Kang Gosol

AMD announced their fourth quarter earnings for their 2018 fiscal year today, and the company has continued its upward trajectory, with revenue gains of 6% year-over-year to $1.42 billion. Gross margin, which was long a burden for the company, is now right in the sweet spot at 38%, up 4% from a year ago. Operating income for the quarter was $28 million, compared to an operating loss of $2 million last year, and net income is now in the black as well at $38 million, compared to a net loss of $19 million a year ago. That resulted in earnings per share of $0.04, compared to a $0.02 loss per share in Q4 2017. AMD Q4 2018 Financial Results (GAAP)   Q4'2018 Q3'2018 Q4'2017 Revenue $1419M $1653M $1340M Gross Margin 38% 40% 34% Operating Income $28M $150M -$2M Net Income $38M $102M -$19M Earnings Per Share $

GIGABYTE has released UEFI BIOS updates for its motherboards based on Intel’s C246 and Z390 chipsets that enable support for 32 GB unbuffered memory modules from Samsung. This enables 128 GB of DDR4 on its higher-end mainstream desktop platforms. The compatibile UDIMMs are based on Samsung’s 16 Gb memory chips and are expected to be available in the market shortly.

BIOSTAR has just introduced a mini-ITX motherboard with a built-in mobile processor, called the A10N-8800E. This Carrizo chipset based model uses an AMD FX-8800P quad-core processor, integrated Radeon R7 graphics and two memory slots capable of supporting 32 GB of DDR4-2133 memory. The BIOSTAR A10N-8800E boasts an AMD FX-8800P quad-core processor with a boost core clock of up to 3.4 GHz from a base frequency of 2.1 GHz. The FX-8800P is more commonly found in AMD notebooks and has a TDP of just 15 W making it suitable for a low powered SoC system. Some of the main features of the A10N-8800E include a single full-length PCIe 3.0 x16 slot, a Realtek ALC887 HD audio codec and a Realtek RTL8111H 1G NIC. Due to the mobile processor,  the BIOSTAR A10N-8800E has a small CPU cooler included. Storage options are limited to just two SATA ports and a single M.2 slot with support for both PCIe and SATA SSDs. Focused on edge computing, the BIOSTAR A10N-8800E offers users two USB 3.1 Gen1

Toshiba said late on Tuesday that it had started to sample its first UFS 3.0 storage solution. The device is aimed at mobile applications and promises to offer performance comparable to high-end SSDs for PCs. Toshiba’s lineup of UFS 3.0 storage will 128 GB, 256 GB, and 512 GB of memory that will initially target high-end smartphones due later this year first. Initially, Toshiba will sample the 128 GB device, whereas higher-capacity drives will be available after March 2019. All the new products are based on Toshiba’s 96-layer BiCS4 3D TLC NAND memory as well as an in-house developed UFS 3.0 controller. The manufacturer does not disclose performance of its UFS 3.0 parts, but only says that their interconnect layer supports data rates of up to 11.6 Gbps (HS-Gear4) per lane over two full-duplex lanes as well as QoS features to enable a more reliable link through monitoring and training of the communication channel, which are mandatory speed and features of the specification. Max

EVGA currently sells a range of products: motherboards, graphics cards, power supplies, cases, and laptops. EVGA has been expanding to other markets for a number of years now, and at CES 2016 we saw the beginnings of a USB audio device due to a collaboration with a professional company called Audio Note. We were impressed at the time, but since then we've not heard much about the project, and had kind of assumed it had been abandoned. But at CES 2019 EVGA introduced the results of the collaboration: its first audio card. This card uses a PCIe to USB controller, making it an internal USB audio product. EVGA’s Nu Audio card was designed by Audio Note , a UK-based company that develops custom audio solutions. The PCIe 2.0 x1 card implements a PCIe to USB controller to the hardware, and is based on the XMOS xCORE-200 DSP accompanied by Asahi Kasei Microdevices’ (AKM) AK4493 DAC, the AKM AK5572 ADC, and the Cirrus Logic CS5346 ADC. The board uses a silver and gold-plated multi

There is a wide choice of RGB-lit components and accessories to suit all tastes. There is also plethora or RGB-lit keyboards, mice, and even displays. Even despite (in spite?) of this, , RGB-lit external storage devices are still rare birds. ADATA has decided to change that and introduced its HC770 external HDD with an RGB-lit ADATA hummingbird logo at CES.

