Kuroutoshikou has updated its custom AMD graphics card portfolio with brand-new Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB and 8 GB options. As covered in the recent past, this Japanese brand seems to source card designs from better known manufacturers—namely PowerColor/PC Partner and GALAX. Their latest offerings are unstickered black Reaper cards, albeit not in overclocked form—Kuroutoshikou has opted for Team Red's reference settings. A stamped PowerColor logo is still present on the largely featureless design's I/O shield.

When looking through Kuroutoshikou's catalog, several familiar current and past-gen unbadged Hellhound, Fighter and Low Profile models are present and accounted for. A minimalist aesthetic extends to retail packaging; the brand's tasteful signature box sports a mostly brushed gold-effect theme. Their Blade and Soul NEO crossover signalled a break from the norm—boringly, character illustrations were not applied to shroud or backplate pieces. Unsurprisingly, Kuroutoshikou products are exclusive to the Japanese PC hardware market. Fortunately, comprehensive distribution of nigh-identical PowerColor IPs is in effect across most of the globe.

TrendForce's latest investigations find that DDR4 contract prices for servers and PCs are expected to rise more sharply in the second quarter of 2025 due to two key factors: major DRAM suppliers scaling back DDR4 production and buyers accelerating procurement ahead of U.S. tariff changes. As a result, server DDR4 contract prices are forecast to rise by 18-23% QoQ, while PC DDR4 prices are projected to increase by 13-18%—both surpassing earlier estimates.

TrendForce notes that DDR4 has been in the market for over a decade, and demand is increasingly shifting toward DDR5. Given the significantly higher profit margins for HBM, DDR5, and LPDDR5(X), suppliers have laid out EOL plans for DDR4, with final shipments expected by early 2026. Current EOL notifications largely target server and PC clients, while consumer DRAM (mainly DDR4) remains in production due to continued mainstream demand.

TrendForce's latest findings reveal that global revenue for the DRAM industry reached US$27.01 billion in 1Q25, marking a 5.5% QoQ decline. This downturn was driven by falling contract prices for conventional DRAM and a contraction in HBM shipment volumes. Samsung's redesign of its HBM3e products eased the HBM production squeezes. This prompted downstream players to clear inventories and extended the price declines seen since 4Q24.

Looking ahead to 2Q25, as PC OEMs and smartphone makers complete inventory corrections and ramp up system production ahead of the 90-day U.S. reciprocal tariff grace period, bit procurement momentum is expected to strengthen significantly. This will drive notable increases in supplier shipment volumes. On the pricing side, TrendForce forecasts a rebound across major application contract prices, with both conventional DRAM and combined DRAM (including HBM) contract prices expected to rise.

Asetek, the pioneer of the all-in-one (AIO) liquid cooler and global leader in mechatronic innovation, today announced the launch of Ingrid - a new platform-based liquid cooling solution engineered to deliver superior thermal performance, reduced acoustic footprint, and platform-level flexibility for both partners and PC builders. The Ingrid product line debuts with Value and Mainstream offerings and will later expand the product family - powering a complete cooling portfolio built for tomorrow's CPU architectures and the demands of AI workloads. Set to debut at Computex 2025, Ingrid represents a new generation of Asetek AIO design, built on decades of thermal leadership and precision engineering.

"With Ingrid, we're introducing a platform-based approach that meets the needs of B2B customers, OEM partners, and PC enthusiasts alike," said André Sloth Eriksen, CEO and Founder of Asetek. "It's our most refined acoustic and installation experience to date - and a foundation we'll continue to expand."

AMD has announced a definitive agreement to sell ZT Systems' data center infrastructure manufacturing business to Sanmina for $3 billion in cash and stock, which includes a contingent payment of up to $450 million. This announcement follows earlier reports from April that AMD was looking to divest the facility it had acquired as part of its $4.9 billion purchase of ZT in March 2025. The deal set to wrap up around late 2025 shows AMD's plan to steer clear of making products that compete with its customers. At the same time, AMD will keep ZT Systems' design and customer support teams to speed up the rollout of AMD AI systems for cloud clients. Sanmina will also become a top choice for introducing new products in AMD's cloud rack and large-scale AI solutions. "By combining the deep experience of our AI systems design team with our new preferred NPI partnership with Sanmina, we expect to strengthen our U.S-based manufacturing capabilities for rack and cluster-scale AI systems and accelerate quality and time-to-market for our cloud customers," said Forrest Norrod, executive vice president and general manager, Data Center Solutions business unit at AMD.

