When Microsoft Corp. formally introduced its Xbox One video game console in 2013, it faced a rather massive amount of criticism from enthusiast gamers because the system’s graphics processing horsepower was considerably lower compared to that of Sony’s PlayStation 4. Apparently, the company has taken critics seriously and is trying …

One of the key selling points of Apple’s next-generation MacBook Air laptop is expected to be very slim form-factor, fanless cooling and long battery life. However, it turns out that the new system from Apple will also sport a number of technological breakthroughs that will hit the market for the …

Although Advanced Micro Devices wants to cease using special process technologies for its products in order to cut-down their manufacturing and development costs, it looks like next year the company will have to use GlobalFoundries’ 28nm super high-performance (SHP) technology for its Radeon graphics processors in order to ensure their …

Toshiba Corp. said last week that it would consider an overseas location for its next NAND flash memory chip plant because currently demand for this memory type exceeds supply. While the company did not reveal where it could build its next fab, it is highly likely that the plant will …

The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) on Tuesday said it will investigate Samsung’s accusations against patent infringements by Nvidia Corp. and its partners. If the ITC finds Nvidia and its allies guilty of patent infringements, it may stop sales of their products in the United States. The products at issue …

Biostar, a well-known maker of mainboards, said this week that its mainboards will be equipped with a technology that helps to protect personal computers against power surges in Ethernet networks as well as against electrostatics. It is not a secret that PC components can be damaged or even destroyed by …

Sapphire Technology on Wednesday uploaded a teaser video to its account on YouTube, teasing, possibly, new graphics cards featuring mysterious NFC technology. Like with many viral videos, Sapphire’s video does not explain what exactly it advertises. “Passion is hard,” says the voice in the video. “Sometimes it hurts. People tell …

Samsung Electronics has announced that it has started mass production of 8Gb LPDDR4 memory chips for next-generation smartphones based on advanced application processors. The new handsets will feature displays with ultra-high-definition resolutions as well as new-generation system-on-chips, such as Qualcomm Snapdragon 810. At present Samsung manufactures 8Gb and 6Gb LPDDR4 …

It is a well-known fact that owners of large datacenters, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Corp. and other, have very diverse requirements for servers and microprocessors inside their servers. In the recent years both Intel Corp. and AMD offered custom central processing units to large clients in order to …

Toshiba Corp. and SK Hynix have announced that they had reached a settlement agreement in connection with a civil lawsuit that the former initiated against the latter at the Tokyo District Court earlier this year. Toshiba accused SK Hynix of stealing intellectual property related to NAND flash memory. As a …

Back in May Nintendo already confirmed that it had started development of its next-generation home console. In October it also transpired that the company would design system-on-chip for its forthcoming system in the U.S. According to a new media report, Nintendo contracted AMD to provide graphics processing technologies for the …

Seagate Technology is on track to rapidly boost capacity of hard disk drives for datacenters and will release a 10TB model in 2015. The company currently has no plans to manufacture helium-filled HDDs since such technology is too expensive. However, Seagate intends to use shingled magnetic recording (SMR) technology next …

Google on Friday revealed that Marvell Technology Group and Nvidia Corp. are working on application processor modules for upcoming Ara smartphones. Previously a number of companies have publicly expressed support of the project Ara, but no one has revealed any particular plans. The disclosure from Google is generally the first …

MicroStar International has unveiled its all-new Z97 Gaming ACK mini-ITX mainboard that offers a very good balance between performance, technologies and price. The platform is designed for gamers, who want to have a very small form-factor (SFF) high performance system that does not cost too much. The MSI Z97I Gaming …

Rackspace, one of the world’s largest web hosting and cloud companies, this week officially became a member of the OpenPower foundation, the organization that develops “open-source” servers powered by next-generation IBM Power microprocessors as well as chips based on the Power architecture. The move means that the company will reduce …

