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With the announcement of Nvidia's GeForce Partner Program, Asus thought it would be wise to differentiate its GPU brands into ROG (for Nvidia) and Arez (for AMD). Since the GPP was killed in its infancy, speculators were quick to proclaim that the Arez brand will cease to exist as well. Asus retorted promptly, dismissing any greatly exaggerated rumors.

When PowerColor released the RX Vega 56 Red Dragon earlier this year, there was talk that a true ITX sized version might be on the way due to the miniature PCB underneath the full-sized cooler. They have now confirmed that a 'Nano' design will be showcased during Computex 2018.

The EM-B13KG mini PC and EM-NM14KG 14-inch gaming laptop from Emdoor will most likely come with very affordable prices. Both can be equipped with the i5 and i7 Kaby Lake-G CPUs that integrate AMD's Radeon RX Vega M GPUs, up to 8 GB DDR4 RAM, SSD storage (+HDD for the mini PC), and the list of connectors is quite generous.

An official slide from AMD sneaked into the official AMD Ryzen Pro mobility APU presentation, revealing that the company is currently sampling the second generation of Threadripper HEDT CPUs. These are build using the Zen+ 12 nm process, and will bring improved memory latencies together with higher default and boost clocks.

AMD announced new Ryzen Pro APUs and all three major OEMs Dell, HP, and Lenovo were on display with corresponding products. We had the chance to talk with the manufacturers and check the new models hands-on.

HP has announced refreshes to its Envy notebook lineup including the Envy 13, Envy 17, Envy x360 13, and Envy x360 15. The standout feature of these notebooks is the new minimalist chiseled appearance similar to the patterning found in sword blades made from Damascus steel. Internally, all notebooks receive an upgrade to the Intel 8th generation CPUs with the Envy x360 offering AMD Ryzen with Vega graphics options as well. The Envy x360 15 also sports a 650-nit bright panel for excellent outdoor legibility.

Intel Cannon Lake once was a very highly anticipated CPU-release. After massive delays, the first Intel CPU generation that is manufactured in the advanced 10 nanometer process has finally arrived – and it enters the market silently, in a low-budget device.

Lon Seidman recently hosted a podcast with Notebookcheck's own Douglas Black. Over the hour, Douglas discussed his work with Notebookcheck and UltrabookReview with Lon and the process behind writing reviews of laptops in the online era. The duo also discussed the laptop market at large and some interesting trends they are currently watching.

Based solely on our two XPS 15 9575 samples, the presence of Hyper-Threading for the Core i5 series has allowed the 65 W i5-8305G to perform much more closely to the 65 W i7-8705G than one would expect. This is in stark contrast to the older 45 W i5-7300HQ where the 45 W i7-7700HQ and even the 15 W i7-8550U can outperform it in multi-threaded workloads. Shoppers now have one less reason to buy the more expensive i7 over the i5.

The codenames for the upcoming Vega 20 and Vega 12 GPUs were mentioned in the latest LLVM and Clang compiler patches. Codenamed GFX906, the Vega 20 will support native AI instructions and the patch information reveals that it will benefit from the 7 nm tech, while the Vega 12 codenamed GFX904 is rumored to be replacing the Polaris series (Radeon RX 580 and co.) later this year.

Nvidia has decided to cancel the controversial GeForce Partner Program (GPP). A blog post by John Teeple, the person responsible for Nvidia’s GeForce Partner Marketing, has the very unambiguous title “Pulling the Plug on GPP, Leaning into GeForce.” The program has attracted a considerable amount of criticism since its introduction barely two months ago.

Thanks to TSMC's new stacked wafer manufacturing process, future CPUs and GPUs could double the performance just by integrating dies with two wafers. For now, only two wafers can be stacked one on top of the other, but in the future, dies could include multiple wafers and get a vertical design, instead of a horizontal one. The only problem is current dual-wafer designs have low yields for manufacturing processes under 16 nm, but TSMC is working to improve that.

When Chris Hook first announced he was leaving AMD, many analysts speculated that he could join Intel and his long-time partner Raja Koduri, who has been working for Intel since late 2017. Hook recently confirmed these rumors and explained he is starting a new marketing leadership role at Intel in Santa Clara. The two former AMD gurus will be working on the Arctic Sound and Jupiter Sound discrete GPUs with which Intel is planning to take on AMD and Nvidia.