The sale drew a lot of interest from different manufacturers, with early reports showing that Taiwanese OEM makers Compal and Wiwynn were the top choices, along with U.S. electronics firm Jabil. Inventec and Pegatron decided not to take part. Sanmina, the final buyer, is a U.S.-based company that provides integrated manufacturing solutions to the global Electronic Manufacturing Services field. Jure Sola, Chairman and CEO of Sanmina Corporation, said that ZT Systems' skills in liquid cooling, its manufacturing ability, and its know-how in cloud and AI setup will add to Sanmina's worldwide range and vertical integration skills. "Together, we will be better able to deliver a competitive advantage to our customers with solutions for the entire product lifecycle. We look forward to our ongoing partnership with AMD as we work together to set the standard for quality and flexibility to benefit the entire AI ecosystem." said Jure Sola, Chairman and CEO of Sanmina Corporation.

Cadence today announced the Cadence Tensilica NeuroEdge 130 AI Co-Processor (AICP), a new class of processor designed to complement any neural processing unit (NPU) and enable end-to-end execution of the latest agentic and physical AI networks on advanced automotive, consumer, industrial and mobile SoCs. Based on the proven architecture of the highly successful Tensilica Vision DSP family, the NeuroEdge 130 AICP delivers more than 30% area savings and over 20% savings in dynamic power and energy without impacting performance. It also leverages the same software, AI compilers, libraries and frameworks to deliver faster time to market. Multiple customer engagements are currently underway, and customer interest is strong.

"With the rapid proliferation of AI processing in physical AI applications such as autonomous vehicles, robotics, drones, industrial automation and healthcare, NPUs are assuming a more critical role," said Karl Freund, founder and principal analyst of Cambrian AI Research. "Today, NPUs handle the bulk of the computationally intensive AI/ML workloads, but a large number of non-MAC layers include pre- and post-processing tasks that are better offloaded to specialized processors. However, current CPU, GPU and DSP solutions involve tradeoffs, and the industry needs a low-power, high-performance solution that is optimized for co-processing and allows future proofing for rapidly evolving AI processing needs."

Just over two weeks ago, NVIDIA officially outlined a vague May launch window for GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile 8 GB dGPU-based partner-produced laptops/notebooks—"starting at $1099." Industry watchdogs reckon that a comprehensive product reveal will happen at Computex 2025. Team Green's mid-April PR article mentioned that models "are coming from every major OEM"—an included promotional image showcased devices built by Acer, ASUS, Dell, GIGABYTE, HP, Lenovo, MSI, and Razer. The ever watchful Olrak29 has unearthed two unannounced COLORFUL devices; listings have appeared within the Geekbench Browser database. A next-gen "P15 Pro" entry—published on April 20—posted an OpenCL score of 109431 (in Geekbench 6.4).

This leak lists a Intel Core i9-13900HX "Raptor Lake" CPU and an "NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPU." A more modern specced "iGame M15 Origo"—powered by Team Blue's Core Ultra 9 285HX "Arrow Lake" APU—option was also put through the Geekbench 6.4 wringer; this sample produced an OpenCL score of 102564 (on April 27). As observed by VideoCardz, the lower end "Blackwell" GPU beats its "Ada Lovelace" predecessor—GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile—by roughly 18% in overall OpenCL Geekbench gauntlets. Naturally, Vulkan-based scores would be better indicators of gaming performance. Early evaluators recorded maximum GPU clocks—of 2025 MHz and 2212 MHz (respectively)—on their GeForce RTX 5060 Mobile subjects.

