Thread: Anandtech News

One of the many questions about AMD’s EPYC processor line related to AMD’s ability to reengage with OEMs since the Bulldozer era. Recent announcements from Microsoft Azure and Baidu have shown that at least two of the Super 7 cloud providers are on board, and today’s announcement brings Dell PowerEdge servers, powered by EPYC, into the mix.

Dell is launching three variants of the PowerEdge 14G line:

Dell PowerEdge 14G with EPYC
	PowerEdge R6415	PowerEdge R7415	PowerEdge R7425
Size	1U	2U	2U
Sockets	1	1	2
CPUs	Up to EPYC 7601 32 Core / 64 Threads		Up to 2x EPYC 7601 64 Core / 128 Threads
DRAM	< 2TB DDR4 LRDIMMs < 1TB DDR4 RDIMMs		< 4TB DDR4 LRDIMMs < 2TB DDR4 RDIMMs
NVMe Drives	10 Total 8 Front Panel	24 Total 24 Front Panel	24 Total 24 Front Panel
PCIe Lanes	2 x PCIe 3.0 x16	3 x PCIe 3.0 x16 1 x PCIe 3.0 x8	6 x PCIe 3.0 x16 (up to 8 slots total)
GPU Support	?	?	3 x Dual Width
PSUs	Platinum 550W Bronze 450W	Titanium 750W Platinum 495W Platinum 750W Platinum 1600W	Titanium 750W Platinum 495W Platinum 750W Platinum 1100W Platinum 1600W Platinum 2000W
Storage Controllers	PERC H330 PERC H370p PERC H390p PERC HBA330 PERC 9/10	PERC H330 PERC H370p PERC H390p PERC HBA330 PERC 9/10	PERC H330 PERC H370p PERC H390p PERC HBA330 PERC 9/10
Networking	2 x 1GbE or 2 x 10GbE or 2 x 10GbE SFP+	2 x 1GbE or 2 x 10GbE or 2 x 10GbE SFP+	4x1GbE + 2x10GbE 2x1GbE + 4x10GbE 2 x 25GbE

Users that have dealt with PowerEdge configurations will be used to the offerings: a single socket system focused on storage (R6415), a single socket system with more storage (R7415), and a dual socket system combining storage and graphics (R7425). All the systems support optional front and rear ports, including networking (dual 1GbE, dual 10GbE, or dual 10GbE SFP+), Dell’s OpenManage platform, and a series of PERC controllers.

As new EPYC based servers enter the market, it is always interesting to see how OEMs are implementing the different features. This applies not only to how OEMs will route 128 PCIe lanes, but also if further expansion is needed. In the case of the R7425, Dell is using a PCIe switch in order to provide sufficient lanes for the 24 NVMe drives while also providing up to eight PCIe slots for 64 lanes. This R7425 we were told can support three double width GPUs, however it was not divulged how these GPUs are connected – if all three are on one of the two CPUs, or it happens to be split. There are many ways to design the PCIe front-end of a server like this, and there are usually trade-offs.

If there is one thing to say about AMD’s server team, it is that they love to spread news about design wins when they can. Despite this announcement being about Dell’s latest line of PowerEdge 14G servers, it was AMD who got in touch to discuss the news from their perspective. Ultimately launches like this are building on EPYC being accepted by the bigger server providers, and feed into AMD’s narrative of working closer with OEMs through 2018.
Related Reading

• Dell EMC Launches PowerEdge XR2 Rugged Servers
• Dell To Offer Toshiba HK4 SATA SSDs In PowerEdge Servers
• Baidu Announces An EPYC Deployment: Single Socket Scorpio Systems
• Microsoft Announces Azure VMs with Dual 32-core AMD EPYC CPUs

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G.Skill announced today a new Trident Z RGB kit which is now the fastest DDR4 memory kit in their product stack. The new dual-channel kit is designed for Z370 platforms and Intel’s Coffee Lake CPUs. The new sticks operate at a blazing fast DDR4-4700 using 1.45V and are the first sticks to reach that speed, period, as well as the first to have RGB LEDs.

G.Skill’s fastest-yet DDR4 memory kit has a combined capacity of 16GB in 2x8GB sticks. Timings are set at CL19-19-19-39 at 1.45V. The voltage is a far cry from the 1.2V JEDEC specification at much lower speeds, so considerations regarding the quality of the motherboard's DRAM VRMs should be taken into account. According to G.Skill, stable performance of these sticks was captured on an MSI Z370I Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard running in Dual Channel mode. The Mini-ITX board uses two DRAM slots for one DIMM per channel (other boards have two DIMMs per channel) in an effort to have cleaner data pathing and stable power for maximum DRAM clocking potential. Some setups may have trouble reaching these speeds so the ability of the CPU IMC and motherboard is certainly a consideration to run this kit.

