one I/O controller die. The CCDs are built on the 5 nm silicon fabrication process, while the I/O die is built on the 6 nm process, a significant upgrade from previous-generation I/O dies that were built on 12 nm. The leap to 5 nm for the CCD enables AMD to cram up to 16 "Zen 4" cores per socket, all of which are "performance" cores. The "Zen 4" CPU core is larger, on account of more number-crunching machinery to achieve the IPC increase and new instruction-sets, as well as the larger per-core L2 cache. The cIOD packs a pleasant surprise—an iGPU based on the RDNA2 graphics architecture! Now most Ryzen 7000 processors will pack integrated graphics, just like Intel Core desktop processors.
Hot Chips 34, the upcoming semiconductor conference from Sunday, August 21 to Tuesday, August 23, 2022, will feature many significant contributions from folks like Intel, AMD, Tesla, and NVIDIA. Today, thanks to Intel's registration at the event, we discovered that the company would present its work on Meteor Lake and Arrow Lake processors with the novel Foveros 3D packaging. The all-virtual presentation from Intel will include talks about Ponte Vecchio GPU and its architecture, system, and software; Meteorlake and Arrowlake 3D Client Architecture Platform with Foveros; and some Xeon D and FPGA presentations. You can see the official website here for a complete list of upcoming talks.
As a little reminder, Meteor Lake is supposed to arrive next year, replacing the upcoming Raptor Lake design, and it has already ahs been pictured, which you can see below. The presentation will be recorded and all content posted on Hot Chips's website for non-attendees to catch up on.
As a little reminder, Meteor Lake is supposed to arrive next year, replacing the upcoming Raptor Lake design, and it has already ahs been pictured, which you can see below. The presentation will be recorded and all content posted on Hot Chips's website for non-attendees to catch up on.
(PR) Kingston Digital Releases Touch-Screen Hardware-Encrypted External SSD for Data Protection
Mon, 23 May 2022
Kingston Digital, Inc., the Flash memory affiliate of Kingston Technology Company, Inc., a world leader in memory products and technology solutions, today announced the release of the newest addition to its encrypted lineup, IronKey Vault Privacy 80 External SSD (VP80ES). This marks Kingston's first innovative OS-independent external SSD with touch-screen and hardware-encryption for data protection. Using Kingston IronKey VP80ES is as innate as unlocking a smartphone and simple drag & drop file transfers. Featuring an intuitive color touch-screen and FIPS 197 certified with XTS-AES 256-bit encryption, VP80ES is designed to protect data while also being user-friendly. The drive is ideal to safeguard against Brute Force attacks and BadUSB with digitally-signed firmware for users from small-to-medium businesses (SMB) to content creators. Its military-grade security measures make it greatly superior over using the internet and Cloud services for securing important company information, documents, or high-res images and videos.
Along with its ease of use and hardware encryption, VP80ES offers additional features for data protection, like Multi-Password (Admin/User) Option with PIN/Passphrase modes and Configurable Password Rules. With Admin option, choose between numeric PIN or Passphrase modes, set Configurable Password Rules, or enable extended security options like maximum number of shared password attempts, minimum password length of 6-64 characters, alphanumeric password rules, auto-timeout to lock drive, randomize touch-screen layout and Secure-Erase to ensure maximum protection of your important files. The Admin password can be used to restore data and access should the User password be forgotten. For additional peace of mind, VP80ES' Brute Force attack protection crypto-erases the drive if the Admin and User passwords are entered incorrectly 15 times in a row by default.
Along with its ease of use and hardware encryption, VP80ES offers additional features for data protection, like Multi-Password (Admin/User) Option with PIN/Passphrase modes and Configurable Password Rules. With Admin option, choose between numeric PIN or Passphrase modes, set Configurable Password Rules, or enable extended security options like maximum number of shared password attempts, minimum password length of 6-64 characters, alphanumeric password rules, auto-timeout to lock drive, randomize touch-screen layout and Secure-Erase to ensure maximum protection of your important files. The Admin password can be used to restore data and access should the User password be forgotten. For additional peace of mind, VP80ES' Brute Force attack protection crypto-erases the drive if the Admin and User passwords are entered incorrectly 15 times in a row by default.
