Visit our other websites:    On CE ... eSP ... Mobile Channels ... ECI news ... rAVe Europe ... Digital Signage News EMEA

PCs - PC Components

The Smallest Gigabyte Motherboard

E-mail Print PDF
The Smallest Gigabyte Motherboard

Gigabyte releases a motherboard aimed at PICO ITX systems-- the GA-PICO3350, a board measuring all of 100 x 72mm based on the Intel Celeron N3350 Apollo Lake SoC processor.

The 6W processor is soldered on, and offers 2C/2T with a base boost of 1.1/2.4GHz. In addition, the motherboard has a single SO-DIMM with support for up to 8GB of DDR3L memory running at 1600/1866MHz, and offers dual-display capability through 24-bit dual-channel LVDS with max resolution reaching 1920x1200.

Continue reading...

PCIe 6.0 Spec Set for 2021 Release

E-mail Print PDF
PCIe 6.0 Spec Set for 2021 Release

The PCI-SIG announces the next generation of PCIe technology-- the PCIe 6.0 specification-- is on track for a final 2021 release, following the completion of revision 0.3 of the specification.

The organisation completed the PCIe 5.0 specification just a few months ago, specifically on May 2019. We know little as to how version 6.0 will improve on it, other than the doubling of the data rate to 64 GT/s while maintaining backward compatibility with all previous spec generations. For the curious, the 64 GT/s figure refers to GigaTransfers per second over the interface, and clocks to around 256GB/s of bandwidth (or 128GB/s in each direction).

Continue reading...

Gartner: Business PCs Drive EMEA Market

E-mail Print PDF
Gartner: Business PCs Drive EMEA Market

The EMEA PC market is up by 3% Y-o-Y in Q3 2019, Gartner reports, as shipments total 19.4 million units thanks to "strong" demand from businesses across W. Europe, except the UK due to (perhaps obvious) Brexit-related reasons.

Desktops remain a popular form factor with many European businesses, while mobile PC shipments see a return to growth after 2 quarters of decline. Results are less rosy on a global perspective, since Q3 2019 shipments total 68m units, a 1.1% Y-o-Y increase compared to the 67m units of Q3 2018.

“The Windows 10 refresh cycle continued to be the primary driver for growth across all regions, although the magnitude of the impact varied according to local market conditions and the stage of the refresh cycle,” the analyst says. “For example, in Japan, PC shipments grew 55% Y-o-Y in Q3 2019, driven by the Windows 10 refresh cycle and a pending sales tax change. This strong growth helped propel the total worldwide PC market to growth.”

Continue reading...

AMD Presents Radeon RX 5500 Graphics Processors

E-mail Print PDF
AMD Presents Radeon RX 5500 Graphics Processors

AMD announces the Radeon RX 5500-- a series of graphics processors based on 7nm Navi GPUs aimed at bringing RDNA gaming architecture to the mainstream market on both desktop and notebook PCs.

The range consists of the regular desktop RX 5500 and the RX 5500M mobile variant. The company says it built for 1080p gaming with high-fidelity graphics and ultra-responsive gameplay, with the promise of a 37% increase in average performance compared to previous Radeon graphics cards running at 1080p, at least with "select titles."

For mobile gaming, the RX 5500M provides a 30% boost in performance, with up to 60fps in select AAA titles and up to 90fps in select eSports games. In addition, AMD says the RX5500 allows for 1.6X higher gaming performance-per-watt than current Radeon graphics cards based on Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture.

Continue reading...

Intel Launches 10th Gen Core X-Series High-End Processors

E-mail Print PDF
Intel Launches 10th Gen Core X-Series High-End Processors

Intel aims at enthusiast and creative customers with the launch of the 10th gen Core X-series, high-end processors with features such as wifi AX200 (aka Gig+) support, Deep Learning (DLBoost) instructions for AI and Optane 905P SSD support.

All processors making the Core X-series offer 72 PCIe lanes, and include Turbo Boost 2.0, Turbo Boost 3.0 (with favoured cores), Optane support, TDP and memory support. The highest-end model is the Core i9-10980XE Extreme Edition, with 18 cores/36 threads, boost up to 4.8GHz, 24.75MB L3 cache and a TDP of 165W. On the lower end is the Core i9-10900X, with 10 cores/20 threads, 3.7GHz base clock and up to 4.7GHz turbo.

