PCI-SIG has released version 0.5 of the PCIe 6.0 specification to its members this week. The new, "first draft" version of the spec includes the feedback the group got from its members after publication of version 0.3 back in October. With their latest update, PCI-SIG remains confident that it is on track to finalize the PCIe 6.0 standard in 2021.

It took PCI-SIG long seven years to complete the PCIe 4.0 specification, a

GIGABYTE has quietly added its first Comet Lake-U-powered ultra-compact form-factor (UCFF) BRIX PCs to its lineup. The new systems were designed for home, office, and commercial applications, they offer up to six cores as well as advanced connectivity.

GIGABYTE’s lineup of BRIX UCFF barebones PCs based on Intel’s 10 ^th Generation Core (Comet Lake-U) processors currently includes four base models featuring the Core i7-10710U with six cores,

USB Type-C connectors on displays and docking capabilities for modern laptops are extremely convenient, but up until recently monitor manufacturers have treated USB-C as a premium feature. This is slowly but surely changing, as this week Philips introduced its business-oriented model 243B1, which promises to be one of the most reasonably-priced USB-C docking displays on the market.

The Philips 243B1 is a pretty regular 23.8-inch IPS monitor for office use, featuring

High-performance external storage devices are gaining popularity these days as many mobile PCs come with a relatively low-capacity SSD that cannot be upgraded. To that end, ADATA this week announced its new lineup of high-end external SSDs that offer high performance with capacities of up to 1 TB.

The ADATA SE760 external SSDs come in a Black or Titan Gray metallic enclosure that measure 122.2×44×14 mm (4.8×1.73×0.

Even though Microsoft ended regular support for Windows 7 last month, there are millions of customers who continue to use the OS and plan to stick with it for a while to come. But even without essential security updates, trying to use Windows 7 in 2020 comes with an even bigger roadblock: most modern platforms aren't supported by the OS, which limits upgrades and replacement hardware to badly outdated parts. So, in an effort to continue supporting customers who want to use Windows 7 no matter what,

Samsung Foundry has started mass production of chips using its 6LPP and 7LPP manufacturing processes at its new V1 fab. The new facility employs one of the industry’s first production lines built from the ground up for technologies that heavily use EUV tools.

EUVL is a key enabler for Samsung’s next-generation leading-edge fabrication processes as it allows to reduce usage of multipatterning, and increases yields of chips architected for smaller technologies. Samsung currently uses EUVL equipment for its 6LPP and 7LPP nodes,

Plextor has introduced its new flagship consumer SSD lineup, the M9P Plus. The new drives continue to use Marvell’s proven "Eldora" controller, but come equipped with Kioxia’s 96-layer BiCS4 3D TLC NAND memory, and offer slightly higher sequential performance than its predecessors.

Set to be available in 256 GB, 512 GB, and 1 TB configurations, the new Plextor M9P Plus lineup is based on the Marvell 88SS1092

Embedded computing specialist Kontron has revealed anew Mini-ITX system for commercial use. Designed for  applications such as AI/ML, image processing, data analysis, system monitoring & control, and manufacturing execution, the small form factor KBox B-202-CFL PC offers extensive expandability and can be equipped with a variety of powerful accelerators and expansion cards for various tasks.

At the heart of Kontron’s KBox B-202-CFL system are Intel’s 8th and 9th Generation Core processors

Following through on their roadmap for transitioning to PCIe 4.0 , Kioxia (formerly Toshiba Memory) has announced the availability of their first two PCIe 4.0 SSDs. The CD6 and CM6 SSDs target the datacenter and enterprise markets respectively, with a common hardware platform but some differences in configuration, features and performance.

The CD6 and CM6 use a next-generation SSD controller from Kioxia. As with most NVMe controller designs, the switch to PCIe 4.0 has triggered a switch to 16

Intel’s Compute Stick, a self-contained PC-on-a-stick that could be used to transform any display into a PC, was an interesting concept when it was revealed several years ago. However it never really took off in the intervening years, due in part to limitations imposed by the form factor, leading to the chipmaker to abandon the project. Still, the Compute Stick did find a small but apparently loyal user base who remained interested in the niche solution, and so this week ASUS is