Intel Reports Q1 2023 Earnings: A Record Losing Quarter Goes Better Than Expected

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Kicking off our coverage of the first earnings season of the year for the tech industry, we as always start with Intel. The blue-hued blue-chip is the first out of the gate to report their results for the first quarter of 2023, with Intel picking up the pieces after a rough end to 2023, and a rather painful start to 2023. With revenue down on a yearly basis almost across the entire board thanks to a major, industry wide slump in client and server sales, Intel’s focus has been on battening down the hatches to weather this rough period, while preparing for an eventual (if modest) upturn in the market later this year.

For the first quarter of 2023, Intel booked $11.7B in revenue, a precipitous 36% drop from the year-ago quarter. As was the case in Q4, Intel is in the midst of a major industry slump, which has hit revenues hard and operating/net incomes even harder. Intel closed the quarter in the red on an operating income basis, losing $1.5B, and the company’s overall net loss was a staggering $2.8B on a GAAP basis.

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AMD Ryzen 7000 chips will no longer randomly burn out – but there’s a cost

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On April 25 I reported that some AMD Ryzen 7000 CPUs were suddenly burning out, causing damage to the processors themselves, and in some cases to the connected motherboard.

Thankfully, AMD has quickly gotten to the root of the issue, and issued a timely AGESA firmware update for the 600-series AM5 motherboards that support the next-gen CPUs, which will limit the voltage to the chip to 1.3V. AMD said in a statement that it expects board partners to release BIOS updates containing the new firmware within the next few days.

As I previously reported, it was suspected that unsafe overvolting was the cause of the thermal issues, as voltages in excess of 1.35V appeared to be damaging the chips’ thermal safety measures and allowing them to reach unsafe temperatures.

Now, if you don’t overclock any of your components, you can just go ahead and close this article, since that sort of overvolting was only happening when users were manually overclocking their CPU (or using certain in-BIOS overclocking profiles). The issue was affecting both Ryzen 7000 and 7000X3D chips, most notably the flagship Ryzen 9 7950X3D.

Penalties for overclocking?

If you’re still reading, you’re no doubt aware that overclocking one’s components is a common practice among PC gamers and tech enthusiasts. This is done either by using a pre-loaded profile in the motherboard BIOS, or by manually raising the target operating frequencies and supplied voltage to your PC parts. We’ve got a guide on how to overclock right here, if you’ve kept reading out of curiosity!

This new firmware may come as a blow to overclocking fans, since it looks like plenty of Ryzen 7000 chips can in fact be safely overclocked above 1.3V; I noted in my previous article that 1.35V appeared to be ‘safe’, and judging by the low number of cases reported, we can assume that some Ryzen 7000 products can handle more than that with the right CPU cooling solution.

On the bright side, AMD has assured users in a statement that “none of these changes affect the ability of our Ryzen 7000 Series processors to overclock memory”, which was a concern some users had when the issues first arose, and the prospect of a voltage cap fix was suggested. There will also be no impact on AMD’s Precision Boost feature, which is a sort of automatic ‘smart overclocking’ mode.

Still, serious overclocking enthusiasts will no doubt be displeased; the competitive overclocking scene relies on esoteric liquid nitrogen cooling to push CPUs to incredibly high frequencies and voltages in order to eke out precious extra performance, and a hard voltage cap on all Ryzen 7000 processors is basically going to shut all that down.

It’s also unclear at this point whether AMD intends to refund any damaged chips; in its statement, it said that “anyone whose CPU may have been impacted by this issue should contact AMD customer support”, but it should be noted that this may only be for data-gathering purposes, since damage caused by manual hardware overclocking is explicitly not covered in Ryzen product warranties.

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AMD Issues Second Statement on Ryzen 7000 Burnout Issues: Caps SoC Voltages

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Yesterday, AMD issued a statement surrounding the issues some users have been experiencing with their Ryzen 7000X3D processors. The problem reported widely across Reddit subforums, includes some Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs burning the CPU socket on AM5 motherboards and damaging the chips, rendering them dead. AMD has released a second statement regarding the issue, including what it is doing to rectify the problem and subdue any panic users and owners of the Ryzen 7000 series processors.

The official statement from AMD is as follows:

We have root caused the issue and have already distributed a new AGESA that puts measures in place on certain power rails on AM5 motherboards to prevent the CPU from operating beyond its specification limits, including a cap on SOC voltage at 1.3V. None of these changes affect the ability of our Ryzen 7000 Series processors to overclock memory using EXPO or XMP kits or boost performance using PBO technology.

