(PR) BIOSTAR Announces Socket AM5 Motherboard BIOS Updates to Support Next-Gen CPUs

BIOSTAR, a leading manufacturer of motherboards, graphics cards, and storage devices, today is excited to announce a brand-new BIOS update designed for its AMD AM5 series motherboards, incorporating the latest AGESA PI 1.1.7.0 Patch A architecture. This update is aimed at the imminent release of AMD's next-generation CPUs, ensuring that BIOSTAR motherboards are primed to unleash the full potential of these cutting-edge processors. With a strong focus on future-ready performance, this BIOS update will be available to download soon and is ready to redefine computing power and performance with the latest AMD processors. BIOSTAR invites users to stay tuned to its official website for the BIOS release and future updates.


https://www.techpowerup.com/321868/biost...t-gen-cpus

Samsung Signs $3 Billion HBM3E 12H Supply Deal with AMD

Korean media reports that Samsung Electronics has signed a 4.134 trillion Won ($3 billion) agreement with AMD to supply 12-high HBM3E stacks. AMD uses HBM stacks in its AI and HPC accelerators based on its CDNA architecture. This deal is significant, as it gives analysts some idea of the kind of volumes of AI GPUs AMD is preparing to push into the market, if they know what percent of an AI GPU's bill of materials is made up by memory stacks. AMD has probably negotiated a good price for Samsung's HBM3E 12H stacks, given that rival NVIDIA almost exclusively uses HBM3E made by SK Hynix.

The AI GPU market is expected to heat up with the ramp of NVIDIA's "Hopper" H200 series, the advent of "Blackwell," AMD's MI350X CDNA3, and Intel's Gaudi 3 generative AI accelerator. Samsung debuted its HBM3E 12H memory in February 2024. Each stack features 12 layers, a 50% increase over the first generation of HBM3E, and offers a density of 36 GB per stack. An AMD CDNA3 chip with 8 such stacks would have 288 GB of memory on package. AMD is expected to launch the MI350X in the second half of 2024. The star attraction with this chip is its refreshed GPU tiles built on the TSMC 4 nm EUV foundry node. This seems like the ideal product for AMD to debut HBM3E 12H on.


https://www.techpowerup.com/321835/samsu...l-with-amd

(PR) Kioxia Sampling Latest Generation UFS Ver. 4.0 Embedded Flash Memory Devices

Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, today announced that it has begun sampling the latest generation of its Universal Flash Storage (UFS) Ver. 4.0 embedded flash memory devices. Supported in capacities of 256 gigabytes (GB), 512 GB, and 1 terabyte (TB), the new products are well suited for a variety of next-generation mobile applications, including leading-edge smartphones. The enhanced performance of the new UFS products provides optimal utilization of 5G connectivity, resulting in accelerated downloads, minimized latency, and an enhanced user experience. A smaller package size contributes to board space efficiency and design flexibility.

Kioxia was the first to introduce UFS technology, and continues to develop new products. The latest UFS Ver. 4.0 devices integrate the company's innovative BiCS FLASH 3D flash memory and a controller in a JEDEC-standard package. UFS 4.0 incorporates MIPI M-PHY 5.0 and UniPro 2.0 and supports theoretical interface speeds of up to 23.2 gigabits per second (Gbps) per lane or 46.4 Gbps per device. UFS 4.0 is backward compatible with UFS 3.1. Read full story


https://www.techpowerup.com/321804/kioxi...ry-devices

Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5444 Beta Released

Intel over the weekend released the latest version of its Arc GPU Graphics drivers. Version 101.5444 Beta comes with significant performance uplifts for certain DirectX 11 games. Tested at 1080p with an Arc A770 and the highest in-game settings, the driver provides an up to 30% performance increase with "Astroneer," an up to 5% increase with "Days Gone," an up to 15% increase with "Dyson Sphere Program," up to 14% increase with "Lethal Company" and "Mass Effect Legendary Edition," an up to 8% increase with "Mount & Blade II: Bannerlord," an impressive 36% increase with "Need for Speed: Heat," 5% increases for "Unturned" and VR Chat; and 7% increase with "World of Warships."