Intel's latest AI-focused laptop processors, "Lunar Lake" and "Meteor Lake," have encountered slower-than-anticipated uptake, leading device manufacturers to increase orders for the previous-generation "Raptor Lake" chips. As a result, Intel 7 manufacturing lines, originally intended to scale up production of its newest AI-ready CPUs and transition to newer nodes, are now running at full capacity on "Raptor Lake" output, limiting the availability of both the new and legacy models. In its first-quarter 2025 financial report, Intel recorded revenue of $12.7 billion, essentially flat year-over-year, and a net loss of $821 million. The results fell short of the industry's expectations, and the company's stock declined by more than 5% in after-hours trading.

Management attributed the shortfall to cautious buying patterns among OEMs, who seek to manage inventory in light of ongoing US-China tariff discussions, and to consumer hesitancy to pay higher prices for AI-enabled features that are still emerging in mainstream applications. CEO Lip-Bu Tan outlined plans to reduce operating expenses by $500 million and lower capital expenditures by approximately $2 billion to address these challenges in 2025. He also confirmed that workforce reductions are planned for the second quarter, though specific figures were not disclosed. Looking ahead, Intel intends to focus on strengthening its data-center business, where demand for Xeon processors remains robust, and to prepare for the late-2025 introduction of its Panther Lake platform. The company will also continue efforts to encourage software development that leverages on-device AI, aiming to support wider adoption of its AI-capable hardware.

Global PC shipments grew 6.7% YoY in Q1 2025 to reach 61.4 million units, according to Counterpoint Research's preliminary data. The growth was mainly driven by PC vendors accelerating shipments ahead of US tariffs and the increasing adoption of AI-enabled PCs amid the end of Windows 10 support. However, this surge may be short-lived, as inventory levels are likely to stabilize in the next few weeks. The impact of the US tariffs is expected to dampen the growth momentum in 2025.

Apple and Lenovo delivered strong performances in the quarter, largely due to new product launches and market dynamics. Apple experienced 17% YoY growth in shipments, driven by its AI-capable M4-based MacBook series. Lenovo's 11% growth reflected its expansion into AI-enabled PCs and its diversified product portfolio. Lenovo remained the brand with the largest market share during the quarter. HP and Dell, on the other hand, benefited from the US market pull-ins during the quarter, with 6% and 4% YoY growth respectively, and maintained their second and third places in Q1. We also found that the pull-ins happened for other major brands too ahead of the tariff uncertainty, leading to the market share further consolidating around major brands.

Micron Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: MU), a leader in innovative memory and storage solutions, today announced a market segment-based reorganization of its business units to capitalize on the transformative growth driven by AI, from data centers to edge devices.

Micron has maintained multiple generations of industry leadership in DRAM and NAND technology and has the strongest competitive positioning in its history. Micron's industry-leading product portfolio, combined with world-class manufacturing execution enables the development of differentiated solutions for its customers across end markets. As high-performance memory and storage become increasingly vital to drive the growth of AI, this Business Unit reorganization will allow Micron to stay at the forefront of innovation in each market segment through deeper customer engagement to address the dynamic needs of the industry.

The long-promised gaming performance uplift for "Arrow Lake" processors is here, but for now, it is only available in China. Called Intel Performance Optimizations (IPO), this feature aims at system integrators rather than end users and offers a balanced approach between stock settings and full manual overclocking, all while preserving warranty coverage. IPO works by applying optimized profiles that adjust a range of CPU and memory parameters. On the CPU side, it fine‑tunes P‑core and E‑core frequencies, ring‑bus speeds, the UPI interconnect, D2D links between tiles, and both PL1 and PL2 power limits. For RAM, IPO raises transfer rates and tightens timings, pushing modules beyond their factory XMP or EXPO profiles. Early results from Chinese OEM Maxsun show that IPO can boost core clocks by about 200 MHz and elevate DDR5‑8000 kits to DDR5‑8400. In gaming tests provided by Maxsun, this translated to roughly a 10 percent uplift in frame rates, an encouraging figure given Arrow Lake's mild launch performance in gaming.