(PR) L7 Defense integrates its AI-based, API security solution Ammune with NVIDIA BlueField-2
Mon, 23 May 2022
L7 Defense Ltd., a pioneering developer of AI-based cybersecurity solutions, announced today that it has successfully completed the integration of its API security solution Ammune with the NVIDIA BlueField-2 SmartNIC. The integration elevates the Kubernetes nodes' security posture with maximum "zero trust" in-and-out traffic protection. Furthermore, it does not interfere with the day-to-day efficiency of serving applications. Installed on BlueField-2, the Ammune real-time AI workload is offloaded to the BlueField-2 DPU, reducing nodes' CPU usage for security to the essential minimum.
"Thanks to the successful integration, the server CPU utilization with the BlueField DPU was reduced by almost a factor of 8 in cases of high traffic analysis, in comparison to CPU utilization without the DPU," said Dr. Doron Chema, L7 Defense's CEO. "Ammune is a pure AI product. The real-time AI security agent is going to be further accelerated by more BlueField functionality. The Ammune analytical near-real-time AI unit will gain more acceleration with the NVIDIA Morpheus cybersecurity AI application framework in the near future."
"Thanks to the successful integration, the server CPU utilization with the BlueField DPU was reduced by almost a factor of 8 in cases of high traffic analysis, in comparison to CPU utilization without the DPU," said Dr. Doron Chema, L7 Defense's CEO. "Ammune is a pure AI product. The real-time AI security agent is going to be further accelerated by more BlueField functionality. The Ammune analytical near-real-time AI unit will gain more acceleration with the NVIDIA Morpheus cybersecurity AI application framework in the near future."
MSI Announces X670 & X670E Motherboards for AMD Zen 4 Ryzen 7000
Mon, 23 May 2022
As Computex 2022 is largely an online event, MSI announced its upcoming AMD X670 and X670E boards shortly after AMD's keynote earlier today. Although the official press release didn't go into too many details, VideoCardz got their hands on more detailed information from MSI, which also brings some additional clarity to the platform as a whole. The most interesting slide is the one that lists the AM5 CPU's as having 28 PCIe 5.0 lanes, rather than the 24 PCIe lanes AMD mentioned in its presentation. This makes sense based on the fact that some X670/E boards have multiple PCIe 5.0 M.2 slots for NVMe drives. MSI's X670E Godlike and X670E Ace even feature three PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, although it's likely that this is in a x8/x8/x4 configuration, as these boards only have a single PCIe 5.0 M.2 slot. The same slide also mentions that all Raphael based CPUs will have support for HDMI 2.1 as well as DisplayPort 2.0, which will also work over USB Type-C Alt Mode. Interestingly it seems like not all AM5 CPUs will support DisplayPort 2.0, based on a footnote from MSI.
Other interesting titbits include a minimum CMOS chip size of 32 MB, which hopefully means we won't be seeing a repeat of the issue that the AM4 platform had, where AMD ran out of space for the AGESA, which led to multiple UEFI versions depending on the CPU used with the board. As far as MSI specific features goes, at least the high-end models will be getting eight to 10 layer PCBs and MSI will offer up to 24+2 power phases with improved heatsinks. MSI is also promising 60 W USB PD support for the front USB-C header. Just like ASUS, MSI will also offer an add-in card for more M.2 NVMe drives and MSI calls it the Xpander-Z Gen5 Dual. A common feature among all four boards is that they'll feature AMD's RZ616 WiFi 6E module, which is technically a MediaTek solution.