The drivers also extend performance uplifts to the Arc iGPUs powering Core Ultra "Meteor Lake" processors. Tested at 1080p with medium or default settings, you can expect an up to 10% increase for "American Truck Simulator," an up to 17% increase for "Dyson Sphere Program," an up to 12% increase with "Fortnite Performance Mode," an up to 11% increase with "Grim Dawn," up to 24% performance increase with "Lethal Company," an impressive 48% increase with "Mass Effect Legendary Edition," and an up to 19% increase with "Need for Speed: Heat." Among the handful issues fixed with this release include an application crash when launching "No Rest for the Wicked" when launching prologue gameplay; a fullscreen display corruption when switching windows using alt+tab in "Asseto Corsa," and a display corruption noticed in "Halo Infinite" with ray traced shadows enabled. On Arc iGPUs, an issue that caused "Diablo IV" to exhibit corruption on the terrain has been fixed.

DOWNLOAD: Intel Arc GPU Graphics Drivers 101.5444 Beta Read full story


https://www.techpowerup.com/321776/intel...a-released

This Week in Gaming (Week 17)

As we enter the last full week of April, we're finally back to a busy release schedule again. This week's AAA title apparently had some last minute bugs squashed just this week, so let's hope the released game delivers on its promise. As for the rest of this week you can look forward to a VR horror shooter, a side scrolling action-adventure medtroidvania game, a Robin Hood wannabe game, a dungeon crawler you can play with friends online, a game about a hermit crab, a JRPG and finally a very sandy action RPG.

Manor Lords / This week's AAA release / Friday 26 April / Early Access
Manor Lords is a strategy game that allows you to experience the life of a medieval lord. Grow your starting village into a bustling city, manage resources and production chains, and expand your lands through conquest. Inspired by the art and architecture of late 14th century Franconia, Manor Lords prioritizes historical accuracy wherever possible, using it to inform gameplay mechanics and visuals alike. Common medieval tropes are avoided in favor of historical accuracy, in order to make the world feel more authentic, colorful, and believable. Steam Link Read full story


https://www.techpowerup.com/321766/this-...ng-week-17

(PR) SK hynix Collaborates with TSMC on HBM4 Chip Packaging

SK hynix Inc. announced today that it has recently signed a memorandum of understanding with TSMC for collaboration to produce next-generation HBM and enhance logic and HBM integration through advanced packaging technology. The company plans to proceed with the development of HBM4, or the sixth generation of the HBM family, slated to be mass-produced from 2026, through this initiative.

SK hynix said the collaboration between the global leader in the AI memory space and TSMC, a top global logic foundry, will lead to more innovations in HBM technology. The collaboration is also expected to enable breakthroughs in memory performance through trilateral collaboration between product design, foundry, and memory provider. The two companies will first focus on improving the performance of the base die that is mounted at the very bottom of the HBM package. HBM is made by stacking a core DRAM die on top of a base die that features TSV technology, and vertically connecting a fixed number of layers in the DRAM stack to the core die with TSV into an HBM package. The base die located at the bottom is connected to the GPU, which controls the HBM. Read full story


https://www.techpowerup.com/321689/sk-hy...-packaging

(PR) Team Group Unveils the MP44Q M.2 Gen 4 NVMe SSD

Renowned global memory brand Team Group Inc. is committed to providing consumers with diverse and optimal storage solutions. Today, it proudly unveils the Team Group MP44Q M.2 PCIe 4.0 Solid State Drive, featuring the latest 3D QLC NAND technology, combining cutting-edge technology with the trend of demanding high storage capacity to meet daily system and file storage needs.