We expect all of our ODM partners to release new BIOS for their AM5 boards over the next few days. We recommend all users to check their motherboard manufacturers website and update their BIOS to ensure their system has the most up to date software for their processor. 

Anyone whose CPU may have been impacted by this issue should contact AMD customer support. Our customer service team is aware of the situation and prioritizing these cases.

To counteract the problem, AMD has seemingly identified an issue with voltages going too high when users enable AMD's EXPO memory profiles. The cap on SoC voltages looks to be the primary change in the AGESA firmware rollout, although AMD has identified a possible voltage rail within the CPU that is causing the burnouts. Along with SoC voltages, AMD has put a limit within the firmware that prevents the Ryzen 7000 CPUs from going beyond specification.

Enabling EXPO memory profiles on compatible DRAM looks to be pushing SoC voltages beyond AMD's safe spot on the Ryzen 7000 processors, which AMD believes is the root cause of the burning issue.

One interesting point about AMD's statement is that it eludes to whether or not the issue is just on its Ryzen 7000X3D processors or whether it affects all of its Ryzen 7000 processors entirely. Regardless of the Zen 4 chip that users may have, AMD is ambiguous in its language, and it seems to be that AMD is recommended that ALL users with a Ryzen 7000 series processor should update to the latest firmware.

AMD is actively working with its motherboard partners to release a new AGESA firmware, which they say has already been distributed, limits the SoC voltage to 1.30 V. AMD claims that all AM5 motherboard vendors and models should have a new BIOS version available to them within the next few days, and is recommending all users to update their BIOS at their earliest convenience.

Image source: Speedrookie/Reddit

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Report: DDR5 RDIMM Production Impacted by PMIC Compatibility Issues

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Memory module producers have been shipping unbuffered DDR5 memory modules for desktop and laptop computers running Intel's 12^th Generation Core 'Alder Lake' processors in high volumes since September, 2021, without any major issues. But DDR5 is just now entering the datacenter world, and according to a recent report, it looks like power management ICs (PMICs) for registered DIMMs have become a constraining factor due to compatibility issues.

In a report published by TrendForce discussing the current state of the market for server-grade DDR5 memory, the semiconductor analyst firm noted that there is an issue with PMIC compatibility for DDR5 RDIMMs, with both DRAM suppliers and PMIC vendors are collaborating to resolve the problem. The analysts do not reveal the exact root cause of the problem, but claim that PMICs from Monolithic Power Systems (MPS) do not have any issues, leading them to expect MPS PMICs to be in high demand for the foreseeable future.

Although DRAM makers have been distributing samples of their server grade modules to CPU and server makers since early 2022, practical issues only emerged recently when producers began to ramp up production of their machines running AMD's EPYC 9004 'Genoa' and Intel's 4^th Generation Xeon Scalable 'Sapphire Rapids' processors. As a result, the demand for PMICs from a single supplier has created a bottleneck in production, claims TrendForce. This will have a knock-on effect on the server market, which is already suffering from a demand drop.

Neither analysts nor DRAM producers are currently disclosing the precise reason for the PMIC issue. But it is evident that, as both client and server DDR5 DIMMs require PMICs, it is turning out to be harder to make server-grade modules than client-aimed DIMMs.

As part of the changes that came with the DDR5 specification, DDR5 memory modules now come with their own voltage regulating modules (VRMs) and PMIC. Moving these components on to DIMMs is intended to minimize voltage fluctuation ranges (DDR5's allowable range is about 3% (±0.033V) for a 1.1 volt supply), as well as decrease power consumption and improve performance. But doing so adds complexity to individual DIMMs, as well. 

Unbuffered DDR5 DIMMs for client PCs are relatively simple since they are all single or dual-rank and carry at most 16 single-die memory chips. High-capacity Registered DDR5 memory modules for servers use more chips and those chips can pack in multiple DRAM dies each, which greatly increases complexity.

As a result of the PMIC bottleneck as well as a slower ramping of DDR5 manufacturing capacity, TrendForce predicts that prices of server-grade 32GB DDR5 modules will drop to around $80 - $90 in April and May, due to the lower fulfillment rates of DDR5 server DRAM in the short term. As a result, DDR5 prices are expected to fall more slowly than DDR4 for the next couple of quarters, with DDR5 prices only finally catching up (or rather, down) with DDR4 once production picks up.

