Latest news with #Tom'sHardware
Yahoo
a day ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel says you can download more FPS for Lunar Lake — new driver promises up to 10% higher average frame rates, 25% improvement in 99th percentiles
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Last month, Intel launched new power-optimized drivers for handheld devices, touting performance gains across various titles. With the latest Arc graphics driver version 32.0.101.6874, Intel is expanding these optimizations to all Core Ultra 200V-powered devices, across laptops and mini-PCs. Since Intel's Arc is still in its early stages, many initial launches have improved with age due to subsequent driver improvements. This has been evident with Alchemist. Furthermore, despite Battlemage offering a relatively stronger and more stable platform at launch, it's clear there is still untapped potential, as shown by these software-driven improvements. Intel's Arc graphics driver 32.0.101.6734 introduced notable low-power mode optimizations for Lunar Lake-powered handhelds, specifically the MSI Claw 8 AI+. After extensive validation and testing, Intel is expanding the scope of these optimizations to all devices, whether laptops or mini-PCs. First-party metrics suggest a 10% bump in performance across the board in nine titles, with the Core Ultra 7 258V at 17W, but your mileage will vary. We'll have to verify these claims through independent testing. It's important to note these improvements are specifically for Intel's low-power Arc 130V and Arc 140V offerings, not the desktop-based Battlemage Arc B-series. The new drivers also address a slew of bugs across various productivity applications and games. A noteworthy detail in the patch notes is the increased memory allocation for integrated Arc GPUs across Core Ultra Series 1 (Meteor Lake) and Series 2 (Arrow Lake and Lunar Lake) product lines, now supporting up to 57% compared to the previous 50% cap. Thus, a 16GB host system can allocate 9.12GB to the iGPU, as opposed to 8GB previously. This isn't the first time Intel has offered improved performance through software updates, as a previous driver release from last October increased FPS by as much as 24%. This builds on earlier optimizations for the Arc platform, so we'll probably see further, likely less pronounced improvements down the road. Most software divisions are likely hard at work preparing the groundwork for next-generation Celestial (Xe3) graphics, set to be introduced with Panther Lake early next year. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
'Data Center GPUs' Prove Little Help for Intel Stock (NASDAQ:INTC)
Chip stock Intel (INTC) has been eagerly fighting to win back its presence in the data center. And as more data centers start taking on artificial intelligence (AI) operations, that has left Intel somewhat on the back foot. But Intel is working to make a comeback, and giving its Battlemage graphics processing unit (GPU) line some extra room to run. Sadly, this did little good for Intel stock, as shareholders rejected the notion and bolted for the exits, taking shares down nearly 4% in Friday afternoon's trading. Confident Investing Starts Here: Reports noted that Intel engineers are currently working on a Linux kernel to drive data center GPUs, which pretty much means Battlemage at this point. Intel already has a couple of entrants in the GPU field—the Arc B-Series and the Arc Pro B-Series—but with this new kernel being established, reports note, that will get Battlemage into the fray as well, doing more than just improving people's gaming experience. The reports suggest that the new combination will come out under the Data Center GPU Flex Series, unless some fresh power is brought in that makes it more along the lines of the Data Center GPU Max Series. Word from the patch notes, meanwhile, notes that the new data center GPU line will have access to the Synopsis DesignWare I2C host adapter, which handles connection duties for a range of microcontrollers. New Packaging, Too Further, Intel is also working to bring out new word about its packaging, including one big breakthrough in the EMIB-T class. EMIB-T, noted a report from Tom's Hardware, will offer larger-size chip packages as well as greater options in power delivery, and even an improvement in heat spreader operations for a more reliable chip overall. The EMIB-T design, meanwhile, is fairly similar to its EMIB lineup, but with the addition of 'through-silicon vias,' (TSVs) that lend access to better communications and power flow between dies and chiplets in the chip overall. That again should help improve efficiency and speeds, making chips made in this fashion more attractive overall. Is Intel a Buy, Hold or Sell? Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on INTC stock based on one Buy, 26 Holds and four Sells assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 34.36% loss in its share price over the past year, the average INTC price target of $21.29 per share implies 8.76% upside potential.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Intel demos Panther Lake CPUs at Computex 2025 — here's everything to know
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. The computing conference Computex 2025 is showcasing the future of PCs in Taipei this week with massive announcements from Nvidia, AMD and more. Intel is among them, and one of the bigger reveals from Team Blue this week was live demos of the upcoming Panther Lake Core Ultra 300 CPUs for laptops. Our colleagues at Tom's Hardware got to put some eyeballs on the Panther Lake-powered systems while at Computex, and their Intel demos sound promising. According to them, Intel showcased real-time tests of a Panther Lake CPU as it rendered or powered AI applications. They showed that the "silicon is healthy and on-track for retail availability in early 2026." The processors were using Cougar Cove P-cores (performance cores) and Darkmont E-cores (efficiency cores) which are being built on Intel's 18A node process, which should deliver better performance than