At debut, some Arrow Lake SKUs trailed their "Raptor Lake" predecessors because the chiplet‑based memory controller introduced extra latency and ring‑bus clocks ran slower. Supply‑chain constraints and tariffs have limited IPO's rollout to China so far, where pre‑built systems from vendors like Maxsun are shipping with the feature enabled. Warranty handling stays with the OEM, so users can enjoy the extra headroom without risking hardware support. Behind the scenes, Intel has been issuing firmware and microcode patches since December, most recently microcode 0x114 paired with CSME firmware 19.0.0.1854v2.2, to improve Arrow Lake's efficiency. IPO represents the next step in that effort and could become a model for global "opt‑in" BIOS presets if the pilot proves successful. For now, China is serving as the testing ground for Intel's latest attempt to squeeze more performance out of Arrow Lake. We have to wait and see if Western markets follow soon.

AMD's Radeon RX 9070 XT and RX 9070 "MBA" graphics cards are no longer "best kept secrets"—as demonstrated recently by the "leaking out" of supposed reference models through black market/back alley channels in China. Late last month, a dual-fan non-XT specimen was snapped up by Chiphell forum member—alleged benchmark results were soon shared within that community. A few days later, a "Made-by-AMD" Radeon RX 9070 XT sample was dissected and compared to Sapphire's PULSE Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB SKU. An additional MBA XT example emerged last week, courtesy of another in-depth Chiphell thread. A "bored" enthusiast happened upon a 5499 RMB (~$748 USD) when idly browsing through Xianyu listings (Taobao's Ebay equivalent platform). Their buying experience was described as follows: "(I) found a 'public version' Radeon RX 9070 XT in Tianjin. It was said to be manufactured by (an) OEM, so I bought it without hesitation...I made an appointment to meet today and got it successfully. I don't have to wait for a graphics card anymore."

For unknown reasons, AMD decided to launch its first wave of RDNA 4 gaming graphics cards sans first-party designs. Leaked specimens have attracted much attention in China; with owners bragging about their respective ownerships of reasonably priced rarities. The latest back channel customer expressed satisfaction when inspecting Team Red's all-black flagship Navi 48 GPU-based solution: "after I got it, I have to say that it is not very heavy and is quite light. But the appearance is really what I like." After initial tests, they discovered that VRAM temperatures were not up to snuff—as alluded to (pre-launch) by other Chiphell figures. Their personal DIY improvements were described: "(I) took it apart to measure the thickness of the thermal grease pad. Everyone said the temperature of the video memory was high, so I decided to change to something better....(with) original silicone grease FurMark 2K resolution for 20 minutes: maximum core temperature was 62 degrees, maximum hot spot temperature was 84 degrees, maximum memory temperature was 88 degrees, maximum power was consumption 346 W."

Corning Incorporated (NYSE: GLW) today announced the introduction of Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic, an innovative, transparent, and strengthenable glass ceramic material to help bring advanced toughness to more mobile devices. Gorilla Glass Ceramic significantly improves drop performance on rough surfaces compared to competitive aluminosilicate glasses. The new material expands Corning's portfolio of durable cover materials for OEMs.

"Gorilla Glass has built a reputation of strength and resilience, and our new glass ceramic material continues this tradition. Designed to offer enhanced toughness, Gorilla Glass Ceramic reinforces our commitment to innovating and engineering high-quality, durable materials for display covers and enclosures," said David Velasquez, Vice President & General Manager, Corning Gorilla Glass.

TrendForce reports that NAND Flash suppliers began reducing production in the fourth quarter of 2024, and the effects are now starting to show. In anticipation of potential U.S. tariff increases, consumer electronics brands have accelerated production, further driving up demand. Concurrently, inventory restocking is underway across the PC, smartphone, and data center sectors. As a result, NAND Flash prices are expected to stabilize in the second quarter of 2025, with prices for wafers and client SSDs projected to rise.