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AMD Releases Ryzen Z1 Series: Zen 4 & RDNA 3 Come To Handheld Game Consoles

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AMD has announced the Ryzen Z1 series of high-performance processors for handheld PC gaming consoles. The latest Ryzen Z1 chips wield Zen 4 cores and RDNA 3 graphics, a familiar combination that AMD uses for its current mobile Ryzen 7040HS series (Phoenix) processors. And while the chipmaker hasn't officially announced any lower power Phoenix chips yet (e.g. Ryzen 7040U series), given the similarities in the feature set of the Ryzen Z1 family and the Phoenix silicon, the Ryzen Z1 series appears to be a custom-tailored Phoenix SKU that prioritizes energy efficiency for handheld gaming devices, with the lead customer being Asus and their upcoming ROG Alloy.

The Ryzen Z1 series is being introduced with two SKUs. The top-tier Ryzen Z1 Extreme has eight Zen 4 CPU cores – the maximum found on Phoenix – while the vanilla Ryzen Z1 cuts that down to six CPU cores. Meanwhile on the graphics side of matters, the Ryzen Z1 Extreme flaunts 12 RDNA 3 architecture compute units, again aligning with the max number found on Phoenix silicon. It's vanilla Z1 counterpart, on the other hand, will ship with just 4 CUs enabled, one-third as many as on the flagship part.

Both chips benefit from a 16 MB L3 cache, while the Ryzen Z1 Extreme has 2 MB more L2 cache due to its additional CPU cores. In any event, the Ryzen 1 and Ryzen Z1 Extreme possess strong computing performance thanks to the high CPU core count and the usage of AMD's latest Zen 4 cores. A hexa-core processor should suffice for handheld gaming, and either Ryzen Z1 processor will certainly outperform AMD's older custom quad-core Zen 2 SoC (Aerith) that powers Valve's Steam Deck.

AMD Ryzen Z1 Specifications
AnandTech	Cores Threads	Base Freq	Turbo Freq	L2 Cache	L3 Cache	GPU	TDP
Ryzen Z1 Extreme	8/16	?	?	8 MB	16 MB	12 RDNA 3 CUs	<=30 W
Ryzen Z1	6/12	?	?	6 MB	16 MB	4 RDNA 3 CUs	<=30 W

Hardware unit counts aisde, AMD isn't revealing the clock speeds for the two 4nm processors. Curiously, an embargoed report published by The Verge has quoted "up to" 8.6 TFLOPS and 2.6 TFLOPS graphics performance respectively, based on AMD's engineering projections. But these figures have been removed from the deck AMD has since been sending around to the rest of the press. If these figures do turn out to be reasonably close to what the final shipping silicon can hit, then that would mean we'd be looking at peak GPU clockspeeds of around 2.8GHz and 2.6GHz respectively, which is just a bit lower than what the Ryzen 7040HS chips run at.

The Ryzen Z1 series chips will support a maximum TDP of 30 Watts, which happens to be the same top power target as AMD's mobile Ryzen U-series chips. Conversely, AMD hasn't disclosed a minimum TDP, and like most mobile devices, this is likely up to the customer – in this case, Asus. For comparison, Aerith's TDP is between 4 W and 15 W, meaning the Z1 series certainly offers a good deal larger power range for customers to play with. At its top TDP, such a configuration would quickly blow through the battery in any handheld device, but for docked devices it's very feasible. As for handheld mode, it's far more likely that we'll see Z1 chips clocked very low to conserve previous power.

Being that this is an AMD product designed for PC-like devices, it has access to all AMD graphics technologies, including Radeon Chill, which helps improve battery life by adjusting frame rates based on the movements in the game. This also means that FSR will be on the table on a game-by-game basis, and RSR as a less optimal universal solution.

Gallery: AMD Ryzen Z1 Series Slide Deck

AMD provided some benchmarks for the Ryzen Z1 series utilizing the Asus ROG Ally. As usual, throw a pinch of salt over vendor-provided benchmarks. The device used here also had 16 GB of LPDDR5 memory and a Micron 500 MB SSD. It's important to highlight that AMD put the Asus ROG Alloy in turbo mode for its benchmarks, which means that the Ryzen Z1 series processors were operating at power levels up to 30 Watts.

AMD's results show the Ryzen Z1 Extreme delivers average frame rates above 60 FPS in most titles. However, the chipmaker tested with the lowest settings at 1080p (upscaled 720p with RSR). The Ryzen Z1's performance wasn't bad, but the two chips' delta was perceptible. The difference spans between 6% and 73%. Zen 4-based processors took a significant performance hit at native 1080p resolution on the lowest settings. As expected, the Ryzen Z1 struggled in multiple titles and didn't hit the 60 FPS mark. 