Nvidia Corp. and its partners will start to sell their next-generation performance-mainstream graphics solutions GeForce GTX 960 about a month from now for around $200, according to a report from a Japanese web-site. While the date of the launch now seems to be more or less clear, specifications of the …

Asustek Computer is working on external voltage regulator module (VRM) card for graphics cards that will enable extreme overclocking by allowing massive overvoltage. Asus follows EVGA and Gigabyte Technology who have been selling similar external VRM solutions for years now. Although a lot of modern graphics cards (e.g., Asus Strix …

While non-standard fabrication processes are sometimes challenging and make it harder to re-use intellectual property across different product lineups, they are just what the doctor ordered when one needs to achieve certain goals. According to GlobalFoundries, the No. 2 contract maker of chips, many customized process technologies are gaining importance …

PMC-Sierra has announced that it has joined the OpenPower foundation, which develops “open-source” servers based on next-generation IBM Power processors and Power architecture. PMC-Sierra will bring a host of innovative controllers for storage solutions with Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and NVM Express (NVMe) interfaces to the new platform. Participation in …

Alcatel-Lucent and Nokia Corp. have restarted talks about a possible merger, according to a media report. If the companies become one, they will be the world’s largest manufacturer of telecommunication equipment with formidable portfolio of telco patents. The Manager Magazin reported this week that Nokia, with its strength in wireless networks, …

GlobalFoundries, the world’s second largest contract maker of semiconductors, plans to start volume production of chips using 14nm fabrication process in the first half of 2015, a little later than Samsung Electronics, but, possibly, earlier than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. The company does not reveal who will be the first …

Microsoft Corp. is relatively quiet about its virtual reality hardware plans, however, this does not mean that the company is not developing anything. According to unofficial information from component suppliers, the software giant plans to demonstrate a prototype of its VR headset at the E3 2015 trade-show. The world’s largest …

Toshiba Corp. late on Thursday introduced its first 6TB enterprise-class hard disk drive with 7200rpm spindle speed. The new HDD will be a part of the MG04 family, which is specifically designed for midline and nearline business critical workloads, introduced earlier this year and features persistent write cache technology. Toshiba …

For many years all developers of graphics processors for notebooks limited display refresh rates in cases when they did not matter in order to cut-down their power consumption. In addition, designers of GPUs reduced performance of chips in cases when it was not required. One of the things that no …

Sony Corp. has announced its Single-Lens Display Module that can turn any eyewear into smart-glasses. Just like Google Glass, Sony’s SLDM integrates its own application processor, sensors, battery and camera. The device will be shown off next month at the Consumer Electronics Show as a prototype, mass production will start …

Following months of excessive inventory of AMD Radeon graphics cards in the channel, the situation has finally gotten better for Advanced Micro Devices. As a result, rapid price drops on Radeon graphics cards may stop shortly. Early this year the value of cryptocurrency increased to new heights and mining enthusiasts …

A web-site has published alleged benchmark results of next-generation graphics cards from Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia Corp., such as code-named “Bermuda XT”, “Fiji XT” as well as GM200. Without a lot of surprises, the new single-chip graphics solutions from AMD and Nvidia will offer a noticeable performance improvement compared …

It is not a secret that Nvidia Corp. is working on new ultra-high-end graphics cards based on the code-named GM200 graphics processing unit (GPU). But is it worth waiting for a new top-of-the-range graphics board from Nvidia, or it makes sence to get a GeForce GTX 980 now? Apparently, the …

GlobalFoundries may significantly expand production of graphics processing units for Advanced Micro Devices next year, according to a new market rumour. If the unofficial information is correct, then GlobalFoundries will produce at least two high-end AMD Radeon graphics chips in 2015. At present GlobalFoundries produces the bulk of high-performance accelerated processing units …

TAG Heuer, a leading timepiece brand, understands all the potential challenges that emerging smartwatches bring to it. As a result, the company is serious about not only releasing their own smartwatches, but competing against consumer electronics companies head to head. While this means serious approach that will lead to a …