Intel Core Ultra 200 CPUs May Bottleneck Gen 5 SSDs
The latency is dramatic: 12GB/s sequential read speeds have been the norm for the SSD reviewer with Core Ultra 200S CPUs in the test bench. Random write speeds are apparently lower than expected, too.
Kudos go to Intel for responding to The SSD Review. It pointed out that the die-to-die path on its CPU is a little longer for Gen 5 memory than for other PCIe lanes.
'Intel can confirm that the PCIe Lanes 21 to 24 Gen5 root port on Intel Core Ultra 200S series processors may exhibit increased latencies compared to the PCIe Lanes 1 to 16 Gen5 root ports, owing to a longer die-to-die data path,' Intel noted to The SSD Review. 'However, any variations are contingent upon the specific workload and the capabilities of the PCIe endpoint device.'
Credit: Intel
As Tom's Hardware notes, Raptor Lake doesn't appear to suffer the same problem. The SSD Review tested the issue with Micron Pro and Samsung 9100 Pro SSDs on its test bench with Arrow Lake and Raptor Lake setups. The different CPU/motherboard combos highlighted the problem: The Raptor Lake setup logged 14.3GB/s, while the Arrow Lake setup landed at 12.3GB/s. That's not what you want to see from newer, more advanced hardware.
That's an annoying problem, for sure, but you can circumvent it by picking up a PCIe add-in card instead of an M.2 card. The SSD Review had no problem getting full speeds from the PCIe 5.0 lane.
And, although we're generally loathe to take the 'grin and bear it' approach, it may be the easiest path for you if you already have Gen 5 memory in an M.2 slot on an Intel Z890 board. After all, as The SSD Review points out, even at 12GB/s, the setup provides much faster speeds than a rig with Gen 4 speeds. If you have been using your PC without complaint until now, there's really no need to make a change.

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Tom's Guide
2 hours ago
- Tom's Guide
I tested this crazy portable 17-inch laptop — and it's lighter and lasts longer than the MacBook Air
The new LG Gram 17 (starting at $1,699) is one of the lightest laptops I've ever tested. The lightweight design is the main selling point, but this ultraportable also offers strong Intel Core Ultra 7-driven performance and long-lasting battery life. I like the large 17-inch (2,560 x 1,600) display, which gives me more than enough room for all the windows I need open for work. And though it's not an OLED, the panel is still plenty bright and colorful. Whether it's websites or movies, everything appears nice and clear. The Intel 'Lunar Lake' processor inside gives the LG Gram 17 enough power for the basics, such as word processing and watching videos. It's able to handle my everyday workflow without a problem and can even tackle some light gaming. Intel's efficient processor also gives this Windows laptop battery life that's comparable to the best MacBooks. I'm used to reviewing heavy laptops, so carrying the LG Gram 17 around is a nice change of pace since it's so thin and light. If you frequently travel or like working outdoors, you'll appreciate how easy it is to travel with this laptop. Unfortunately, the plastic-feeling chassis that allows the LG Gram 17 to be so light can also make it feel cheap in your hands. Though I'm not enamored with the chassis and wish the price were lower, the new LG Gram 17 is an overall good device for folks looking for a 17-inch Windows laptop with strong performance and dependable battery life. I'll explain why in my full review. LG Gram 17 (2025) Price $1,699 Display 17-inch (2,560x1,600) 16:10 touch IPS CPU Intel Core Ultra 7 256V GPU Intel Arc Graphics 140V (8GB) Memory 32GB Storage 1TB Ports 1x HDMI, 1x headphone jack, 2x USB-A, 2x USB-C Connectivity Bluetooth 5.3 | Wi-Fi 7 Dimensions 14.9 x 10.1 x 0.7 inches Size 3.2 pounds The LG Gram 17 (2025) is an exceptionally lightweight laptop that's tailor-made for working on the go. It also features a large 17-inch display, strong Intel Core Ultra performance and phenomenal battery life. The LG Gram 17 might not weigh a gram, but it's still extremely light. Sure, 3.2 pounds is just a shade lighter than a 15-inch MacBook Air M4, but LG's notebook feels even lighter given its 14.9 x 10.1 x 0.7-inch size. This is the lightest 17-inch laptop I've ever tested. Aside from the etched 'gram' logo on the back, this laptop is free of any embellishments. While the all-black chassis isn't much to look at, it's still elegant. The chassis has a slightly rough texture that makes the laptop easy to hold, though it catches fingerprints too easily. You get a decent amount of ports here, including two USB-A, a pair of USB-C, an HDMI and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The HDMI port is ideal if you want to connect this laptop to an external monitor, and I appreciate that it has not one but two USB-A ports for legacy devices. Besides the lightweight design, the