Asus has first dibs on the Ryzen Z1 series; however, more competitors powered by the 4nm Ryzen Z1 chips should arrive down the road. Asus' ROG Ally will be the first handheld gaming console to feature AMD's Ryzen Z1 Extreme processor, with the company set to share more information on the handheld (including pricing) on May 11.

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MSI Addresses CPU Voltages on AM5 Motherboards for Ryzen 7000X3D Processors

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In response to recent reports of AMD's Ryzen 7000X3D processors being damaged, MSI has announced a wave of firmware updates to address potential issues. The highlight of MSI's new wave of BIOS versions for its AM5 motherboards is that the company is further locking down the voltage controls for X3D chips, removing support for positive offset voltages. Going forward, it will only be possible to use negative offset voltages on X3D chips, ensuring that the sensitive V-Cache-equipped X3D chips can't be overvolted and put at risk of damage.

Over the last couple of days, there has been concern across various social media platforms, such as Reddit, about reports of AMD's Ryzen 7000X3D processors spontaneously 'burning out.' Multiple users have posted issues where their Ryzen 7000X3D processors with 3D V-Cache have been dying – and curiously, all when using ASUS motherboards.

Perhaps one of the most recognizable images over the last few days has been via a Reddit post by Speedrookie. In the image above, the user uploaded a photo that shows his AMD Ryzen 7800X3D and ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming motherboard with very noticeable scorch marks within the CPU socket itself, as well as a very large bulging on the CPU contact pads.

Image credit: Speedrookie/Reddit

There is little concrete information about where the issue lies – whether it's even a systemic issue, or just a statistical fluke – but it would seem that MSI considers it an important enough matter to take immediate action via new firmware versions for its AM5 motherboards, including those with X670E, X670E, B650, and A620 chipsets.

Announced via a post on Reddit, the company is releasing new BIOSes for all of its AM5 platform motherboards. The new firmware from MSI specifically targets overvolting Ryzen 7000X3D CPUs or restricting the ability to do this. The new firmware from MSI essentially locks down any options or settings related to voltage adjustment. This includes blocking positive voltage offsets, as well as direct voltage adjustment. Consequently, with the new BIOSes it's only possible to use offering negative offset voltage settings on X3D chips

These updates don't just impact the firmware itself, but MSI has also restricted overvolting through its MSI Center application. So, much like their firmware, MSI Center won't allow users to add any additional CPU VCore to the processor when used on any the Ryzen 7000X3D processors such as the Ryzen 9 7950X3D and the Ryzen 7 7800X3D which we've both reviewed recently.

MSI AM5 Motherboard New BIOS Versions (as of 04/24)
AnandTech	BIOS Version (Click to Download)	Price at Amazon ($)
MEG X670E Godlike	E7D68AMS.151	$1284
MEG X670 Ace	E7D69AMS.181	$700
MPG X670E Carbon WIFI	E7D70AMS.171	$361
MAG X670E Tomahawk WIFI	E7E12AMS.131	$310
Pro X670-P WIFI	Coming Soon	$264
MPG B650 Carbon WIFI	E7D74AMS.151	$300
MPG B650 Edge WIFI	E7E10AMS.161	$260
MPG B650I Edge WIFI	E7D73AMS.131	$311
MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI	E7D75AMS.161	$219
MAG B650M Mortar WIFI	Coming Soon
Pro B650-P WIFI	E7D78AMS.151	$200
Pro B650M-A WIFI	E7D77AMS.181	$180
Pro B650M-A	E7D77AMS.181	-
Pro A620M-E	E7E28AMS.121	$108

Aside from the MSI Pro X670-P WIFI and MAG B650M Mortar WIFI motherboards, the rest of MSI's line-up has new firmware available for users to install and flash over the current BIOS version. MSI states that the remaining two boards will soon have a new firmware version. It should also be noted that on the official product pages for each motherboard and its corresponding BIOS version, these new BIOSes are listed as 'Beta'.

Meanwhile, for users still looking to squeeze a bit more out of their X3D processors, MSI is directing users to utilize the Enhanced Mode Boost option within the firmware, which essentially optimizes the Precision Boost Overdrive (PBO) settings without making manual voltage adjustments.

As the situation develops, we expect to hear more from other vendors and users expressing issues. In the meantime, if you use an MSI AM5 motherboard with a Ryzen 7000X3D processor, these new BIOSes likely warrant a good look and a quick installation.

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AMD Releases Ryzen Embedded 5000 Series For Embedded Networking Products

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AMD has announced their latest processor line-up designed for embedded-class products, the Ryzen Embedded 5000 series. The latest parts adds to their collection of other Zen 3-based embedded platforms, including the Ryzen Embedded V3000 and EPYC 9004 series. At a high level, the Ryzen Embedded 5000 series is designed to offer a low-powered alternative on its existing AM4 platform for embedded networking solutions such as firewalls and NAS-based systems.