earlier editions. The new laptop CPUs were described as blend of Intel's power-efficient Lunar Lake chips and the Arrow Lake-H performance CPUs. That sounds like it could be good news for future handheld gaming PCs like the MSI Claw 8 AI+, though we expect to see Panther Lake primarily in laptops. Intel has also previously teased a "next-gen built-in iGPU" which could also be a major performance booster, but it has not elaborated on that teaser at Computex so far. Intel has faced severe challenges in the last couple of years, so Panther Lake needs to be a quality chip to right the boat for the struggling chip maker. Especially as companies like AMD are impressing with its Ryzen Z2 Extreme processors, which we saw in a MSI Claw A8 at Computex. That said, right now Intel has the advantage in battery life efficiency with its Lunar Lake chips and it appears that Panther Lake is on track to keep that lead while providing better performance. Qualcomm slams Intel chips in new Snapdragon ads — and it may have a point Intel Core Ultra 200U, 200H, 200HX and 200S PCs coming this month — here's everything we know Intel Core Ultra 9 275HX CPU is the best-performing laptop processor according to new benchmarks — but Apple still beats it in this key area
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Yahoo
Intel ARCade machine showcases a NUC Extreme with Arc A770 GPU
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. While Intel is gearing up to reveal new Battlemage products at Computex in a few days, X user Haze has shared an image of an Intel ARCade machine featuring a last-generation Alchemist A7 series GPU. Often seen as Intel marketing material for major e-sports events, this machine was reportedly found out of commission and unused at an unnamed Intel campus. Intel was enthusiastic in the months leading up to the Alchemist launch, as evident in its marketing push for the product. This ranged from custom 60-foot air-conditioned gaming trucks to smaller Arcade machines, like the one we're seeing today. Following the delays associated with Alchemist and inevitable teething problems, Intel has maintained a relatively low profile with Arc since then. The desktop Battlemage launch is proof of this. The ARCade is an Intel-powered arcade-style machine that has been a recurring presence at events like DreamHack. The controller layout depicts a two-player configuration for fighting games like Street Fighter and Tekken. A quick look inside reveals a GPU at its core, which carries a strong visual resemblance to Intel's Limited Edition models from the Alchemist range, likely the A770. The GPU is presumably housed in an Intel NUC 12 Extreme, but any guess is as good as ours. Sadly, the machine has been affixed with a sticky note stating "Out of order". The error message on the screen, "A Bootable Device Has Not Been Detected", suggests the problem shouldn't be that difficult to resolve. Perhaps Intel will revise the design with a Battlemage-based GPU, or explore selling these cabinets to eager collectors. Intel's marketing has been considerably scaled back in recent times. Still, their product delivery remains strong, as evidenced by the Arc B580 and B570, which are what matters. That being said, keep your eyes peeled for Computex, as Intel is reportedly preparing to reveal new 24GB models of the B580, along with a potential BMG-G31-based B770, if we're lucky. Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News to get our up-to-date news, analysis, and reviews in your feeds. Make sure to click the Follow button.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Chinese Researchers Say They Have a Fast, Silicon-Free Transistor
A team of researchers from Peking University claims to have developed a non-silicon transistor that is faster and more power-efficient than the latest tech in the industry. If the claim, which is published in the journal Nature Materials (out of London), is accurate, it would mean that China has bleeding-edge tech that could rival chips from Intel and TSMC, among others. Still, it's a long way from publishing a research paper to turning the tech industry on its head. The team developed a two-dimensional transistor using bismuth oxyselenide. The team's transistor has Gate-all-around technology, the latest field-effect transistor technology. It replaces FinFET. Because GAAFET means less current leakage and helps chip makers create ever-smaller transistors, the inclusion of GAA in the research team's silicon-alternative efforts is crucial. Although the 2D bismuth transistor tech can potentially be more sturdy than silicon, the biggest draw for China could be that it might be able to use equipment it already has to produce transistors on a large scale. Interestingly, the team says that it managed to test its own transistor tech against Intel, Samsung, and TSMC technology and that it performed better than all of them, according to Tom's Hardware. That's a bold claim to make, and we'll believe it when we see it. Even before China and the US became embroiled in the Trump administration's tariffs, the US took steps to prevent China from getting its hands on the latest technology, including silicon transistors. In the face of these roadblocks, China has looked for ways to compete with the world's cutting-edge tech with different materials and home-brewed software. One of the more surprising examples of its occasional success is DeepSeek, which splashed onto the large language model (LLM) AI scene and battered Nvidia's stock (for a time). The fear with technology from China is that the country will use it to collect data on foreign states and their citizens. DeepSeek, for example, appears to be sending user data to China. Huawei, which is based in China, has been looking for ways to produce better processors, but has been challenged by roadblocks put up by the US. Although the research team doesn't indicate that Huawei has shown interest in its new transistor tech, it wouldn't be surprising if Huawei and others use it as a way to work around the limitations of their aging lithography machines.