LG Gram 17's other main selling point is its large 17-inch display. The sharp 2,560 x 1,600 resolution lets you see everything clearly, whether it's a long spreadsheet or a YouTube video. Speaking of YouTube videos, I was impressed with how vibrant the latest Fantastic Four trailer appears on the 17-inch display. Though said display isn't OLED, its oversaturated colors make everything appear crisp and bright. I've seen better laptop displays, but this one doesn't disappoint. LG Gram 17 (2025) Samsung Galaxy Book Pro 5 MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Nits (brightness) 358 381 (SDR) 556 (SDR) sRGB 161.2% 117.5% 113.3% DCI-P3 114.2% 83.3% 80.2% Delta-E 0.3 0.32 0.19 Our lab tests correspond with my anecdotal experience. As you can see, the LG Gram can get decently bright despite lacking HDR. Color reproduction (sRGB and DCI-P3) is decidedly oversaturated since it goes beyond the 100% target. Color accuracy (Delta-E) isn't the best, but it won't make a huge difference for most folks. This laptop's touchscreen is impressive, rivaling even the best tablets. It makes tapping and dragging feel smooth and intuitive. I don't use touchscreens on laptops much, but it's a nice feature for anyone who wants (or prefers) touch controls. Most of the laptops featuring Lunar Lake CPUs we've reviewed have delivered solid performance, and that's also true with the LG Gram 17. This laptop is powerful enough to handle my daily workload, which usually consists of over 30 open Chrome tabs with the occasional YouTube video running in the background. Firing up additional apps (like GIMP) for photo editing or even listening to Spotify doesn't slow this laptop down. LG Gram 17 (2025) Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro MacBook Pro 14-inch M4 Geekbench 6 (single-core) 2,757 2,760 3,807 Geekbench 6 (multi-core) 10,560 11,115 15,114 Handbrake (video transcode) 7:02 6:16 4:27 LG's laptop performed well in our lab tests. On Geekbench 6, which tests overall CPU performance, the LG Gram 17 scored decently in single- and multi-core performance. The Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro, which also has a Lunar Lake chip, scored better in the multi-core portion of the test, but single-core is effectively the same. The M4-powered 14-inch MacBook Pro outperforms both, however. In our Handbrake video editing test, which involves transcoding a 4K video clip to 1080p, the LG Gram 17 took longer to complete the task than Samsung's notebook. While surfing the web won't be an issue, don't expect to transcode videos as easily. The LG Gram 17 has exceptional battery life for a Windows laptop. While there are still some MacBooks that endure longer, you won't be disappointed with how long LG's laptop lasts. Time (hours:mins) LG Gram 17 (2025) 15:31 MacBook Air 15-inch M4 15:22 Samsung Galaxy Book 5 Pro 12:25 In our lab test, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi with the display set to 150 nits of brightness, the LG Gram 17 lasted for an incredible 15 hours and 31 minutes. That's slightly longer than the MacBook Air 15-inch M4, and nearly 3 hours longer than the Galaxy Book 5 Pro, though the latter's OLED screen does negatively impact its battery life. The LG Gram 17 has a lot going for it, but it's not a perfect laptop. The LG Gram 17 has a sturdy chassis that doesn't easily bend or flex. But while I love the LG Gram 17's lightness, that same featherweight combined with the plastic-feeling chassis can make this notebook feel cheap. According to LG, this laptop's chassis is made of aluminum alloy, which is interesting considering how it feels like plastic. The laptop even produces a hollow sound when I tap it, which is usually what happens with a plastic chassis. This might not be a deal breaker, but it prevents this laptop from feeling premium. Though the LG Gram 17 offers great performance and stellar battery life, its $1,699 asking price is a bit hard to stomach. For $1,599 (or $1,299 at time of writing), you can get the Galaxy Book 5 Pro, which has a more premium-feeling chassis and a gorgeous OLED touchscreen. $1,599 can also get you a 14-inch MacBook Air M4, which offers significantly better performance and battery life. The LG Gram 17 would be more appealing at $1,399 or lower. But at its current price, it's for folks who are dead set on a super lightweight 17-inch Windows laptop. Despite its faults, the LG Gram 17 is still a great laptop for what it offers. The 17-inch display delivers a sizable canvas, and its performance and battery life make it perfect for everyday work. Lowering the price by $200-$300 would make this an easy recommendation. That said, you'll be hard-pressed to find such a lightweight 17-inch notebook. If that's important to you, then the LG Gram 17 won't disappoint. However, if you're looking for better performance, battery life and display quality, there are better options out there.