While we've previously discussed the proposition that AMD's Ryzen Embedded platforms fly under the radar compared to their other product lines, AMD's Ryzen Embedded platforms offer various SKUs for many 'always on' system deployments. This includes things such as servers, small form factor systems such as retail tills, as well as gaming machines, and industrial control systems.

AMD has announced four Ryzen Embedded 5000 series processors designed for their AM4 desktop platform, each SKU offering something slightly different. As AMD's embedded solutions are typically designed to be scalable, the top SKU, the Ryzen Embedded 5950E, features 16 Zen 3 cores, with a base frequency of 3.05 GHz and a 1T boost frequency of up to 3.4 GHz. AMD also has a 12-core variant, the Ryzen Embedded 5900E, which along with the 5950E, also benefits from 64 MB of L3 cache (32 MB per CCX) and a base TDP of just 105 W. 

AMD Ryzen Embedded 5000 Series (Vermeer)
AnandTech	Core/ Thread		Base Freq (MHz)	1T Boost Freq (MHz)	PCIe 4.0 Lanes	Memory Support	L3 Cache	TDP (W)
Ryzen Embedded 5950E	16	32	3050	3400	24	DDR4-3200 (ECC)	64 MB	105
Ryzen Embedded 5900E	12	24	3350	3700	24	DDR4-3200 (ECC)	64 MB	105
Ryzen Embedded 5800E	8	16	3400	3700	24	DDR4-3200 (ECC)	32 MB	65-100
Ryzen Embedded 5600E	6	12	3300	3600	24	DDR4-3200 (ECC)	32 MB	65

The AMD Ryzen Embedded 5800E is the only SKU in the line-up with a configurable TDP, which can be configured between 65W and 100 W. The 5800E also benefits from 32 MB of L3 cache, with a base frequency of 3.4 GHz and a 1T boost frequency of up to 3.7 GHz. The fourth and final SKU, the Ryzen Embedded 5600E, is a 6C/12T part with a base frequency of 3.3 GHz, a 1T boost frequency of up to 3.6 GHz, and also has 32 MB of L3 cache with a TDP of just 65 W.

All of AMD's Ryzen Embedded 5000 series processors natively feature 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes, while AMD's X570 chipset is also available for OEMs who need the additional 12 PCIe 4.0 lanes offered through its PCIe switch. The platform also supports DDR4-3200 ECC memory in dual channel configurations, as well as support extending to other AM4 platforms, although AMD doesn't specifically state which AM4 chipsets will accommodate these chips.

AMD's Corporate VP and GM, Rajneesh Gaur, says that "Ryzen Embedded 5000 processors deliver the ideal combination of performance and reliability required for 24x7 security and networking applications", as well as following up with the following "This expansion of our embedded product portfolio offers a mid-range solution that fills the gap between our low-power BGA Ryzen Embedded and our world-class EPYC embedded family for customers requiring both high performance and scalability of up to 16 cores."

Also, in the official press release, AMD states, "The Ryzen Embedded 5000 Series rounds out the "Zen 3"-based AMD embedded processor portfolio." This means these Ryzen Embedded 5000 series SKUs are likely the last of its Zen 3 microarchitecture within its embedded platforms. Still, AMD's already announced its Zen 4 EPYC 9004 embedded platform based on its Zen 4 microarchitecture, and it's fair to assume that newer iterations of future embedded platforms will also be based on Zen 4 in the future.

The AMD Ryzen Embedded 5000 series is currently in production and offers at least five years of manufacturing availability. AMD, at this time, hasn't shared when these chips will be available to buy nor how much they may cost.

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Asus Announces ROG Phone 7 & ROG Phone 7 Ultimate Gaming Smartphones

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Many gaming-eccentric smartphones may already be on the market, but Asus wants that throne all for itself. The company recently announced its latest ROG Phone 7 series of high-end gaming smartphones during their "For Those Who Dare" virtual event. The ROG Phone 7 series targets enthusiast mobile gamers. Asus has revealed two models for this generation: the ROG Phone 7 and ROG Phone 7 Ultimate. Both devices share identical specifications, while the Ultimate variant has a few extra bells and whistles that may interest some gamers.

