PCI Express 7.0 to be ready this year: 4× faster than “Gen 5”

Nvidia’s new graphics cards are the first standard GPUs for gaming PCs to support PCI Express 5.0 instead of PCIe 4.0, but they are a bit late to the party as PCIe 5.0 support has been expected from the 2022’s generation of GPUs already. Development of these interfaces is well ahead of adoption, and it looks like the specification for the n+2 generation that awaits us sometime in the future will be ready this year. Read more “PCI Express 7.0 to be ready this year: 4× faster than “Gen 5”” »

Goals of HWCooling Techtour and photo gallery of the first year

The HWCooling Techtour project was born out of a love of learning about computer hardware. And we are very interested in spreading it in schools. They themselves need it, so that the fire of love for technology is kindled in the students, who may later become top experts thanks to it. Apart from a brief discussion on related matters, this article also features large photo galleries from the places where we premiered. Read more “Goals of HWCooling Techtour and photo gallery of the first year” »

Maker Faire: What 21st century creators brought to the show

Maker Faire festivals are a beautiful showcase of what modern technology makes possible. The whole maker world feels like a big playground for both kids and adults. It’s incredible to think about what anyone can create at home today, on a small budget, using programmable controllers and online resources. And there’s no need to be especially handy anymore—you can leave most of the work to 3D printers or home CNC machines. Read more “Maker Faire: What 21st century creators brought to the show” »

APX and AVX10 in two years? Intel to introduce them in Nova Lake

Last year, Intel unveiled plans for improving the x86 platform and instruction set, on which virtually all PC CPUs (from Intel, AMD, China’s Zhaoxin) are based: The APX extension, which breaks through the limitations in the number of registers (somewhat mitigating ARM’s advantage), and AVX10, which is the successor or evolution of AVX-512. For a long time it was unclear when these innovations would ship, but now we finally know. Read more “APX and AVX10 in two years? Intel to introduce them in Nova Lake” »

Intel cancels the 20A node, meant for Arrow Lake CPU production

Last week, Intel officially launched the first of their next-gen Core Ultra 200 CPUs, which brings new architectures as well as more advanced silicon technology. That raised optimistic expectations , but those are getting cast in doubt now. Intel has cancelled its 2nm manufacturing process node (Intel 20A), which was part of its plan to catch up with TSMC. However, the follow-up process nodes are still being developed. Read more “Intel cancels the 20A node, meant for Arrow Lake CPU production” »

TSMC has cheaper 4nm node, making low-end CPUs, GPUs viable

State-of-the-art process nodes are getting more expensive, and even the cost per transistor isn’t dropping anymore, so we’ll increasingly see cheap CPUs and GPUs being unable to use the latest processes. Fortunately, TSMC is also preparing lower-cost versions alongside the high-end nodes. Right now, 6nm node serves the role, but cheaper 4nm manufacturing should soon be available instead, which could help a lot especially for GPUs. Read more “TSMC has cheaper 4nm node, making low-end CPUs, GPUs viable” »

Stacked DRAM on the horizon. Could be a revolution like 3D NAND

DRAM used in operating memory has long been experiencing problems. It doesn’t have the best scaling to new manufacturing nodes, which limits capacity growth. Things used to be similar with 15nm NAND Flash, the last gen  before planar technology was replaced by 3D NAND. That literally breathed new life (or at least TBWs) into SSDs. However, a stacked “3D” version is now shaping up for DRAM as well, giving hopes it could be similarly groundbreaking. Read more “Stacked DRAM on the horizon. Could be a revolution like 3D NAND” »

RTX Video HDR: Nvidia’s AI gives ordinary web videos HDR look

Last year, Nvidia introduced a feature called RTX Video Super Resolution, which uses the GPU to upscale and enhance web video with a DLSS 1.0-like filter utilising an artificial intelligence (though you can use this upscaler in VLC Media Player as well). This technology has now been extended to RTX Video HDR, which is again an AI filter that recreates (simulates) an HDR component for an ordinary video, adding high dynamic range visuals. Read more “RTX Video HDR: Nvidia’s AI gives ordinary web videos HDR look” »

