tomshardware
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November 3
- Sealed AMD Athlon XP 2000+ CPU stands the test of time — 22-year-old single-core "Thoroughbred" relic has never been turned on outside the factory➀ A sealed AMD Athlon XP 2000+ CPU from 2002 has been found, untouched and still sealed; ➁ The CPU, with a 0.13-micron process node, was a significant competitor to Intel's Pentium 4 at the time; ➂ The Athlon XP 2000+ is now a relic of the past, with a museum displaying it as a piece of history.
November 2
- Nvidia to replace Intel in Dow Jones Industrial Average — Intel's 25-year reign has come to an end➀ Nvidia's AI leadership leads to its inclusion in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, replacing Intel; ➁ Intel's financial struggles result in a massive stock price drop and layoffs; ➂ Nvidia's stock surge is attributed to the AI boom, making it the second most valuable company in the world.
- The best early Black Friday 2024 deals➀ The best early Black Friday deals for PC components; ➁ Deep discounts on CPUs, GPUs, SSDs, and more; ➂ Top deals from Amazon, Newegg, and other retailers.
- GlobalFoundries fined $500,000 for restricted chip exports to Chinese firm on U.S. entity list — chipmaker shipped $17 million worth of silicon wafers to China’s SJ Semiconductor➀ GlobalFoundries has been fined $500,000 for shipping $17 million worth of silicon wafers to China's SJ Semiconductor, which is on the US entity list. ➁ The violation was due to a data error, and GlobalFoundries voluntarily disclosed the shipments. ➃ The fine is a rare instance of a U.S. semiconductor firm facing financial repercussions under US export control policies.
- Ryzen 9 9900X has dropped to an all-time low price at Amazon➀ The AMD Ryzen 9 9900X is now available at $382 on Amazon; ➁ The CPU originally retails for $499; ➂ The offer is unclear on its duration and comes as AMD prepares holiday deals for its Ryzen 9000 processors.
- ChatGPT-5 won't be coming this year — OpenAI CEO reveals company is focusing on existing models➀ OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that ChatGPT-5 won't be released this year; ➁ The company is delaying GPT-5 to early next year, focusing on updates to existing models; ➂ GPT-5's release date is uncertain due to the complexity of outgoing models and computing power limitations.
November 1
- Chinese researchers build military AI using Meta’s open-source Llama model — ChatBIT allegedly performs at around 90% of the performance of OpenAI GPT-4 LLM➀ Chinese researchers linked to the PLA have developed an AI model named ChatBIT, utilizing Meta's open-source Llama model for military applications. ➁ The model is said to perform at approximately 90% of the level of OpenAI's GPT-4 LLM. ➂ Some experts question the effectiveness of the small dataset used for training, but the project may be a proof of concept for larger models to come.
- AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 outperforms Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V in LLM performance — Team Red provided benchmarks show a strong lead of up to 27% in LM Studio➀ AMD claims its Ryzen AI 9 HX 375 outperforms Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V in LLM performance; ➁ Benchmarks show a lead of up to 27% in LM Studio; ➂ AMD's Strix Point APUs offer lower latency and better integrated graphics performance.
- Cadence says its AI-driven chip design tools provide a process node's worth of performance gain, but without moving forward to a new node➀ Cadence's AI-driven chip design tools offer performance gains equivalent to a process node upgrade; ➁ AI tools provide significant PPA improvements and productivity boosts; ➂ Cadence applies its own solutions internally to enhance its Palladium processors.
- Elon Musk spent roughly $10 billion on AI training hardware in 2024➀ Elon Musk's companies, Tesla and xAI, are investing heavily in AI training hardware; ➁ $10 billion worth of training compute capacity is expected to be online by the end of 2024; ➂ Investments in AI hardware are crucial for staying competitive in the AI industry.
October 31
- Computer monitors poised for price cuts this year — analyst says falling demand to impact prices until end of 2024➀ Experts anticipate monitor prices to decline towards the end of the year; ➁ Demand for computer displays is falling, affecting both laptop and LCD screen sales; ➂ Retailers have completed holiday stockings, meaning limited new inventory orders until current stock is sold.
- Shuttle launches barebones 4.7-liter mini-PC with room for dual-slot GPUs — XH610G2 sports Intel LGA1700 with support for 12th Gen and newer CPUs and PCIe 5.0➀ Shuttle introduces the ultra-compact XH610G2 mini-PC; ➁ The mini-PC supports dual-slot GPUs and Intel's latest CPUs; ➂ The system includes a strict TDP limit and lacks eGPU support.
- Intel hasn't sold a single Arrow Lake CPU at Germany's largest retailer — Core Ultra 200S sales stagnate after just one week➀ Intel's Arrow Lake CPUs have sold poorly in Germany; ➁ Core Ultra 200S sales have stagnated after only one week; ➂ AMD's market share in CPUs has increased to 95% on Mindfactory.
October 30
- TSMC is in a heated tussle with a golf course to build the most advanced 2nm chip plant on the planet➀ TSMC is in a dispute with a golf course over land for a 2nm chip plant; ➁ The Central Taiwan Science Park has set a deadline for the golf course to resolve its issues; ➂ The land acquisition for the expansion is crucial for TSMC's technology development.
- RISC-V CPU demoed with RX 7900 XTX GPU in Debian Linux — AMD flagship GPU paired with Milk-V Megrez board and SiFive P550 cores➀ RISC-V firm Milk-V demonstrates compatibility of AMD's RX 7900 XTX GPU with its RISC-V board; ➁ The system runs the glmark2 benchmark on Debian Linux; ➂ Milestone for RISC-V in PCs, though not yet widely adopted.