The ROG Phone 7 series joins the ranks of the Samsung Galaxy S23, the OnePlus 11, the vivo iQOO 11, and the Xiaomi 13 Pro that utilize Qualcomm's latest Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (SM8550) SoC. The 4 nm SoC conforms to an octa-core design consisting of one sizeable prime core (Cortex-X3), four performance cores (two Cortex-A715 and two Cortex-A710), and three efficiency cores (Cortex-A510). Like the majority competition, Asus uses the vanilla SM8550 with a 3.2 GHz clock speed on the Kryo prime core. However, Samsung's Galaxy S23 lineup uses a special-binned variant that hits 3.36 GHz.

On the graphics side, the SoC has the Adreno 740, which offers 25% more performance than the Adreno 730, according to Qualcomm's claims. Adreno 740 also brings other exciting features, such as support for hardware ray tracing and Vulkan 1.3 support. The base model ROG Phone 7 comes with 12 GB of LPDDR5X-8533 memory, while the higher-specced version and the Ultimate bump that up to 16 GB. Similarly, the base model phone comes with 256 GB of UFS 4.0 storage, which is bumped up to 512 GB on the more premium models. It's a significant upgrade over the ROG Phone 6's storage, which started at just 128 GB. The switch to newer UFS 4.0 storage should also improve sequential read speeds – technically as high as 4.2 GB/s – though as always, real world performance is going to depend on the underlying NAND used.

ROG Phone 7 Series
		ROG Phone 7	ROG Phone 7 Ultimate
SoC		Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 (SM8550) 1 x Cortex-X3 @ 3.2 GHz 2 x Cortex-A715 @ 2.8 GHz 2 x Cortex-A710 @ 2.8 GHz 3 x Cortex-A510 @ 2.0 GHz Adreno 740
DRAM		12 GB / 16GB LPDDR5X-8533	16 GB LPDDR5X-8533
Display		6.78" AMOLED HDR10+ 2448 x 1080 165 Hz Refresh rate
Size	Height	173 mm
	Width	77 mm
	Depth	10.3 mm
Weight		239 g
Battery Capacity		6,000 mAh 65W
Wireless Charging		N/A
Rear Cameras
	Main	50 MP, f/1.9, 1/1.56", 1.0 µm, PDAF
	Telephoto	8 MP, f/2.0
	Wide	13 MP, f/2.2, 120°
	Extra	-
Front Camera		35 MP, f/2.5, 1/3.2", 0.7 µm
Storage		256 GB / 512 GB UFS 4.0	512 GB UFS 4.0
I/O		USB 3.1 Type-C, USB 2.0 Type-C, 3.5 mm connector
Wireless (local)		802.11 (WiFi 7), Bluetooth 5.2
Cellular		5G
Special Features		ROG Vision	ROG Vision AeroActive Cooler 7 (Bundled)
Splash, Water, Dust Resistance		IP54
Dual-SIM		2 x nano-SIM
Launch OS		Android 13
Launch Price		€999 / €1199	€1399

With regards to design, Asus seemingly believes the design of their ROG phones doesn't need any significant changes if it works. To that end, the ROG Phone 7 series sports a similar design to last year's ROG Phone 6 series, with the ROG Phone 7 series receiving only a minor facelift. Consequently, the two smartphones have the same footprint (173 x 77 x 10.3 mm) and weight (239 g), placing the ROG Phone 7 series' dimensions more or less along the range of the Apple iPhone 14 Pro Max or Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. The ROG Phone 7 is available in Storm White and Phantom Black colors, while the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate only comes in the former option. The smartphone is IP54-certified – only offering splash resistance as opposed to being completely waterproof/submersible – so owners should take care of their devices when near water.

In terms of build quality and materials, ROG Phone 7 series is designed to have every feel of a premium smartphone. The device has an aluminum body accentuated by a dual-glass design, featuring Gorilla Glass Victus for protection on the front and ordinary Gorilla Glass 3 at the rear. The Samsung AMOLED HDR10+ screen measures 6.78 inches and has a screen-to-body ratio of around 82%. The always-on 10-bit display has a 2,448 x 1,080 pixels resolution, resulting in a pixel density of 395 PPI. Being a gaming smartphone, the ROG Phone 7 series flaunts a peak refresh rate of 165 Hz and supports 10-point multitouch and glove touch. In addition, a hidden fingerprint reader resides under the display. Although the screen on the ROG Phone 7 is quite similar to the ROG Phone 6, the newer has a higher maximum brightness (1,500 nits vs. 1,200 nits). Meanwhile, the Ultimate version of the phone also adds a secondary pOLED display at the back of the device. The tiny display allows consumers to display different animations to add flair to the smartphone.