Continue reading...

The Tiny PicoBox Z2 PSUs

E-mail Print PDF
The Tiny PicoBox Z2 PSUs

Small power supply maker PicoBox presents a PC PSU series measuring just 56mm-- the Z2, a PSU packing all components in a compact board customers can set on top of the motherboard 24-pin ATX connector.

Being so small, the Z2 PSU takes no internal system space, making it attractive for use in compact PC builds. Available with a choice of 120W, 160W, 200W and 250W max output ratings, the Z2 range is just 56mm long and 27mm deep, with a fanless design PicoBox claims offers "super high efficiency" of over 94%. The board features an 8-bit microcontroller with electrolytic capacitors, and offerc OCP, OVP and OTP protections.

Continue reading...

GfK: Slight Decline for H1 2019 PC Market

E-mail Print PDF
GfK: Slight Decline for H1 2019 PC Market

Global consumer PC revenues are down "slightly" in H1 2019, GfK reports, as they fall by -1.5% Y-o-Y to €23.2 billion. Mobile PC turnover is up by 1% to  €18bn, while desktops and AIO see a -10% Y-o-Y decline to €5.3bn.

The analyst points out the processor supply shortage faced in Q4 2019, the effects of which are still being felt in 2019. It is the reason why H1 2019 mobile PC demand is down by -5% in unit term, leading to sales reaching 27.5 million units. W. European sales are down by -6% Y-o-Y. However, the importance of performance and premium features for consumers brought about a 1% increase in revenues worth €18bn.

“The PC may have lost the battle for the most personal device, but when it comes to performance and productivity, it is still irreplaceable," GfK says. "This explains why the demand for PCs is often use case-driven-- for gaming and entertainment, education, work and creativity for instance. Alongside that performance, consumers want the same appealing and sleek design they expect from their smartphone. This adds to their enjoyment when indulging themselves with premium products.”

Continue reading...

Asus Intros Compact ROG AMD X570 Motherboards

E-mail Print PDF
Asus Intros Compact ROG AMD X570 Motherboards

Asus announces a pair of compact ROG-branded AMD X570 motherboards-- the Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Impact (Mini-DTX, 20.3 x 17cm) and ROG Strix X570-I Gaming (Mini-ITX, 17 x 17cm), both featuring premium designs aimed at gamer and enthusiast customers.

As the company puts it, the motherboards will "treat users to the full-on ROG experience in a small package." As such, both motherboards carry Infineon TDA21472 power stages as part of the VRM architecture, something Asus says helps with rapidly changing current demands, minimising switching and conduction losses, and maintaining thermal performance.

Cooling comes through large heatsinks and two Delta Superflo fans rated to last over 60000 hours cooling chipset and VRM areas. Also included are heatpipes designed to minimise thermal throttling from components operating with high core count processors. The two motherboards have PCIe x16 and M.2 slots wired with PCIe 4.0 for high-performance graphics NVMe drive connectivity. Wifi 6 (802.11ax) support is also included.

Continue reading...

IDC: Win 10 Transition Keeps EMEA PCs Positive

E-mail Print PDF
IDC: Win 10 Transition Keeps EMEA PCs Positive

EMEA traditional PC (combining desktops, notebooks and workstations) shipments total 71.7 million units in 2019, IDC reports-- a 0.2% increase brought about by a a strong pipeline of deals ahead on Windows 7 end of support.

According to the analyst, while slow demand and high inventory continue to affect the consumer market, the Windows 10 refresh of the commercial market should be sufficient to offset an overall negative trend. W. Europe continues to drive the market in 2019, but CEE is set to pick up the pace in 2020 and continue growing through to 2023. MEA should be soft in 2020, before gaining stability until 2023.

"The Western PC market gained further momentum in Q2 2019, primarily boosted by the Windows 10 transition in the commercial segment," IDC says. "Despite CPU shortages constraining the supply chain, efficient planning by OEMs toward order fulfillment supported strong results across both the private and public segments. The outlook for 2019H2 remains strong as demand is expected to strengthen from the SMB space, supported by large and very large businesses as Windows 7 nears end of life."

Continue reading...

Page 5 of 70