Client SSD prices to rise 3-8% while enterprise SSD prices to remain flat
After three consecutive quarters of inventory depletion, client SSD demand is rebounding as OEMs resume production early. The upcoming end of Windows 10 support and the launch of new-generation CPUs are expected to drive replacement demand for PCs. Meanwhile, the DeepSeek effect is accelerating the adoption of edge AI, further fueling client SSD demand. With production cuts and supply adjustments gradually restoring balance, client SSD contract prices are projected to rise 3% to 8% QoQ in Q2.

Around late January, out-of-date AMD marketing material teased the existence of a Radeon RX 9070 series reference card design. Almost a month later, PC hardware news outlets picked up on an official signal about Team Red's launch lineup consisting entirely of board partner-produced options. First-party enthusiasts were disappointed by the apparent total lack of "Made by AMD" (MBA) solutions, but some unusual specimens appeared online roughly two weeks post-RDNA 4's launch. Reports pointed to triple-fan Radeon RX 9070 XT and dual-fan RX 9070 MBA cards being exchanged for cash via Chinese black market channels. Photographed examples seemed to sport a somewhat muted black shroud design—not quite as exciting when compared to AMD's marketed/rendered brushed metal effect promo units.

Members of the Chiphell forum have spent months leaking many aspects of Team Red's foray into a new generation of graphics architecture—going back to the days of old nomenclature: Radeon RX 8800 XT. Yesterday, one participant revealed their fresh purchase of a Radeon RX 9070 non-XT MBA card. They sold their old GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB graphics card, in favor of Navi 48 GPU-based OEM hardware. The post focused mainly on photo uploads and screenshots, but a brief description stated: "purchased at original price (TPU note: presumably 4499 RMB), room temperature is 16 degrees Celsius. Dual fans on the front. The back panel has an AMD logo, but it's a sticker." As theorized by VideoCardz, AMD likely produced a limited number of pre-release "public" MBA cards. The publication reckons that partner companies have received a smattering of samples for evaluation or software development purposes. The presence of an old school Radeon logo (pre-RDNA era) is a head scratcher, given the unit's supposed first-party origin.

TrendForce's latest findings reveal that U.S. tariff hikes prompted most downstream brands to frontload shipments to 1Q25, accelerating inventory reduction across the memory supply chain. Looking ahead to the second quarter, conventional DRAM prices are expected to decline by just 0-5% QoQ, while average DRAM pricing including HBM is forecast to rise by 3-8%, driven by increasing shipments of HBM3e 12hi.

PC and server DRAM prices to hold steady
In response to potential U.S. tariff hikes, major PC OEMs are requesting ODMs to increase production, accelerating DRAM depletion in their inventories. OEMs with lower inventory levels may raise procurement from suppliers in Q2 to ensure stable DRAM supply for the second half of 2025.

Last week, we got a leaked picture of AMD's reference/OEM/Made by AMD (MBA) design of the Radeon RX 9070 XT in China. However, we have a non-XT card on the menu today, with the reference design also pictured in China. We already know that AMD is not releasing any MBA reference designs of its latest Radeon RX 9000 series GPUs based on the RDNA 4. However, the Chinese black market is the place to be when it comes to finding these MBA cards, probably manufactured in high double-digit or low tripe-digits of units. AMD usually has one of its AIB partners manufacture these for OEM integrated system distribution or partner testing/software optimization.

Pictured below is the Radeon RX 9070 non-XT GPU with an all-black shroud. Unlike official renders, this design is much more toned down. The official render shows a black/gray color combination with an LED-illuminated Radeon logo. However, the official version appears with only a simple aesthetic, without a hint of LED illumination. The card wasn't pictured running, but we assume that there is no LED illumination. Below, you can compare the pictured/leaked Radeon RX 9070 GPU with the official render.

At Embedded World Germany, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. announced the entry into an agreement to acquire EdgeImpulse Inc., which will enhance its offering for developers and expand its leadership in AI capabilities to power AI-enabled products and services across IoT. The closing of this deal is subject to customary closing conditions. This acquisition is anticipated to complement Qualcomm Technologies' strategic approach to IoT transformation, which includes a comprehensive chipset roadmap, unified software architecture, a suite of services, developer resources, ecosystem partners, comprehensive solutions, and IoT blueprints to address diverse industry needs and challenges.