ASUS has released a new UEFI BIOS version for its ROG Maximus XI Hero motherboard that enables support of up to 128 GB of DDR4 memory platform using 32 GB unbuffered modules featuring Samsung's newest 16 Gb memory chips. The company will release new BIOSes for other Intel Z390-based platforms shortly. Other motherboard manufacturers will likely follow as Intel has stated that this memory will be supported by its 9th Gen Core processors. Last year Samsung started to mass produce 16 Gb DDR4 memory chips  primarily aiming high-capacity RDIMMs for servers. These chips eventually came down to consumer grade memory as well, allowing for 32 GB UDIMMs  to be added to Samsung's portfolio. Because Intel’s MRC for mainstream processors doesn't automatically support 16 Gb ICs, new firmware is required. The company has officially  updated its memory reference code for the 9th Gen Core processors , and so it is up to motherboard manufacturers to update their UEFI BIOSes to gain s

Dynabook, a maker of laptops from Japan, has unveiled its new 13-inch G-series ultra-portable laptops. Based around Intel's 15W dual and quad-core Whiskey Lake-U processors, the G-series aims to offer a high-quality 13.3-inch display and a long battery life without compromising on portability. The new notebooks weigh between 779 and 859 grams – lighter than your average 13-inch ultrabook – with battery runtimes rated for between 9.5 and 19 hours. As an added bonus, the mobile PCs also feature a rare native GbE port. Dynabook’s G-series family consists of the G8, G7, G6, and G5 models. All of the SKUs come with a 13.3-inch Full-HD non-glossy IGZO display from Sharp in a chassis that measure 308.8 × 211.6 × 17.9 mm. The enclosure features either an Onyx Blue or Pearl White finish and is made of magnesium alloy, which is an extremely lightweight and rigid material that allowed Dynabook to build such a light notebook. All told, Dynabook seems to be rather bullish on the toughn

Last year when GIGABYTE introduced its first SSDs, the company took a cautious approach only released entry-level drives. At this year’s CES the company finally unveiled its high-performance SSDs aimed at high-end PCs, which like other high-end GIGABYTE parts will be sold under the Aorus brand. Traditional and typical for GIGABYTE, the drives are based on controllers and reference designs developed by Phison. GIGABYTE’s Aorus family of SSDs will include 512 GB and 1 TB models in both PCIe add-in-card and M.2 module form-factors. The AIC drives feature a large radiator to ensure consistent performance as well as programmable RGB LEDs. Meanwhile, the M.2 modules also come with a heat spreader featuring an RGB-lit golden eagle logo. The new SSDs will be based on the Phison PS5012-E12 NVMe 1.3-supporting controller that has eight NAND channels with 32 CE targets, a DDR4/DDR3L interface for DRAM caching, and a PCIe 3.0 x4 interface. Like most contemporary Phison-powered drives, th

Google and watch marker Fossil on Thursday announced that Google would be acquiring smartwatch-related intellectual property and personnel from Fossil. The technology is currently under development and will only be used for future products. The acquisition means that Google now has IP and developers that will help the company more directly address the smartwatch and broader wearables industries.. Under the terms of the deal, Google will pay Fossil $40 million for IP that, unusually enough, has yet to see the light of day. As part of the agreement, some of Fossil’s engineers will also join Google to support the IP transfer, but the watch company will retain more than 200 R&D staff members to continue developing products and technologies. “The addition of Fossil Group’s technology and team to Google demonstrates our commitment to the wearables industry by enabling a diverse portfolio of smartwatches and supporting the ever-evolving needs of the vitality-seeking, on-the-go co

As we get ever closer to the releases of various Android vendor’s newest generation devices, Qualcomm continues its tradition of showcasing the performance of its newest generation SoC ahead of time, giving us a preview and a glimpse of what to expect of the upcoming commercial devices. This year, the company has shuffled the schedule around a bit, and instead of hosting the event at their San Diego headquarters, and we were able to get a hands-on with the Snapdragon 855 at CES before the show had started. Today we’re be looking in quite extensive detail on how exactly the new Snapdragon chipset performs, as well as shedding some light on some important unanswered technical questions on some aspects of the SoC.

