Fans of alternative CPUs now have a new thing to talk about besides the mainstream offerings from Intel, AMD and the increasingly established Arm. Five years after Power10, a new generation is here: IBM Power11. Though it has to be said it’s focusing on enterprise systems and users, and IBM is no longer targeting mass-market servers or workstations, so this hardware is unlikely to end up in the hands of regular users. Read more “Power11 is here: New generation of IBM RISC processors detailed”
Rumors suggesting that the next generation of AMD CPUs based on the Zen 6 architecture could surpass 6 GHz have been out for quite some time (while today, Zen 5 cores top out at 5.7 GHz). However, the YouTube channel Moore’s Law is Dead has now thrown more fuel on the fire, claiming these CPUs could reach 7 GHz or even higher. But before you fall for the hype, it’s important to note that reality is likely to look a bit different. Read more “7 GHz? AMD aims high with Zen 6 clocks, but there’s a catch…”
The majority of PCs, mobile and server processors have consolidated around the x86 and Arm architectures, with RISC-V having some potential—currently it’s limited to embedded. However, China is home to one of the few exceptions: Loongson processors (the only other might be IBM Power). The company has now introduced a new generation of server CPUs, which is the most powerful branch of this CPU lineage yet, offering up to 64 cores. Read more “Chinese CPUs: Loongson launches 64-core processor for servers”
In recent days, several leaks have surfaced about Intel’s next-gen Core Ultra 400 processors, codenamed Nova Lake — we’ve seen core counts that the various model tiers will have as well as platform and chipset connectivity. Over the weekend, another interesting piece of information leaked: data on projected (or perhaps promised) performance of the processors that is being included in Intel’s internal or partner-only presentations. Read more “Internal Intel document reveals expected Nova Lake performance”
AMD recently held a conference titled Advancing AI 2025, which – as you might guess – focused entirely on new developments in artificial intelligence hardware and software. Processors are a part of AI servers and racks, and at the conference, AMD revealed something that relates not just to AI, but to computing as a whole. The company showed a server platform roadmap that appears to be revealing when Zen 7 will arrive. Read more “AMD roadmap: Zen 7 CPUs coming as soon as in 2027?”
Week ago, we learned AMD is launching a low-cost (if compromised) six-core Ryzen 5 5500X3D for AM4. “X3D” CPUs with 3D V-Cache are attractive to gamers with their 96MB L3 cache that significantly boosts games – but they’re fairly expensive. The Ryzen 7 9800X3D, for instance, sells for over 480 EUR. AMD, however, is now preparing a more affordable model in the current 9000 series that could bring this technology to more gamers. Read more “Ryzen 5 9600X3D incoming: Six-core Zen 5 with V-Cache confirmed”
Intel’s Arrow Lake desktop CPUs have much more interesting integrated GPUs than the previous Core processors, but they’re derived from the 1st gen Arc graphics, lagging behind the Lunar Lake processors that include the Xe2 architecture like the new Arc “Battlemage” cards. However, it appears the upcoming Nova Lake generation due out next year could mark a significant leap forward in integrated GPU capabilities and be quite compelling. Read more “Intel Nova Lake CPUs will bring big iGPU and media engine upgrades”
At Computex 2025, we visited Gigabyte – one of the top manufacturers of graphics cards, motherboards, and other gear, including laptops. This year, the company focused strongly on laptops, but it also showcased other highlights, like a PC that is the closest thing to a fully Nvidia-powered computer today, with the GB10 processor. There was also a notable CXL memory expansion for systems that have filled all their RAM slots. Read more “Gigabyte at Computex: Nvidia processor, Stealth, and special GPUs”
Not only did AMD unveil the Radeon RX 9060 XT at Computex, the company also launched new processors for the so-called HEDT (high-end desktop) and workstation segments – the Ryzen Threadripper 9000 series. These chips build upon the Threadripper 7000 platform but upgrade to the Zen 5 CPU architecture, which is especially important in this category as Zen 5 offers full 512-bit SIMD units, so AVX-512 code can deliver up to 2× the performance. Read more “Threadripper 9000 Is Here: Up to 96 Cores with Fullspeed AVX-512”
Both Nvidia and MediaTek will be presenting their innovations at Computex. It’s possible that lots of reports about a joint processor – or even a processor developed solely by Nvidia – being unveiled at this event are speculative, simply betting on the likelihoods, but there seems to be a solid foundation behind the rumors too. Growing number of signs point to PC manufacturers already working on hardware based on these processors. Read more “Nvidia rumored to unveil its own ARM CPUs for PCs at Computex”
Although Intel still dominates the CPU market share compared to AMD, this is mostly due to the conservative OEM desktop and laptop markets. In the retail CPU segment – especially relevant for gamers – Intel has been taking a beating. Retail sales of the new Arrow Lake / Core Ultra 200 processors appear to be underwhelming, which likely led to an unusual move: Intel has now issued a significant price cut on Arrow Lake chips. Read more “Intel slashes prices of select Arrow Lake CPUs by 25%”
Ever since Intel released its new desktop LGA 1851 platform for Arrow Lake processors last fall, there has been speculation that this socket might have only a short lifespan. The LGA 1851 platform never received the originally planned Meteor Lake processors, and the third generation (Panther Lake) won’t come to desktops either. It looks like those concerns were well-founded. No new generation of CPUs will be released for LGA 1851. Read more “Intel Nova Lake CPUs to use a new socket, LGA 1851 is done”
Not long ago, rumors surfaced that AMD’s upcoming Zen 6 CPU architecture would be based on 3nm node, but on a 2nm process. At the time, it was unclear whether those YouTube reports were credible. But time has validated them – AMD itself has now confirmed that its next-gen CPUs will use the 2nm node, and even revealed that its 2nm processor has already completed tape-out at TSMC, as one of the very first chips to do so. Read more “AMD boasts the first 2nm processor – First “HPC” one, that is”
It has been 8 months since AMD introduced the Ryzen AI 300 “Strix Point” to the market – these are the first APUs (monolithic low-power CPUs with relatively strong integrated GPUs) based on the Zen 5 architecture. Until now, it was unclear whether these CPUs would ever have a desktop version. However, reports have just emerged suggesting that processors featuring Zen 5 and improved integrated graphics are on the way. Read more “Zen 5 desktop APU is coming to AM5 by the end of the year”
Is Intel on track to overcome its long crisis? It will be decided by company’s fabs – a strategic advantage but now a burden the company can no longer afford. Intel now needs external clients to sustain them and whether these clients will come depends on the ability to deliver competitive technologies. The company is pinning its hopes on the 18A process. Production using this technology has just begun, so the answer may come soon. Read more “Intel launches mass production on 1.8nm. Panther Lake tiles?”
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