Entrepreneur
5 hours ago
- Entrepreneur
Annual Workforce Plans Are Costing You Millions — Fix It With This Shift
By taking a continuous approach to workforce planning, companies can match their people with business goals and changing economic conditions. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. For companies, workforce planning isn't about to get any easier. Just ask Intel, which is laying off up to 20% of employees from its chip-making division, after slashing 15% of its workforce last summer. Tens of thousands of roles were eliminated in a matter of months. This kind of dramatic shift is increasingly the rule, not the exception. AI is a key culprit, causing headcounts to plummet in some areas and surge in others. Geopolitics and tariffs are also increasingly a factor. My company works with an exercise equipment manufacturer whose prices spiked 40% overnight, turning its workforce plans upside down. All of these points point to a stark conclusion: The way most companies approach workforce planning is no longer viable. Any business that still relies on a rigid annual plan is asking for trouble. In fact, businesses are expected to suffer a staggering $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenue by 2030, partly thanks to poor workforce planning. It doesn't have to be that way. By taking a much more dynamic approach to workforce planning, companies can match their people with business goals and changing economic conditions in real time. And as it turns out, AI is a key part of the solution. Here's why sticking with the status quo is so risky, and how businesses can break free. Join top CEOs, founders and operators at the Level Up conference to unlock strategies for scaling your business, boosting revenue and building sustainable success. The high cost of an outdated workforce planning If you work at a company where workforce planning is a yearly exercise, you're far from alone. Traditionally, that's how businesses have anticipated their workforce needs. Managers identify sales and revenue goals, then work backward to set budgets and headcounts across different departments. Because yearly planning is a guessing game, it isn't very effective. I know this firsthand from coming up through the software industry, where workforce plans often morph as quickly as they're written. This kind of episodic approach to workforce planning has a number of serious drawbacks: The typical cadence of workforce planning is ill-adapted to the pace of modern work. Almost 40% of companies create 12-month plans. But digital transformation has already compressed business cycles, and AI is now accelerating change at an even faster pace. Plans made last month may already be obsolete. People planning tends to be rudimentary and superficial. Only about one-third of HR leaders say their organization is good at using data for workforce planning, while more than two-thirds said their workforce planning is limited to headcount alone, with no analysis of underlying capacity. More than half of companies lack a clear picture of their employees' current skills and the roles that are likely to face disruption. Planners are still thinking strictly in terms of butts in seats versus a more nuanced assessment of discrete skills needed. What is the consequence of all that? Companies often end up with way too many people, or way too few. This translates either to bloated payrolls or, even worse, inability to serve surging demand. When we surveyed leaders, three-quarters said talent shortfalls left them unable to meet business objectives. Domino effects of poor planning include diminished productivity, burnout and diminished morale, and loss of business to the competition. Related: Why Workforce Efficiency Isn't Just Code for Layoffs How companies can embrace continuous planning Imagine a nationwide bank in the throes of an AI makeover. That's exactly what's happening at JPMorgan Chase, which plans to use AI to shrink its workforce by 10%. With more than 300,000 employees, how can JPMorgan plan and adapt on the fly? Here's where continuous workforce planning comes in. A marked departure from annual exercises, this approach incorporates real-time data to create a flexible plan that can be reconfigured in response to changing conditions. Surging demand? Challenges with retention? A spike in costs? Continuous workforce planning adapts instead of waiting to catch up. The key to that flexibility? Gaining insights into how people drive business results in real-time. Historically, accessing and understanding the information needed to make that happen has been an obstacle. People analytics platforms change everything by breaking down silos between departments, unlocking data previously trapped in spreadsheets and hard drives. Plus, AI can now connect the dots to business outcomes, while making those insights instantly accessible in plain language. For companies looking to embrace continuous workforce planning, there are three important steps: Know who your people are and where they work. People data, which covers things like headcount, seniority, engagement, training and pay, is often surprisingly hard to access. Start by leveraging the latest people analytics tools to weave together data from disparate human capital management systems, as well as email, chat, calendar and other employee apps — providing a clearer picture of your team. People data, which covers things like headcount, seniority, engagement, training and pay, is often surprisingly hard to access. Start by leveraging the latest people analytics tools to weave together data from disparate human capital management systems, as well as email, chat, calendar and other employee apps — providing a clearer picture of your team. Know how your people work. The next step is to connect that people data with business data, which includes metrics like revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction. Which sales teams generate the most revenue? What's our least profitable division? What kind of training translates