Although the ROG Phone 7 is a gaming smartphone, the device has a pretty decent camera setup. The primary shooter is a 50-megapixel camera that leverages Sony's IMX766 sensor with an f/1.9 aperture. PDAF is the only means of autofocus, though. Meanwhile, the ultrawide camera uses a 13-megapixel sensor with a 120-degree field of view with an f/2.2 aperture. The macro camera, on the other hand, is just a five-megapixel snapper with an f/2.0 aperture. The camera combination allows the ROG Phone 7 to offer 8K recording at 24 FPS, 4K at 60 FPS, 1080p at 240 FPS, or 720p at 480 FPS. Finally, the selfie camera is a 32-megapixel Quad Bayer sensor with an f/2.5 aperture with 1080p at 30 FPS recording capability.

Gallery: ROG Phone 7

Asus has revamped the brand's GameCool 7 cooling system to keep the ROG Phone 7 running cool. The vendor uses a boron nitride-based thermal compound for the CPU. In addition, the cooler has a vapor chamber with six liquid-return channels and graphite sheets for maximum heat dissipation. For long gaming sessions, Asus recommends slapping on the AeroActive Cooler 7, a beefy thermoelectric Peltier cooler that attaches to the smartphone via the USB Type-C port. The dual-cooling design helps lower the smartphone's back and touch panel temperatures. Besides cooling, the AeroActive Cooler 7 adds a small sub-woofer and four additional ergonomically placed buttons to the ROG Phone 7 series. The AeroActive Cooler 7 comes bundled with the ROG Phone 7 Ultimate, while for vanilla ROG Phone 7 users it can be purchased separately. Asus hasn't shared the pricing for the stand-alone AeroActive Cooler 7, though the previous version retailed for $99.

The smartphone has two 12 x 16 mm dual front-facing speakers, and with the integrated sub-woofer from the AeroActive Cooler 7, gamers can enjoy a 2.1 audio experience. The smartphone still provides a standard 3.5 mm connector for connecting headphones.

Asus outfitted the ROG Phone 7 with a 6,000 mAh battery, which is the same capacity as on the prior ROG Phone 6. The smartphone arrives with a big 65-watt HyperCharger USB PD charger. According to Asus, the smartphone only takes around 42 minutes to get a full charge. WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.2 connectivity are present, thanks to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset. NFC is supported as well. The shortlist of I/O ports on the ROG Phone 7 series includes one USB 3.1 Gen Type-C port and one USB 2.0 Type-C port.

Finally, running on top of the ROG Phone 7's hardware is the latest Android 13 (Tiramisu), with Asus' custom ROG theme over it. With this generation, Asus has pledged to give the smartphone two major OS updates and up to four years of security updates.

For the initial release of the ROG Phone 7 series, Asus is focusing on Europe, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Pre-orders have already started, and although Asus has not announced a shipping date, it's notable that pre-orders are set to close on April 30th. Meanwhile, the phone is slated to make its way to North America and other markets a bit later, with a looser-defined Q2 launch date.

The European pricing for the phone starts at €999 (~$1,100) for the base model, and €1199 (~$1,325) for the higher capacity 16GB/512GB version. Meanwhile the Ultimate variation of the phone will cost €1,399 (~$1,550). Asus has not shared North American pricing for the phone, so that information is likely to come closer to the phone's North American launch later in the quarter.

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We might get 14th-gen Intel CPUs as soon as this year, but there’s a catch

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A fresh leak from Chinese social media platform Weibo has suggested that we could see 14th-gen Intel CPUs landing as early as this year – but there’s a pretty significant caveat that has me seriously worried about Intel’s upcoming processor plans.

Weibo user Golden Pig Upgrade (a phenomenal username, I have to say) has claimed that the previously-rumored 13th-gen Raptor Lake refresh will actually be branded as new 14th-gen products – with the ‘actual’ 14th-gen Meteor Lake CPUs serving as only part of the Intel Core 14000 series.

For the uninitiated, Raptor Lake is Intel’s manufacturing codename for its 13th-gen processor architecture; the architecture used to build its current range of CPUs, led by the super-powerful flagship Core i9-13900K. Meteor Lake is the next generation – though if this new leak is accurate, Intel’s 14th generation of Core chips won’t solely use the new architecture.

This isn’t entirely shocking, since Intel’s 13th-gen CPU range uses a blend of Raptor Lake and the previous-gen Alder Lake architectures. The catch, however, is that the leak suggests that Meteor Lake might not come to desktop PCs at all, with Intel’s 14th-gen desktop CPUs exclusively using the refreshed Raptor architecture. This aligns with previous rumors reported by Wccftech, so while we should tread carefully around leaks, there’s potentially some truth here.