Other interesting titbits include a minimum CMOS chip size of 32 MB, which hopefully means we won't be seeing a repeat of the issue that the AM4 platform had, where AMD ran out of space for the AGESA, which led to multiple UEFI versions depending on the CPU used with the board. As far as MSI specific features goes, at least the high-end models will be getting eight to 10 layer PCBs and MSI will offer up to 24+2 power phases with improved heatsinks. MSI is also promising 60 W USB PD support for the front USB-C header. Just like ASUS, MSI will also offer an add-in card for more M.2 NVMe drives and MSI calls it the Xpander-Z Gen5 Dual. A common feature among all four boards is that they'll feature AMD's RZ616 WiFi 6E module, which is technically a MediaTek solution.
ASUS Shows Off the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme
Mon, 23 May 2022
Although AMD didn't provide too many details during its Computex 2022 keynote speech about the upcoming AM5 platform, the company did announce that there will be at least three chipsets for the platform and showed pictures of some upcoming motherboards. ASUS has kindly filled in some more details about its upcoming ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme, which will be one of its higher-end models. Sadly the pictures posted are kind of tiny and the company didn't provide a shot of the rear I/O. That said, ASUS did point out some of its new features that we can expect to find on the ROG Crosshair X670E Extreme.
For starters, the board will have a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, although each slot is likely to only have eight lanes each, when both slots are in use, but ASUS doesn't mention any details here. The board has support for up to five M.2 NVMe SSDs, four of which support PCIe 5.0. Only two are onboard, with the other three being via ASUS' proprietary ROG PCIe 5.0 M.2 card and ROG GEN-Z.2 card. ASUS also promises USB4 support, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 header with Quick Charge 4+ as well as up to 60 W charging support, for cases with a front USB-C port. On top of the rear I/O is an AniMe Matrix LED display that can be user customised.
For starters, the board will have a pair of PCIe 5.0 x16 slots, although each slot is likely to only have eight lanes each, when both slots are in use, but ASUS doesn't mention any details here. The board has support for up to five M.2 NVMe SSDs, four of which support PCIe 5.0. Only two are onboard, with the other three being via ASUS' proprietary ROG PCIe 5.0 M.2 card and ROG GEN-Z.2 card. ASUS also promises USB4 support, as well as a USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 header with Quick Charge 4+ as well as up to 60 W charging support, for cases with a front USB-C port. On top of the rear I/O is an AniMe Matrix LED display that can be user customised.
(PR) Game. Create. Anywhere. Introducing the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 Gaming & Streaming Laptop AMD Advantage Edition
Mon, 23 May 2022
CORSAIR, a world leader in high-performance gear and systems for gamers, content creators, and PC enthusiasts, today unveiled its innovative first gaming and streaming laptop, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 AMD Advantage Edition. Combining a powerful AMD Ryzen 6000 Series processor, AMD Radeon RX 6800M mobile graphics with CORSAIR and Elgato's vast ecosystem of exclusive software and technologies, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 is a laptop like no other. Whether you're an aspiring content creator, avid gamer, or a full-time streamer, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 AMD Advantage Edition laptop can do everything you need and more.
Packing a wide array of state-of-the-art tech into an impressively thin 19.8 mm form-factor, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 boasts up to an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and AMD Radeon RX 6800M mobile graphics to game at maximum settings and cruise through resource-heavy applications like Adobe After Effects or OBS Studio. Moreover, this combination of cutting-edge AMD components unlocks the suite of exclusive AMD smart technologies, such as AMD Smart Access Memory, which helps unlock high performance by providing select AMD Ryzen processors with address to the entire high-speed GDDR6 graphics memory, further enhancing the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600's high-end performance. The CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 stays cool thanks to an advanced compact vapor chamber cooling system that evenly spreads heat, achieving lower temperatures with a thinner profile than traditional cooling methods.
Packing a wide array of state-of-the-art tech into an impressively thin 19.8 mm form-factor, the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 boasts up to an 8-core, 16-thread AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS processor and AMD Radeon RX 6800M mobile graphics to game at maximum settings and cruise through resource-heavy applications like Adobe After Effects or OBS Studio. Moreover, this combination of cutting-edge AMD components unlocks the suite of exclusive AMD smart technologies, such as AMD Smart Access Memory, which helps unlock high performance by providing select AMD Ryzen processors with address to the entire high-speed GDDR6 graphics memory, further enhancing the CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600's high-end performance. The CORSAIR VOYAGER a1600 stays cool thanks to an advanced compact vapor chamber cooling system that evenly spreads heat, achieving lower temperatures with a thinner profile than traditional cooling methods.
