Tom's Hardware

Mystery second hard drive maker gears up to start producing laser-powered HAMR HDDs — either WD or Toshiba preps to release new recording tech

Intevac, a maker of thin-film processing systems, has disclosed that it had landed orders from another customer for a machine that processes magnetic films for HAMR media. Intevac hasn’t disclosed which company will field the drives, but logic dictates that either Toshiba or Western Digital is gearing up to begin producing hard drives based on the heat-assisted magnetic… Read more

Elon Musk hints at building stripped-down Gmail alternative — billionaire first revealed Xmail intentions back in February

Elon Musk’s digital ambitions are set to encompass one of the oldest and most established forms of communication on the internet—email. Musk first told a Twitter/X user, “It’s coming,” when asked about an email offering in February this year. This week, he hinted at stripped-down thread-less Xmail, in stark contrast to Google’s popular Gmail. With… Read more

Rapidus is first Japanese company to install ASML’s cutting-edge EUV machine — chipmaking tool for 2nm chips expected to be operational this year

Rapidus has successfully begun installing ASML’s Twinscan NXE:3800E EUV lithography system at its Innovative Integration for Manufacturing (IIM-1) facility in Chitose, Hokkaido, marking a significant milestone for Japan’s semiconductor industry. In 2025, the tool will be used to make prototype chips using a 2nm process technology and then for commercial semiconductor production starting in 2027…. Read more

Nvidia may postpone volume ramp-up of Blackwell machines: TrendForce

(Image credit: CoreWeave) Nvidia may have to postpone the volume ramp of next-generation AI servers based on the B200 and GB200 platforms due to overheating, power consumption, and the necessity to optimize interconnections, according to a TrendForce report. The market research firm believes that mass production and peak shipments of Blackwell machines will occur sometime in mid-2025, which means… Read more

U.S. gov’t removes China’s chip toolmaker AMEC from the list of ‘military companies’

The U.S. Department of Defense has removed Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment (AMEC), an etching and deposition toolmaker from China, from the list of companies operating in America and linked to the Chinese military, reports the South China Morning Post. While the removal makes the chipmaking tool developer’s life somewhat easier, it remains in the Department of Commerce’s… Read more

Asus ROG Strix Z890-A Gaming WiFi motherboard review: Snazzy snow owl

Tom’s Hardware Verdict Priced at $399.99, the Z890-A Gaming WiFi is a well-equipped upper-midrange motherboard that delivers all the Z890 platform offers and many (but not all!) of Asus’ AI and DIY-Friendly features. Other similarly equipped and priced options are available, but none stand out over this white model from Asus. Pros + Improved aesthetics… Read more

Qualcomm CEO expected to save $1.4 billion in Arm royalties by purchasing Nuvia, assumed Snapdragon X chips would be a massive hit

Qualcomm CEO Christiano Amon told the company board that purchasing Nuvia outright would save it as much as $1.4 billion per year in payments to Arm. This admission was revealed during the Arm vs. Qualcomm trial, where the former claimed that the Snapdragon X chips the latter released earlier this year were infringing on its… Read more

Intel’s Arrow Lake performance fix is now available — another update coming next month

Intel announced that its first wave of updates to address the gaming performance issues plaguing the Arrow Lake processors is now available. Intel says the updates available today will deliver “signficant performance upside” and restore the “complete and intended functionality” of the Core Ultra 200S Arrow Lake processors. We’re currently testing the fixes and have… Read more

MSI opens its first laptop manufacturing facility in India — MSI bets big on India’s explosive projected demand for high-performance laptop devices

MSI has opened up laptop manufacturing operations in India to meet increasing market demand. DigiTimes Asia reports that MSI is introducing two entirely local models to India that will not be sold anywhere else, the Modern 14 and Thin 15. MSI announced its first facility will be built in Chennai, where the India-exclusive Modern 14… Read more

Intel lists the Core 200H mobile CPU lineup based on an aging Raptor Lake design — Core 200H sports up to 14 cores and 5.8 GHz boost clocks

Intel has confirmed the existence of a Core 200H family through a new table published on its website (via momomo_x). The chip maker’s updated naming scheme positions these processors as budget alternatives to the Core Ultra 200H (Arrow Lake) family, which is expected to launch next month. While Intel’s comparison table only mentions the H-class… Read more

Indiana bakery still using Commodore 64s originally released in 1982 as cash registers — Hilligoss Bakery in Brownsburg sticks to the BASICs

(Image credit: Pexels / William Warby) A recently posted photograph of old-school Commodore 64s, which debuted 42 years ago, in use as registers at a modern bakery has attracted a lot of attention. As further sleuthed by commenters, this bakery was identified as the Hilligoss Bakery in Brownsburg, Indiana, and the last publicly posted picture… Read more

AMD 3D V-Cache teardown shows the majority of the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is dummy silicon

It’s been over a month since AMD launched its Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor which quickly established itself as the fastest gaming CPU in the world. To investigate AMD’s design philosophy, semiconductor analyst Tom Wassick (via Hardwareluxx) took apart the chip, and the findings of his first report suggest that a large part of the Ryzen… Read more

Intel’s newest B580 GPU underperforms last-gen Arc Alchemist card in Linux benchmarks – likely due to early teething pains

Intel’s latest Arc Battlemage B580 performs well in Windows but seems to have room to grow in Linux, benchmarks by Phoronix show. The B580, released just last week, launched with fairly positive reviews across the spectrum, though Phoronix seems to be the first to compare how the B580 does in Linux compared to Windows. The… Read more

Hyte Keeb TKL Review: Unique aesthetic and ultra-smooth switches

Tom’s Hardware Verdict The Hyte Keeb TKL offers an impressive, enthusiast-level typing experience in a very unique package. Pros + Super smooth switches + Great sound-dampening + Unique bubble case aesthetic + Durable double-shot PBT keycaps Cons – Awful keycap legends – Rotary knob feels cheap / flimsy – No per-key RGB Why you can… Read more

Russia plans EUV chipmaking tools that it says will be cheaper and easier to build than ASML’s — country outlines new roadmap to smaller chips

Russia has unveiled a roadmap to develop its own lithography machines, aiming to create less costly and complex equipment than ASML’s systems, according to CNews. These machines will use lasers operating at a wavelength of 11.2 nanometers instead of the standard 13.5 nm used by ASML. This wavelength will be incompatible with existing EUV infrastructure and… Read more