Opinion: no true next-gen desktop CPUs sounds bad, but there are upsides here

While this sounds pretty bad on paper, it’s actually not the worst move from Intel. We’ve reported previously that Meteor Lake might not be that different from Raptor Lake anyway – and the new architecture is shaping up to be excellent for laptops thanks to improved power efficiency, too.

Meteor Lake is Intel’s first ‘tile-based’ CPU architecture, meaning the different segments of the processor are divided between four tiles as opposed to the conventional ‘monolithic’ design. This is set to drive massive gains in energy efficiency, which isn’t so important for desktop PCs since they’re not reliant on battery power.

However – and even taking the above into account – we don’t urgently need new desktop CPUs right now. The Core i7-13700K is a mighty processor with a reasonable price tag, so if you’re looking to upgrade, don’t sit around waiting for these supposed Raptor Lake refresh chips.

Intel and AMD’s release cadence for new CPUs has become increasingly aggressive, but we’re still featuring some last-gen chips on our best processors list; because, ultimately, there’s a real limit to how often people are willing to upgrade.

Faster laptop CPU releases make a bit more sense; that way, anyone buying a brand-new laptop can be (usually) assured that they’re getting the latest and greatest in processor performance. But with desktop computers, where your CPU can be upgraded whenever you choose, there’s really no need for this level of urgency in releasing new chips.

So just chill out a bit, Intel. Some leaks are even suggesting that Meteor Lake might actually suck, so perhaps it needs a bit more time in the oven. Don’t rush it – you knocked it out of the park with the 13th generation, so it’s okay to rest on your laurels for a while.

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Mysterious Windows 11 bug hits AMD’s best processor

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Windows 11 has a baffling bug that means it’s not detecting TPM with some processors – and therefore not recognizing the host PC as supporting the OS – with one CPU hit badly in particular, the popular Ryzen 7 5800X3D.

Neowin pointed out a whole bunch of Windows users who are having an issue whereby they are failing ‘TPM attestation’ with the result that the PC is not supported for running Windows 11.

This is despite the system getting the all-clear in terms of the TPM module being detected as ‘ready for use’.

As noted, this is happening to various Ryzen processors (and even Intel models in outlying cases), and the 5800X3D seems to be more affected than others. In some cases, users report that with a different CPU, the TPM requirement is passed with no problems.

One person who encountered the bug writes: “After upgrading my CPU from Ryzen 5 2600 to Ryzen 7 5700X Windows Security Chip App reports ‘Attestation: Not Supported’ but ‘Memory: Ready’. In the TPM Console it shows that the TPM Module is Ready for use.”

They add: “When I switch back to my old Ryzen 5 2600 everything works.”

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Analysis: Come on Microsoft, AMD – this isn’t good enough

This one’s a bit of a headscratcher for sure, but we have got official word from Microsoft on the bug.

In a known issue filed under Windows Autopilot problems, the software giant notes: “TPM attestation for AMD platforms with ASP firmware TPM may fail with error code 0x80070490 on Windows 10 and Windows 11 systems. There’s currently no update available to resolve this issue.”

Now, Windows Autopilot is a tech used by IT teams to deploy multiple Windows PCs, so not something the home user will encounter. But evidently, there are consumers out there who are getting brick-walled by this bug when attempting to install Windows 11 with certain CPUs.

It’s seriously disappointing to hear that there’s no resolution, or more to the point, evidence that Microsoft is at least investigating what’s going on here. Neither have we got any word from AMD that it’s looking into the gremlin or trying to discern what’s up.

(Image credit: Shutterstock / Dean Drobot)

For affected PCs, it seems the only possible remedy is to install a separate TPM module and not rely on the processor’s built-in one. To say that’s far from ideal is an understatement.

As another affected user on Reddit, who was upgrading from a 5800X – which worked just fine with Windows 11 – to a 5800X3D put it: “I’ve searched online and there is bunch of people with 5800X3D having exact same problem and no one has any idea why or how to fix it. Some did buy external TPM module, but why the hell would I do that when Ryzen 5800 have one onboard?”

It’s a very good point indeed. One suggestion we’ve seen (in the above Reddit thread) as a workaround for those upgrading to a new CPU which is hamstrung by a TPM attestation fault goes as follows. Put the old CPU back in, disable TPM, clear the CMOS, reinstall the new processor and then turn TPM back on. Take that as a bit of a wild punt in the dark, though, but one upgrader claims it worked for them.

And it’s more of a hint than Microsoft or AMD have given us so far, that’s for sure.

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