Despite China’s efforts to localize production of virtually all kinds of chips and processors and the U.S. attempts to block Chinese entities from accessing advanced American CPUs, GPUs, and ASICs, China-based companies are reluctant to switch to domestic alternatives, according to a DigiTimes report. Interestingly, this applies to all kinds of semiconductors, from components for… Read more
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Chinese companies are reportedly reluctant to adopt homegrown chips — domestic solutions are technologically too far behind
Maxsun makes a GPU with two built-in M.2 SSD ports — Intel Arc B580 graphics card leverages unused PCIe lanes on the PCIe x16 slot
Maxsun has recently launched two Intel Arc B580 graphics cards. Interestingly, another report via VideoCardz, indicates that the company is also preparing a third variant of the Battlemage GPU which will take advantage of the unused PCIe lanes in the x16 slot to provide bandwidth for two M.2 slots on the graphics card’s PCB. Our… Read more
read more...Supermicro to help Musk scale xAI supercomputer to a million GPUs — Supermicro will set up local operations in Memphis to facilitate operations
Supermicro CEO Charles Liang announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he will set up shop near xAI’s Colossus AI supercomputer to help Musk achieve his dream of one million GPUs. Liang said that he plans to establish “local operations/production, validation, service and support.” Although it has been previously reported that Elon Musk shifted $6 billion… Read more
read more...Seagate’s HAMR HDDs qualified by customers — volume shipments imminent
Seagate’s Exos Mozaic 3+ hard drives featuring its heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) technology have passed qualification at leading customers, and the company is ready to ship these HDDs in volumes. While previously the company shipped these drives inside its Corvault and Lyve systems and to select customers, volumes of these products were low. Now that some of the company’s… Read more
read more...Intel appoints two new board members with semiconductor backgrounds following Gelsinger exit
Intel has appointed Eric Meurice, former CEO of ASML, and Steve Sanghi, chairman and interim CEO of Microchip Technology, to its board of directors. Both are seasoned leaders in the semiconductor industry and bring decades of expertise and significant accomplishments to the board previously led by people without microelectronics experience. What is noteworthy is that… Read more
read more...Polysoft offers $849 8TB SSD upgrade module for Mac Studio — reverse-engineered SSD vastly undercuts Apple’s $2,220 price
Apple products have historically faced criticism for their limited upgradeability and repairability – but most users realize these aspects after the fact – say when they need to upgrade their aging SSD – because, like most other things in life, SSDs also have a limited lifespan. Bypassing Apple’s proprietary implementation, Polysoft has been developing custom… Read more
read more...Nvidia bids goodbye to GeForce Experience — Nvidia App officially replaces it in the latest driver update
GeForce Experience is notably missing in Nvidia’s latest driver update—Nvidia Graphics Driver Version 566.36—while the Nvidia app takes its place when you look at the driver components. The AI and graphics card company wanted to unify all GPU-related controls to the new Nvidia app, replacing GeForce Experience and the Nvidia Control Panel. It has worked… Read more
read more...TSMC is reportedly in talks with Nvidia to make Blackwell GPUs in Arizona — Blackwell silicon needs to be shipped back to Taiwan for assembly
TSMC is negotiating with Nvidia to produce its Blackwell GPUs for AI at its Fab 21 near Phoenix, Arizona, reports Reuters. If the companies ink an appropriate agreement, Nvidia might get additional Blackwell GPUs produced in the U.S., undoubtedly pleasing its customers and politicians. There are a couple of catches, though. Nvidia’s Blackwell GPUs are made using… Read more
read more...Valve publishes Powered by SteamOS brand guidelines — logo readied for third-party hardware bundled with this Linux-based OS
Valve has published branding guidelines that make its intentions to deliver SteamOS 3 to a wide range of third-party hardware devices clearer than ever. GamingOnLinux highlights the document’s ‘Powered by SteamOS’ logo, brand guidelines, and Valve’s instructions regarding when and where to use this artwork on devices and packaging. The guidance document contains information about… Read more
read more...3DMark gets new DirectStorage benchmark — GDeflate measures transfer rates from NVMe SSD to GPU VRAM
Well-known complete system benchmarking suite 3DMark is now adding a DirectStorage feature test to its suite of features. This DirectStorage feature test demonstrates the transfer rate of NVMe storage to GPU VRAM (storage-to-scene speed, basically) across three speed tiers: no DirectStorage, DirectStorage, and DirectStorage with GDeflate. Without GDeflate, DirectStorage only increases maximum throughput to about… Read more
read more...Jobs eviscerated at Chinese Arm chip design firm in wake of restrictions from TSMC — lack of access to 7nm node could cause 150 employees to be laid off
Chinese server CPU designer Hongjun Microelectronics Technology might lay off up to half of its 300-strong workforce, reports Digitimes because it no longer has access to TSMC’s 7nm node. According to media outlets in China, such as MyDrivers and ICSmart, which cite social media posts, up to 150 employees of the Chinese chip designer could… Read more
read more...Scientists develop the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery, offering a 5,000-year lifespan — the device uses radioactive decay to generate low power levels
A team of scientists and engineers from two British institutions built the world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery that has the potential to deliver low amounts of power for thousands of years. According to the University of Bristol, the battery uses carbon-14 encased in a manufactured diamond to generate power. The radioactive decay of carbon-14, more… Read more
read more...With this Raspberry Pi powered mask you can ‘become anyone’ hidden behind 2,960 LEDs
We’ve covered our fair share of Raspberry Pi-powered LED matrix projects, but this is the first wearable we’ve seen quite like this. Maker and developer Sean Hodgins has created a mask covered in LEDs that lets you set custom images, changing your face and essentially turns your head into a 3D video player made of… Read more
read more...Intel says Arc Xe4 Druid GPUs are already in the works — Software optimization is the only remaining step for Xe3 Celestial as it approaches launch with Panther Lake
The announcement of Battlemage two days prior refuted industry-wide rumors that Intel was planning to sunset discrete Arc GPUs. After the fact, enthusiasts are already speculating about the next generation, namely Celestial. Tom Peterson from Intel AKA “TAP” joined The Full Nerd Podcast yesterday and confirmed that Arc isn’t going anywhere – anytime soon with… Read more
read more...O.MG USB-C cable CT scan reveals sinister active electronics — contains a hidden antenna and another die embedded in the microcontroller
(Image credit: Lumafield) Industrial CT scanner manufacturer Lumafield imaged an O.MG USB-C cable revealing sophisticated electronic components secreted within the connector. Lumafield product lead Jon Bruner shared on X (formerly Twitter) a CT scan that revealed the interior of the O.MG cable, showing advanced electronics, and an antenna — a much more complicated design versus… Read more
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