AMD Keynote and Dr. Lisa Su at CES 2022: Live Blog (7am PT, 15:00 UTC)

It's the first week of a new year, which can only mean it's the annual CES trade show! As per usual, the big names have major presentations set up to outline their products for the rest of the year. We're starting bright and early today with AMD first out of the gate, and we're expecting CEO Dr. Lisa Su to present details about the upcoming Ryzen processors as previewed yesterday at the CES awards. Come join us at 7am PT / 10am


AMD CES 2022 Pre-Show Teaser: Ryzen 6000 Series Mobile Processors with RDNA2 & DDR5 Tech

Ahead of tomorrow’s big CES keynote, AMD is offering a spoiler of sorts for one of their product announcements. As it turns out, one of AMD’s forthcoming products, the Ryzen 6000 Series Mobile processor lineup, is receiving a CES innovation award . And since those awards are being announced this evening, ahead of the show, so too is the Ryzen 6000 Mobile series.

While AMD is clearly saving the bulk of the details for tomorrow’s presentation, for this evening

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Netgear Expands Wi-Fi 6E Portfolio with Affordable Nighthawk RAXE300 Router

Netgear introduced their first Wi-Fi 6E routers last year with the launch of the Nighthawk RAXE500 and the Orbi RBKE960 . The addition of 6 GHz support makes it necessary to include more antennae and add more RF components to the board. As a result, the pricing of these routers tend to be high - the RAXE500 retails for $581 currently (launched with a MSRP of $600), while the basic Orbi RBKE962 (a

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Netgear Introduces Orbi Pro SXK50 AX5400 Mesh System for SMBs

Netgear Business - the SMB-/SME-focused arm of Netgear - has been delivering mesh Wi-Fi systems to small businesses under the Orbi Pro lineup since 2017. The 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) version was followed up by the flagship AX6000 (Wi-Fi 6) Orbi Pro SXK80 models in late 2020. Last year, a cut-down dual-band AX1800 version - the Orbi

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Intel

AMD-Xilinx Acquisition Now Expected to Close in Q1 of 2022

AMD this afternoon has sent out a brief update to the public and investors, offering an update on the status of the ongoing Xilinx acquisition. AMD’s purchase of the FPGA maker, which was previous expected to close by the end of this year, is now expected to close in the first quarter of 2022. Attributing the setback to delays in regulatory approval, AMD believes they’ll be able to finally secure the necessary approval for the $35 billion deal next quarter.

As a quick refresher

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ASUS Demonstrates DDR5 to DDR4 Converter Card

One of the key issues with purchasing a modern Alder Lake system today is the cost of the memory, especially when an enthusiast wants to use DDR5. Due to component shortages, particularly the power management controllers that each DDR5 module needs, costs of DDR5 are quickly rising, with some scalpers looking for $1000+ for basic memory kits. The solution to this has been to recommend that users look to pair Alder Lake with DDR4 memory, which although it isn’t the latest,

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CPU Year In Review 2021: Efficient Cores Are The New Bling

As far as most years ago, 2021 has been an up and down year when it comes to the desktop CPU market. At the beginning of the year, the best CPUs on the market were almost impossible to find, and when they were in stock, it was only above the suggested pricing. Now at the end of the year, processors are plentiful, but the needle has swung in the other direction when it comes to performance. Here’s a rundown of the fun year that 20


Intel

Intel Sells SSD Business to SK hynix as new Subsidiary Solidigm

In a brief news release from Intel this afternoon, the chip firm has announced that it has closed on the first stage of its deal to sell its SSD business to SK hynix. As of today, SK hynix has now formally acquired the bulk of Intel’s NAND and SSD businesses, as well as the company’s NAND fab in Dalian, China. Intel will continue to hold a small stake until 2025, and in the meantime Intel’s former SSD assets have been spun-off into

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Intel

AMD and GlobalFoundries Wafer Supply Agreement Updated Once More: Now $2.1B Through 2025

In a short note published by AMD this afternoon as part of an 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, AMD is disclosing that the company has once again updated its wafer supply agreement with long-time fab partner (and AMD fab spin-off) GlobalFoundries. Under the terms of the latest wafer supply agreement, AMD and GlobalFoundries are now committing to buying and supplying respectively $2.1 billion in wafers for the 2022 through 2025 period, adding an additional year

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Intel Alder Lake DDR5 Memory Scaling Analysis With G.Skill Trident Z5

One of the most agonizing elements of Intel's launch of its latest 12th generation Alder Lake desktop processors is its support of both DDR5 and DDR4 memory. Motherboards are either one or the other, while we wait for DDR5 to take hold in the market. While DDR4 memory isn't new to us, DDR5 memory is, and as a result, we've been reporting on the release of DDR5 since last year. Now that DDR5 is here, albeit difficult

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