Atari has announced in a new press release that the Atari VCS hardware platform will have a pre-sale starting on May 30. The console will be available from US$199 during the pre-sale, which is being exclusively held through the crowdfunding website Indiegogo. However, the first actual shipments aren’t expected to start until spring 2019.

The venerable Core architecture first released in 2006 is rapidly approaching its final days, as Intel is hard at work on a next gen microarchitecture that should take performance to the next level. A recent job listing revealed that this architecture is codenamed Ocean Cove, and it could be implemented in Alder Lake cores some time in 2020 or 2021.

Shortly after finding out that AMD is working on 7 nm Vega 20 GPUs, the alleged benchmark results for this upcoming product were spotted in the 3DMark 11 database. According to the listing, the Vega 20 with 32 GB of HBM2 memory clocked at 1.25 GHz is about 70 percent faster per clock than the RX Vega 64 Liquid.

The AMD processors that will probably hit the market soon were recently spotted in the official product master list available on AMD.com. In addition to the dual-core and quad-core desktop and mobile Ryzen processors, there are also three Threadrippers: the octa-core 2900X, the 12-core 2920X, and the 16-core 2950X.

Although the new XPS 15 2-in-1 (9575) was supposed to begin shipping more than a week ago, Frank Azor has just confirmed that many early adopters still have to receive their machines due to a delay that has been caused by "a small bad batch of the Mag lev keyboard." Even more, the i9 processor upgrade for the XPS 15 9570 is not available yet but will be added on May 10.

In the recently announced Q1 2018 earnings report, AMD's CEO Lisa Su mentions that the company is already testing 7 nm Radeon Instinct GPUs, which should be sampling later this year. This GPU series is most likely part of the Vega 20 family that appeared in previously leaked roadmap slides. Spec-wise, the Instinct looks to be a solid competitor for Nvidia's Volta AI GPUs.

Dell has introduced a new SKU to its lineup that halves the storage capacity for a cheaper introductory price of $1300 USD. Core specifications are otherwise untouched from the Core i5-8305G CPU, FHD touchscreen, Radeon Vega M GL GPU, and 8 GB of DDR4 RAM. The new SKU is a smart move since the SSD in the XPS 15 9575 is easy to upgrade if necessary.

The graphics card demand drop is certainly a serious profitability issue for the Taiwanese suppliers, but this also means that gamers can now get the graphics cards they need for prices close to the original MSRP. Crypto miners are waiting to see if Bitmain's Ethereum ASICs are indeed worth it over GPU cards, however, if the upcoming GTX 11xx and AMD Navi cards would prove even better, we might see the price inflation scenario all over again.

Intel is putting together a team of industry visionaries to help counterattack AMD's Ryzen offensive. Ironically, most of the industry veterans recently coopted by Intel include veterans who used to work for AMD. Raja Koduri and possibly Chris Hook could focus on the development of discrete GPUs, while the latest addition, Jim Keller - one of AMD's prominent CPU engineers, would work his magic on upcoming innovative microprocessors.

After failing to turn a profit for the best part of the last decade, AMD has reported a net profit of US$81 million for the first quarter of 2018. The company can pin its turnaround on the success of its Ryzen chip family, which is putting pressure on Intel for the first time in years.

According to Dell, Kaby Lake-G caters better to casual mainstream gamers while the Alienware brand will stick to hardcore gamers and enthusiasts with the familiar Intel H-series and Nvidia GTX GPUs. The Intel-AMD processors will instead be used for Dell's mainstream families like the XPS line to provide GTX 1050-level graphics.

AMD has coupled first-generation Ryzen CPUs along with an MSI variant of Radeon RX 580 GPU and a compatible MSI motherboard in a bundle named 'Combat Crate'. The combat crates target gamers by providing them with the essentials for a new build in a single package for US$40 less compared to buying the components individually.

It's been almost five months since the official reveal of Kaby Lake-G and there is only one manufacturer other than Intel currently shipping a Kaby Lake-G product. We put the pieces together to find out why there are so few of these systems in the market and why most manufacturers are staying silent on the matter.

Today Dell has announced three new models in their business and corporate orientated OptiPlex line of desktop computers, which are currently in their 25th year of production. These new models include two All-in-one (AIO) and a micro (ultra-small form factor) designs for more discrete office setups.

When AMD announced their second generation Ryzen processors a few days ago the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X was positioned at the top, rather than something like a 2800 or 2800X to match the Ryzen 7 1800X. However, AMD’s Senior Vice President, Jim Anderson, has hinted that we might see a 2800X at a later date.