- Intel Processor N-series CPU specifications leaked — Intel dishes up paltry clock speed improvements➀ Intel's N-series CPU specifications have been leaked, showing marginal clock speed improvements over predecessors; ➁ The new N-series chips are based on Alder Lake silicon and are expected to refresh the lineup; ➂ Home server enthusiasts are disappointed as the refresh does not include a sub-10W Arrow Lake CPU.
- Liquid vs air cooling: Do you need an AIO cooler?➀ An AIO cooler is a pre-assembled liquid cooling system that offers efficient heat dissipation and aesthetic appeal; ➁ The article compares AIO coolers to air coolers in terms of noise, thermals, installation complexity, and cost; ➂ It discusses scenarios where an AIO cooler might not be necessary, such as basic builds or budget constraints.
- Apple's redesigned M4, M4 Pro-powered Mac Mini is just 5 x 5 inches, packs up to 14 cores, puts the power button on the bottom➀ Apple has introduced a redesigned Mac Mini with the latest M4 and M4 Pro silicon, downsizing to 5 x 5 inches; ➁ The Mac Mini features a new power button placement on the bottom and enhanced connectivity options; ➂ The device starts at $599 for the M4 model with 10 cores and 10 GPU cores, while the M4 Pro model with 12 CPU cores and 16 GPU cores starts at $1,399.
- Russian court reportedly fines Google 2 undecillion roubles for blocking 17 state TV channels — equates to $20.5 decillion USD, Russian media report➀ Russian court imposes a massive fine of 2 undecillion roubles on Google; ➁ Fine relates to blocking access to 17 Russian TV channels; ➂ Penalty could increase if Google does not comply within nine months.
October 29
- 10 Raspberry Pi Halloween projects from 2024 that scared our socks off➀ A spooky Raspberry Pi Jack-o-Lantern that rotates to face people; ➁ A Raspberry Pi Pico spider robot that wiggles its legs at trick-or-treaters; ➂ A unique Raspberry Pi Halloween eye with AI features.
- China tightens export controls on rare earth metals used for chipmaking — country now requires exporters to detail how they use restricted materials➀ China tightens export controls on rare earth metals for chipmaking; ➁ Exporters must detail the use of restricted materials; ➂ China's near-monopoly on rare earths creates hurdles for foreign tech companies.
- Many RTX 50 series laptops may stick with previous-gen CPUs for 2025 — leaker claims affordable CPU product launches are becoming increasingly difficult➀ Many RTX 50 series laptops may stick with previous-gen CPUs for 2025; ➁ Economic challenges are making CPU product launches difficult; ➂ Next-gen GPUs may not see immediate adoption in new laptops.
- Apple M4 comes to the Mac with new iMac, starts with 16GB RAM➀ Apple refreshes the 24-inch iMac with the M4 lineup of processors; ➁ The new iMacs start at $1,299 and include Thunderbolt 4 and Apple Intelligence; ➂ The entry-level model features 16GB unified memory, with options for 24GB and 32GB.
October 28
- Samsung 990 EVO Plus SSD review: The real EVO drive is here➀ Samsung's 990 EVO Plus is a significant consumer SSD release, targeting high-performance drives; ➁ The drive offers a 4TB model, making it a competitor to QLC flash drives and E27T-based drives; ➂ Despite its late arrival and high price, the 990 EVO Plus is a strong drive for any system.
- Extensive AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D specs leak details unlocked 120W CPU with 5.2 GHz boost clock➀ AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D specifications leak; ➁ 120W CPU with 5.2GHz boost clock; ➂ Zen 5 microarchitecture, V-Cache technology
- Raspberry Pi powers impressive Halloween haunted house light show➀ An impressive Halloween light show powered by Raspberry Pi; ➁ The project, created by G8HCB, uses over 25,000 LEDs; ➂ The light display is synchronized with music and includes animated elements like pumpkins and ghosts.
- Latest Raspberry Pi OS moves the desktop over to Wayland➀ Raspberry Pi OS has transitioned from the X Window system to the Wayland compositor; ➁ The update brings improved touchscreen support and an on-screen keyboard; ➂ The move to Wayland is intended to improve performance and integration with future Raspberry Pi hardware.
- AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D beats the 7800X3D by 26% in leaked Blender benchmarks — outpaces even the current-generation Ryzen 7 9700X by 11%➀ The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D shows significant performance improvement over the 7800X3D; ➁ It surpasses the Ryzen 7 9700X by 11%; ➃ AMD's second-generation V-Cache technology contributes to higher clock speeds and better thermals.
October 27
- TSMC halts Ascend 910B shipments to firm suspected acting as a Huawei proxy➀ TSMC has halted shipments of the Ascend 910B to Sophgo, a Chinese firm suspected of acting as a Huawei proxy. ➁ Despite Sophgo's denial of any Huawei links, TSMC's action is a result of discovering Sophgo's chip orders closely resembled the Ascend 910B. ➂ Huawei's strategy to use Western-designed technologies continues to be scrutinized as it attempts to circumvent sanctions.
- Nvidia RTX 50 mobile Device IDs have been leaked — Flagship RTX 5090 mobile rumored to sport the GB203 GPU➀ Leaked RTX 50 mobile GPU lineup revealed; ➁ Flagship RTX 5090M rumored to use GB203 GPU; ➂ No increase in memory capacity over last generation.