AnandTech has seen documents and supporting information from multiple sources that show that Intel is planning to release a new high-end desktop processor, the Core i9-9990XE. These documents show that the processors will not be sold at retail; rather they will only be sold to system integrators, and then only through a closed online auction.   

GIGABYTE last year entered the memory market with its Aorus RGB and GIGABYTE-branded DIMMs, designed for enthusiasts. To some degree the project was experimental with conservative DDR4-2666 and DDR4-3200 speed bins built on Samsung B-die ICs, typically known for much higher performance. At CES the company introduced faster Aorus RGB DIMMs that not only top at DDR4-4000, but do so using SK Hynix C-die ICs.. In the near future GIGABYTE plans to add DDR4-3600 at CL18 and DDR4-4000 16 GB (2 × 8 GB) dual-channel kits to its Aorus RGB Memory lineup. The modules feature regular 1.35 V voltage for enthusiast-class DIMMs, they are also outfitted with XMP 2.0-enabled SPDs for one-click overclocking beyond JEDEC specifications, and they are equipped with aluminum heat spreaders with addressable RGB lights. The most interesting information about the new memory sticks is that they are based not on Samsung’s 8 Gb B-die memory chips that are traditionally used for enthusiast-class DIMMs, bu

The emerging category of extreme workstations has brought with it a new market for larger PC cases better suited for housing this high-end equipment. To that end, at CES this year InWin demonstrated its new 928 chassis, which is specifically designed for machines using Intel’s Xeon W-3175X processors. The PC case can accommodate an Extended-ATX motherboard, two PSUs, and a sophisticated cooling system. And with a price tag of $900 – almost a complete mid-range PC –- it's distinctly priced to go with Intel's high-cost 28-core processor. Like other modern high-end chassis, the InWin 928 'SuperTower' case has side-by-side compartments to separate airflow. It features windows made of tempered glass to allow everyone to see the hardware inside inside. One of the chambers houses the system’s motherboard (e.g., the ASUS ROG Dominus Extreme) with CPU (e.g., the Intel Xeon W-3175X), up to two graphics cards (up to 480 mm length), and various storage devices. Meanwhile t

Corsair has expanded its Corsair ONE line of mini-PCs, aiming for the higher end of the market. The Corsair One Pro i180 is equipped with Intel’s 12-core high-end desktop processor as well as NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 2080 Ti graphics card, which is why the manufacturer calls it a compact workstation. In addition, the company has also introduced new variants under the Corsair One i140 and Corsair One i160 naming system. Corsair launched its first own-brand Corsair One systems in early 2017. The concept of the system was to take advantage of the company’s know-how: Corsair knows how to build cases with good ventilation, it produces SFF PSUs, it produces custom liquid cooling, and other components. With the Corsair ONE, the company managed to create a Mini-ITX platform capable of handling high-performance components. This year at CES, the system is getting a refresh and expanding into several different variants. The dark grey Corsair One Pro i180 is based on ASRock’s X299E-ITX/ac

ASRock unveiled five new B365 motherboards at CES 2019 with a mixture of features similar to its Z390 offerings. The B365 Pro4 and B365M Pro are targeted towards professional users while B365 and B365M Phantom Gaming 4 mark a lower cost entry point onto the Intel 8th and 9th generation processors. The last of the five new models is the mini-ITX sized B365M-ITX/ac. ASRock B365 Pro4 ATX Motherboard In an effort to free up some capacity for the fabrication of their 14 nm silicon,  Intel announced plans to add the B365 chipset  to their line up last month which uses their 22 nm manufacturing process. ASRock has taken this new chipset and marketed their new range with added the moniker of 'Power, Redefined', but the five new models look targeted more to general consumers.  Each of the five ASRock B365 models uses a single 8-pin 12 V ATX power connector to provide power to the CPU (which is ample given the B365 doesn't officially support overclocking). ASRock B365 Pro4