"We are thrilled about the opportunity to significantly enhance our IoT offerings with Edge Impulse's advanced AI-powered end-to-end platform that will complement our strategic approach to IoT transformation," said Nakul Duggal, group general manager, automotive, industrial and embedded IoT, and cloud computing, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. "We anticipate that this acquisition will strengthen our leadership in AI and developer enablement, enhancing our ability to provide comprehensive technology for critical sectors such as retail, security, energy and utilities, supply chain management, and asset management. IoT opens the door for a myriad of opportunities, and success is about building real-world solutions, enabling developers and enterprises with AI capabilities to extract intelligence from data, and providing them with the tools to build the applications and services that will power the digital transformation of industries."

TrendForce's latest research reveals that global DRAM industry revenue surpassed US$28 billion in 4Q24, marking a 9.9% QoQ increase. This growth was primarily driven by rising contract prices for server DDR5 and concentrated shipments of HBM, leading to continued revenue expansion for the top three DRAM suppliers.

Most contract prices across applications were seen to have reversed downward. However, increased procurement of high-capacity server DDR5 by major American CSPs helped sustain price momentum for server DRAM.

AMD has quietly updated its web presences with six new processor SKUs—as spotted by Everest (aka Olrak29), and a member of Team Red's subreddit. Community detective work indicates official CPU support lists being updated at some point after February 11. Model names and product identifiers were highlighted; AMD is likely introducing additional Zen 3 "Cezanne" options for OEM partners. The Ryzen 5000G lineup of Zen 3 and Vega iGPU-powered APUs was already well populated, going back to 2021. The "newly" listed AM4 models are: Ryzen 7 5705GE, Ryzen 7 5705G, Ryzen 5 5605GE, Ryzen 5 5605G, Ryzen 3 5305GE and Ryzen 3 5305G.

The familiar "G" tag indicates the presence of an integrated graphics solution; a Cezanne GPU that utilizes GCN 5.1 architecture. A "GE" designation denotes lower power variants; with 35 W TDPs. A small selection of Zen 3-based Ryzen PRO models are available in GE form, including the Ryzen 5 PRO 5650GE SKU. Three of the recently discovered models seem to share identical specifications with Team Red's well established roster of Ryzen 7 5700G, Ryzen 5 5600G, and Ryzen 3 5300G options. Currently, dedicated product pages are not populated with information; instead you are greeted with a "404: Page Not Found" warning. AMD is well known for keeping its older technologies alive for long periods; its RDNA 3+ graphics architecture is expected to last until 2027 (or beyond).

Logitech International announces the availability of original equipment manufacturer (OEM) replacement parts for more than 20 Logitech devices on the Logitech Repair Hub, hosted by iFixit. This action marks a significant global expansion, with spare parts and repair guides now offered in multiple languages to enhance repairability worldwide. A range of Logitech and Logitech G mice, keyboards, and headsets are supported by iFixit across 62 countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, and Europe.

"Our products are designed for exceptional quality and longevity. Repairability extends their lifespan further - enhancing value and customer satisfaction," said Prakash Arunkundrum, chief operating officer at Logitech. "Normal wear and tear is inevitable, which is why we strive to make it simpler for people to access original Logitech replacement parts for their devices. Having global iFixit community repair guides in multiple languages encourages more people to do straightforward repairs, saving them money and reducing waste."

AMD's most affordable AM5 processor, the Ryzen 5 7400F, has emerged in Chinese retail channels priced at 849 RMB (approximately $116 with taxes). The pricing suggests the processor could retail for around $100 in other markets before local taxes. The newest silently announced CPU features 6 cores and 12 threads, joining AMD's existing Zen 4 processor lineup. Operating at a base clock of 3.7 GHz with boost capabilities up to 4.7 GHz, the chip maintains the same 32 MB L3 cache as its predecessors while running at a 65 W TDP. Unlike the previous Ryzen 5 7500F, which was limited to system builders and OEMs, the 7400F will be sold directly to consumers through regular retail channels. The processor includes a basic AMD Wraith Stealth cooler in its retail package.