to improved customer retention? This shows how employees are contributing to actual business goals. New platforms enable connecting the dots between people and business results, providing a clearer picture of overall productivity. The next step is to connect that people data with business data, which includes metrics like revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction. Which sales teams generate the most revenue? What's our least profitable division? What kind of training translates to improved customer retention? This shows how employees are contributing to actual business goals. New platforms enable connecting the dots between people and business results, providing a clearer picture of overall productivity. Harness those insights to build a dynamic workforce plan. AI-powered workforce planning tools enable companies to continuously model scenarios and adjust resources based on shifting demands. To hit next year's financial targets, what workforce mix do we need? Given the impact of tariffs on the bottom line, how should we adjust our headcount? What's the most cost-effective way to fill current talent gaps? New platforms use real-time data and predictive capacity to guide companies toward the best plan. Related: Here's What Leaders Need to Try Before Resorting to Layoffs Continuous workforce planning in action Done right, continuous workforce planning can be a game-changer for companies: One of our clients, a financial services firm with 50,000 employees, needed a plan to navigate changing customer expectations and volatile markets. It was also juggling a mix of in-house employees, remote workers and contractors. Breaking workforce planning out of its silos, the company adopted a more dynamic model that gave it a holistic picture, aligned with business goals and enabled it to react to market fluctuations. Another customer is a healthcare provider that used our workforce planning tool to forecast job vacancies accurately. By proactively hiring some 2,000 caregivers with the right skills at the right time, it ultimately saved more than $3 million. Getting the most out of continuous workforce planning When it comes to continuous workforce planning, I've seen so many companies struggle to get over a few critical obstacles. Here are some key tips to bear in mind: Continuous planning isn't possible until you overcome siloed thinking, too. Whether it's finance, marketing or HR, executives are often stuck in their own departments. The question they should ask: How can I get a holistic view of understanding people and how they work?} Whether it's finance, marketing or HR, executives are often stuck in their own departments. The question they should ask: How can I get a holistic view of understanding people and how they work?} Not all businesses can turn on a dime. Ability to change course varies by industry, with manufacturing moving much slower than, say, software. For example, Donald Trump might want Apple to build iPhones in the US, but moving only 10% of its supply chain stateside could take three years. Ability to change course varies by industry, with manufacturing moving much slower than, say, software. For example, Donald Trump might want Apple to build iPhones in the US, but moving only 10% of its supply chain stateside could take three years. It's important not to confuse plans with reality. As helpful as workforce plans are, they do have limits. So resist the temptation to over-plan and get into the weeds. The best plans are a continually evolving model, not an exact picture of conditions on the ground. In a time of AI and economic uncertainty, agility is the only option. By shifting from static to continuous workforce planning, businesses can improve their odds of not just surviving but also thriving in turbulent times.


Fast Company
5 hours ago
- Fast Company
Siltronic lowers annual revenue guidance as semiconductor business weakens
German semiconductor materials supplier Siltronic on Tuesday lowered its full-year sales guidance and warned on sales in the next quarter, amidst continued weakness in its semiconductor business and high customer inventories. The group now expects sales to be in the mid-single-digit percentage range below the previous year, having previously guided towards sales being in the same region as the previous year. Shares in Siltronic, which have fallen 11.3% since the start of the year including today's session, were down 7% as at 1014 GMT. In 2024, the company, which makes silicon wafers used in semiconductor chips, achieved revenue of 1.41 billion euros ($1.63 billion), which was 7% below the previous year. Siltronic, whose customers include Infineon, Intel, Samsung, and TSMC, also said it expects third-quarter sales to be below the previous quarter's level, due to shifts in delivery volumes in 2025, most of which have been postponed to the fourth-quarter. Its second-quarter revenue amounted to 329.1 million euros, down from 351.3 million euros a year earlier. That was ahead of analysts' average forecast of 322 million euros, according to a poll by LSEG. On a conference call with analysts, CEO Michael Heckmeier said that high customer inventories were an issue across the entire industry. Semiconductor materials suppliers have suffered from slower than expected customer inventories reductions. 'We are stable, there's no indication that we are doing significantly better or worse than our peers,' he said. U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs and uncertainty over his trade policies have sent global markets into a tailspin and significantly dampened investors' economic optimism. Analysts at Jefferies said in a note that the U.S. and European Union agreement still poses some questions on the potential impact on wafers. Last week, ASML, the world's biggest supplier of computer chip-making equipment, also warned that it may not achieve revenue growth in 2026 as chipmakers building factories in the U.S. await clarity on the potential impact of tariffs. ($1 = 0.8631 euros) —Ozan Ergenay, Reuters