(PR) GIGABYTE Unveils Gaming Innovations at COMPUTEX 2022
Mon, 23 May 2022
GIGABYTE TECHNOLOGY Co. Ltd, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and hardware solutions, today announced to present the latest gaming products at COMPUTEX 2022. The innovations include its flagship gaming solutions powered by Intel 12th gen processors. The perfect combination of the IF Design Awarded Z690 AORUS XTREME motherboard, high-end key components, and big size monitors provide remarkable gaming experience. The Project Stealth kit enables an easy and simple assembly experience with special interface and cables hidden design while further enhances the system airflow for optimized cooling effect. Meanwhile, the new gaming PC, Model S delivers powerful, cool, and silent operation even on 3A games with its slick and neat aesthetics.
Moreover, the latest AMD Socket AM5 motherboards including gaming series of X670 AORUS XTREME, MASTER, PRO AX and X670 AERO D for designers will be first exposed in this exhibition as well. Users can take a sneak peek at the advanced design and extensive features of PCIe 5.0 graphics slot, M.2 Gen5 interface, exclusive PCIe/M.2 EZ-latch on GIGABYTE motherboards.
Moreover, the latest AMD Socket AM5 motherboards including gaming series of X670 AORUS XTREME, MASTER, PRO AX and X670 AERO D for designers will be first exposed in this exhibition as well. Users can take a sneak peek at the advanced design and extensive features of PCIe 5.0 graphics slot, M.2 Gen5 interface, exclusive PCIe/M.2 EZ-latch on GIGABYTE motherboards.
(PR) Phison Announces Strategic PCIe Gen5 Relationship with AMD and Micron at Computex 2022
Mon, 23 May 2022
Phison Electronics Corp., a leading provider of NAND controller and flash storage solutions, announced today a strategic collaboration with AMD and Micron to build a cooperative PCIe Gen5 ecosystem of compatible products that elevate the gaming and creator experience. Phison's role includes delivering a class-leading PCie Gen5 SSD controller - PS5026-E26 - that features nearly a 2x performance increase over the previous generation flagship while adhering to the same power limitations of the M.2 form factor.
"We are pleased to announce our cooperative effort with Micron and AMD to advance the technological development of PCIe Gen5 storage offerings, as this validates Phison's commitment to upholding customer-centric values," said Leo Huang, Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Phison. "The E26 controller enables gamers to compete at the highest level and helps content creators to maximize the overall system performance to increase productivity." The need for high-speed storage has increased with the popularity of 5G Wireless availability worldwide. Global markets including desktop PC, notebooks, gaming consoles, cloud servers and even mobile devices will benefit from increased data transfer rates and the bandwidth available for multitask purposes. The ecosystem consisting of AMD's AM5 platform, Phison's PS5026-E26 controller, Micron's DDR5 DRAM and Replacement Gate 3D NAND allow for platform acceleration across the entire system to meet the requirements for today's always-connected lifestyle.
"We are pleased to announce our cooperative effort with Micron and AMD to advance the technological development of PCIe Gen5 storage offerings, as this validates Phison's commitment to upholding customer-centric values," said Leo Huang, Sr. Director, Product Marketing, Phison. "The E26 controller enables gamers to compete at the highest level and helps content creators to maximize the overall system performance to increase productivity." The need for high-speed storage has increased with the popularity of 5G Wireless availability worldwide. Global markets including desktop PC, notebooks, gaming consoles, cloud servers and even mobile devices will benefit from increased data transfer rates and the bandwidth available for multitask purposes. The ecosystem consisting of AMD's AM5 platform, Phison's PS5026-E26 controller, Micron's DDR5 DRAM and Replacement Gate 3D NAND allow for platform acceleration across the entire system to meet the requirements for today's always-connected lifestyle.