HAMR disks are here. Seagate launches Mozaic 3+, a laser HDD

It was supposed to happen last year, but it wouldn’t be HAMR if the technology wasn’t always further away from market than expected. However, we finally have the official announcement of the first of these “laser” HDDs, the arrival of which kept being anticipated and then delayed over and over for the last decade or more. HAMR drives use amazingly advanced nanotechnology, but according to Seagate, their reliability has been carefully tested. Read more “HAMR disks are here. Seagate launches Mozaic 3+, a laser HDD” »

Nvidia unveils DLSS 3.5: Better ray tracing not only for RTX 4000

Nvidia has now announced a new iteration of its DLSS AI upscaling technology, following on from the third generation or DLSS 3 from last year. However, the new DLSS 3.5 is somewhat confusingly named, as it is to some extent more of a continuation of DLSS 2.x – this improvement will not depend on DLSS 3 (also referred to as Frame Generation). That means it works on older GeForce RTX 2000 and RTX 3000 generation graphics cards. Read more “Nvidia unveils DLSS 3.5: Better ray tracing not only for RTX 4000” »

Microsoft preparing its own AI chips to compete with Nvidia’s GPUs

The development of artificial intelligence has gained mainstream awareness in recent months with news around ChatGPT and OpenAI and similar projects. These advanced neural networks and AI models have large hardware requirements, benefiting Nvidia, whose GPUs are used to train and run these neural networks. But this interest may also bring new competitors. Among them is reportedly Microsoft, which is preparing its own chips for AI. Read more “Microsoft preparing its own AI chips to compete with Nvidia’s GPUs” »

Kioxia trying HLC NAND with 7 bits per cell, LN2 cooling required

A few years ago, we used to look down on TLC NAND flash that stores 3 bits in a single cell and ask for SSDs with SLC (just 1-bit) flash memory. Since then, TLC has become the norm, and the lower-quality tier was taken over by QLC chips with 4 bits per cell and even worse endurance and performance. And it seems this trend could continue, as Kioxia and WD are preparing “hepta-level cell” NAND that would store 7 bits at once. Read more “Kioxia trying HLC NAND with 7 bits per cell, LN2 cooling required” »

First AMD FSR 3.0 sneak peek, technology is similar to DLSS 3

Few months ago, AMD has announced ongoing work on the third generation of FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) upscaling, which should bring a similar feature to DLSS 3 – interpolating of intermediate frames inserted between legitimate game frames, much like TVs do with video and movies. AMD has now formally confirmed this and presented FSR 3.0, which will offer frame interpolation and will again be open technology (including source code). Read more “First AMD FSR 3.0 sneak peek, technology is similar to DLSS 3” »

WD introduces Dual Actuator HDDs reaching SATA SSDs speeds

Hard drives are often considered obsolete or plain bad technology, but they still serve an important role when vast storage space is needed without breaking the bank. Fortunately, this technology is still continuing to evolve. We’ve seen HAMR from Seagate recently and now it’s Western Digital’s turn with a performance-enhancing innovation for a change. Performance is chief weakness of HDDs, but there are ways to improve it. Read more “WD introduces Dual Actuator HDDs reaching SATA SSDs speeds” »

FSR 2.0 is no eyesore now. AMD upscaler analysis in Deathloop

The second version of FidelityFX Super Resolution is officially released. This upscaler premiered in Deathloop, the first and so far the only supported game. We compared FSR 2.0 with FSR 1.0 in our tests, both visually and performance-wise. While FSR 1.0 couldn’t compete visually with Nvidia’s DLSS, and the result was significantly worse, AMD pulled the thorn out of its heel with FSR 2.0. A full-featured alternative is now available. Read more “FSR 2.0 is no eyesore now. AMD upscaler analysis in Deathloop” »