Team Group MP44Q M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD utilizes the latest 3D QLC NAND, offering capacities of up to 4 TB. With the PCIe Gen 4 x4 interface and SLC Caching technology, it achieves maximum sequential read and write speeds of up to 7,400 MB/s and 6,500 MB/s, respectively. The MP44Q SSD operates with low power consumption, catering to all document processing and storage applications, significantly enhancing work efficiency. Paired with Team Group's exclusively patented graphene heat dissipation sticker, whose thickness is less than 1 mm, eliminating the potential for mechanical interference in any assembly, coupled with the native heat sink of the motherboard, such an arrangement effectively addresses the heat generated by high performance, extending the SSD's lifespan. Read full story


https://www.techpowerup.com/321656/team-...4-nvme-ssd

(PR) Samsung Develops Industry's Fastest 10.7Gbps LPDDR5X DRAM

Samsung Electronics, a world leader in advanced memory technology, today announced that it has developed the industry's first LPDDR5X DRAM supporting the industry's highest performance of up to 10.7 gigabits-per-second (Gbps). Leveraging 12 nanometer (nm)-class process technology, Samsung has achieved the smallest chip size among existing LPDDRs, solidifying its technological leadership in the low-power DRAM market.

"As demand for low-power, high-performance memory increases, LPDDR DRAM is expected to expand its applications from mainly mobile to other areas that traditionally require higher performance and reliability such as PCs, accelerators, servers and automobiles," said YongCheol Bae, Executive Vice President of Memory Product Planning of the Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. "Samsung will continue to innovate and deliver optimized products for the upcoming on-device AI era through close collaboration with customers." With the surge in AI applications, on-device AI, which enables direct processing on devices, is becoming increasingly crucial, underscoring the need for low-power, high-performance LPDDR memory. Read full story


https://www.techpowerup.com/321625/samsu...ddr5x-dram

Samsung Readies 290-layer 3D NAND for May 2024 Debut, Planning 430-layer for 2025

Samsung is preparing to launch its 9th Generation V-NAND (3D NAND flash) memory next month, Korean publication Hankyung reports. The 9th Gen 3D NAND flash memory by Samsung is expected to offer 290 layers, a step-up from the 236-layer 8th Gen V-NAND that the company debuted in 2022. Samsung reportedly achieved the 290-layer vertical stacking density through improvements in its flash layer stacking techniques that relies on increasing the layer counts through more memory holes in the flash layer. The cost here is data density per wafer, but a net gain from the increase in layer counts.

The same source behind the 9th Gen V-NAND story also reports that the company is targeting a rather early 2025 launch for its successor—the 10th Gen V-NAND. This is expected to be a mammoth 430-layer 3D NAND flash, a jump of 140 layers over the 9th Gen (which itself jumped by 54 layers over its predecessor). This would put Samsung back on track along with its competitors, Kioxia, SK Hynix, Micron Technology, and YMTC, as they gun for the ambitious goal of 1000-layer 3D NAND flash by 2030. Many Thanks to TumbleGeorge for the tip.


https://www.techpowerup.com/321557/samsu...r-for-2025

AMD to Stick to RDNA 3+ To Power Processor iGPUs Till 2027 At Least

The RDNA 3+ graphics architecture will power integrated graphics solutions of AMD processors for the foreseeable future, a reliable source with AMD leaks says. The company is planning to debut RDNA 3+, a feature update to RDNA 3, with the upcoming Ryzen "Strix Point" mobile processor. A scaled-up version will power the "Strix Halo" processor meant for notebooks with powerful integrated graphics. Given that AMD is able to scale between a certain number of compute units for its "Strix Point" and "Strix Halo" processors, it could stick with the graphics architecture for iGPUs with its upcoming processor microarchitectures even 3 years into the future.

This isn't new for AMD, the company's Vega graphics architecture debuted in 2017, but powered the iGPUs of its "Cezanne" mobile processor that came out as recently as 2021. The RDNA 3-based iGPU powering the current "Hawk Point" processor trades blows with the Arc "Alchemist" Xe-LPG iGPU powering Intel's "Meteor Lake" processor. Intel is expected to make a generational jump in iGPU performance with its upcoming "Lunar Lake" processor that debuts the Xe2 "Battlemage" graphics architecture for its iGPU, to which AMD is responding with a new iGPU based on the updated RDNA 3+.


https://www.techpowerup.com/321415/amd-t...7-at-least