The chip supports standard features found across the AM5 platform, including memory overclocking through AMD EXPO and CPU performance tuning via Precision Boost Overdrive. Like other Ryzen processors, it maintains unlocked multipliers for manual overclocking. The 7400F's appearance follows AMD's recent pattern of quiet releases, similar to the Ryzen 5 9600 that appeared during CES 2025. No official announcement preceded the processor's retail availability. Early listings show the processor available through several Chinese retailers, though availability in other regions remains unclear. The competitive price point could make AMD's AM5 platform more accessible to users building on tighter budgets, though potential buyers will still need to factor in the cost of DDR5 memory and AM5 motherboards required by the platform.

Intel product change notification documents—published on January 6—have revealed the planned "End of Life" (EOL) phasing out of 12th Generation "Alder Lake" mobile processor models. Tom's Hardware has pored over the listed products/SKUs and concluded that the vast majority of Team Blue's mobile-oriented Alder Lake selection are destined for retirement. Team Blue's HX series is being kept alive for a little while longer. Two documents show differing "discontinuance timelines" for their respective inventories—including lower-end Celeron and Pentium Gold SKUs, as well as familiar higher-up Core i3, i5, i7, and i9 families. U, P, H and HK-affixed models are lined up for the chopping block.

Intel's 13th Generation "Raptor Lake" mobile processor selection—comprised of Core 100 (series 1) and Core 200 (series 2)—offers similar silicon makeup. Many equivalent alternatives to older generation "Alder Lake" chips reside here—Tom's Hardware presented a key example: "i5-1235U, which is designated for thin and lightweight laptops. OEMs can instead opt for the i5-1335U, the Core 5 120U, or the Core 5 220U, as they're just better bins of the 1235U on the same FCBGA1744 socket." A significant number of Alder Lake mobile SKUs will be available to OEMs for ordering up until 26 April, with final shipments heading out on 25 October. The rest have been assigned a July 25 order cut-off date, with final shipments scheduled on 26 January 2026.

According to a recent Citigroup analysis, CXMT, China's domestic memory chipmaker, is demonstrating significant progress in its DDR5 production yields. The company's DDR5 yield rates had reached approximately 80%, marking a substantial improvement from its initial 50% yields when production began. This progress builds on CXMT's experience with DDR4 manufacturing, where the company has achieved yields of around 90%. The company currently operates two fab facilities in Hefei, with Fab 1 dedicated to DDR4 production on 19 nm process technology and a 100,000 wafer per month capacity. Fab 2 focuses on DDR5 production using 17 nm technology, with a current capacity of 50,000 wafers per month. CXMT's DDR5 yields could improve further to approximately 90% by the end of 2025.

Despite these improvements, CXMT faces technological challenges compared to industry leaders. The company's current production process is 19 nm for DDR4 and 17 nm for DDR5, lagging behind competitors like Samsung and SK Hynix, which manufacture 12 nm DDR5 chips. This technology gap results in higher power consumption and less favorable form factors for CXMT's products. The company primarily targets domestic Chinese smartphone and computing OEM customers. Looking ahead, CXMT plans to expand its DDR5 and HBM capabilities, with a potential additional capacity of 50,000 wafers per month at Fab 2 in 2025, if market conditions prove favorable. The company is also making progress on HBM2 development, with customer sampling underway and low-volume production expected to begin in mid-2025.

Ultra Accelerator Link (UALink ) Consortium, led by Board Members from AMD, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Astera Labs, Cisco, Google, Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE), Intel, Meta and Microsoft, have announced the incorporation of the Consortium and are extending an invitation for membership to the community. The UALink Promoter Group was founded in May 2024 to define a high-speed, low-latency interconnect for scale-up communications between accelerators and switches in AI pods & clusters. "The UALink standard defines high-speed and low latency communication for scale-up AI systems in data centers"