The AMD Ryzen 5 2400GE and Ryzen 3 2200GE are available with the same number of cores and threads as the 2400G and 2200G, but with a lower TDP of just 35 W. Other than the lowered frequencies and TDP, the new chips feature the same Vega 11 (2400GE) and Vega 8 (2200GE) iGPUs as their predecessors.

Famed overclocker 'der8auer' has managed to overclock the new AMD Ryzen 7 2700X to cross the 6 GHz on all cores. He managed to achieve this by first selecting the best CPUs for the task and then subjecting them to LN2 cooling. Consumer use isn't anywhere going to get close to that figure but it is still good to know that Ryzen are really as overclocker-friendly as AMD claims.

The E485 model will feature a 14-inch 1366 x 768 IPS screen, while the E585 will come with a 15.6-inch FHD display. Hardware configurations for both variants are identical and include AMD Ryzen Mobile CPUs all the way up to Ryzen 7 2700U coupled with up to 32 GB of DDR4 RAM and up to 1 TB HDDs, plus up to 512 GB NVMe SSDs on select SKUs.

AMD has finally taken wraps off its 2nd generation Ryzen chips. The 2700X and the 2600X are at the helm of the Ryzen 7 and Ryzen 5 series respectively and are made to offer great multi-core and gaming performance in comparison with equivalent processors from Intel. AMD touts great and consistent overclocking potential and advanced capabilities of the AM4 socket and the X470 chipset to offer great performance for the buck.

AMD's Scott Herkelman took to pen a blog post regarding AMD's stance in providing choice to the PC gamer. Although his post does not directly mention the controversial NVIDIA GeForce Partner Program, there is enough information in the post to convey that AMD will not take NVIDIA's route in the garb of ensuring a great PC gaming experience.

Taiwanese computer manufacturer Asus has announced a rebranding for the AMD graphics cards that were previously part of the Republic of Gamers (ROG) line-up. The new name for the series is AREZ, which derives from Ares, the Greek god of war. The new AREZ-branded cards are expected to be available from May onwards.

Initial benchmarks of the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 are out and the Zen+-based 'Pinnacle Ridge' chip trades blows with the similarly priced Intel Core i5-8600K in most benchmarks. The Ryzen 5 2600 shows very good performance in synthetic benchmarks. However, Intel still has the edge when it comes to gaming even if its only by a few frames per second.

In the wake of AMD making its Ryzen 2 platform official, MSI has released new motherboards based on the new X470 chipset. Features common to all these boards include support for two M.2 slots with support for PCIe 3.0 x4 SSDs, four DIMM slots, MSI Mystic Light RGB LED control software, and proprietary hardware utilities.

Dell has launched the new Inspiron 13 7000 convertible and Inspiron 15 5000 notebooks powered by AMD Ryzen APUs without much fanfare. Both notebooks come with options of either the Ryzen 5 2500U or the Ryzen 7 2700U APU and are available in a range of price options. However, initial user reviews on Reddit have criticized Dell for reusing a 2016 Inspiron 13 7368 chassis.

Nvidia's voluntary-but-shady program that puts financial preferences for its members over non-members has turned away two of the largest OEMs in the world due to what the source claims to be "likely illegal" practices. The chipmaker has yet to provide any direct comments surrounding the details of its GeForce Partner Program.

The AMD Ryzen 2700X was given a test drive ahead of its official announcement and the CPU has managed to put up an impressive show. The Ryzen 2700X has managed to beat or come in close proximity to the Intel Core i7-8700K in gaming benchmarks and was absolutely stellar in multi-threaded performance.

Move over, Hades Canyon. There's a new Kaby Lake G mini PC in town. The Beelink KB-G1 Game is an ultra-SFF desktop sporting Intel's new Core i7-8809G CPU with RX Vega M graphics. Although the KB-G1 Game is slightly thicker then the Hades Canyon NUC, it can support up to four displays at one time.

AMD has officially launched its 2nd Gen Ryzen Series high-performance chips for desktop computers. While faster acrosss the range, AMD has also been aggressive with its pricing strategy, cutting prices and putting further pressure on Intel in the process.

According to rumors, AMD's Navi-based GPUs, which are slotted for release in 2019, may compete with Nvidia's GTX 1080 but not supersede it. This could spell trouble for AMD; the GPU shortage caused by the cryptomining craze particularly hit AMD's stock, and the lack of a competitive GPU next year may cause a loss of market share.