The new Trident Z RGB DDR4-4700 kits are based on Samsung's B-die ICs produced using 20nm process technology. These memory ICs have been used across several makers over the past couple of years now and with this maturity, know what to expect from them even with a ~20% overvoltage applied.
The G.Skill Trident Z RGB kit comes with their brushed aluminum heat spreaders which do not stand too tall over the DRAM PCB itself. The shorter height of the heat spreaders will allow for better compatibility for CPU heatsinks. The Trident Z RGB kit uses the integrated XMP 2.0 profile for easy setup and application of the correct timings, sub-timings, and voltage.

G.Skill Trident Z RGB DDR4-4700
Speed	CL Timing	Voltage	Kit	Capacity	P/N
DDR4-4700	CL19 19-19-39	1.45 V	2×8 GB	16 GB	F4-4700C19-8GTZR

G.Skill's new Trident Z RGB (2x8GB) DDR4 4700 kits will be available in 2Q 2108 and they will not be cheap. A price was not released, however, their Trident Z RGB 4266 kit is currently $330 at Newegg so we can expect it to be higher.
Related Reading:

• ADATA at CES 2018: Jellyfish DRAM
• Samsung Starts Mass Production of 16Gb GDDR6 Memory ICs with 18 Gbps I/O Speed
• G.Skill Launches Sniper X Memory: Up to DDR4-3600, Three Camouflage Designs
• Corsair Announces 16GB DDR4-4600 Vengeance LPX DRAM kits

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HP has announced today updates to its Elitebook and Zbook lines, with an aim to 'bring premium experiences and features to the mainstream'. Ultimately, it comes down to a mobile workforce, which is a key aspect to HP's latest marketing push and updates.
Elitebook 800 G5 Series

The 800 G5 series is a mid-level commercial laptop resting below the flagship premium design of the Elitebook 100 series. HPs goals with this generational update are to bring down features of that premium design to the mainstream and the majority of users. To that end, the Elitebook 800 G5 series was redesigned using an all-aluminum chassis with a lighter color, a narrow border ultrabright IPS display (adapt to changing light conditions through ambient temperature sensors), as well as performance bumps through using the latest 8^th generation Intel Core processors.

HP claims that the new Elitebook 800 G5 series is said to the worlds thinnest 14” notebook with discrete graphics (AMD Radeon RX540). Even with the discrete GPU and 8^th Generation Intel Core processor, the battery life is listed as running for up to 14 hours, and supports HP Fast Charge, which claims to provide 50% charge in around 30 minutes. The Elitebook 800 G5 series is also focused on I/O - according to HP, ITDMs were requesting a lot of IO capabilities, so these models use a diverse set including USB Type-C connections with TB3 support, an ultraslim dock connector (dual docking capability), RJ-45, HDMI, cards readers, etc.

The Elitebook 800 G5 series adds a third microphone, a 'world-facing' implementation, located on the back of the monitor panel. This microphone can function in two ways: first in individual mode will be used as a noise canceling device; second, in conference mode, means it can be used as a standard microphone to pick up voices, etc. The device can also be used as a full function speakerphone, to text and answer calls (HP Phonewise), and is Skype Business certified including shortcut keys for present, answer, and hang-up functions.
On the security and manageability side, HP trickled down its suite of security functions to the 800 series. Features such as HP Sure Start (BIOS recovery/healing – powered by endpoint security controller), HP Sure Run (maintains and protects company firewall and AC), HP Sure Recover (quick and easy reimage of device), and HP Sure Click (protects against malware/ransomware through browser), and HP Sure View Gen 2 (for screen privacy, reduces viewing angle to ~35°) all make their way to this series. In addition, the 800 G5 series also includes biometric multi-factor authentication through Windows Hello and a fingerprint sensor. And for those who cover their cameras up with post-it notes, the new Elitebook includes an integrated shutter users can slide over covering the camera ensuring privacy.
All Elitebook models will be available in February 2018. With the 830 G5 (13") starting at 1049, the 840 G5 (14") at $1029, and the 850 G5 at $1039.

HP Elitebook 830, 840, 850 Series G5
Price ($US)	Starting at ~$1029
Type	Notebook PC
Processor Family	7th and 8th Generation Intel Core i7 and i5
Processors	i7-8650U (4-core - 1.9 GHz base, 3.9 GHz Turbo) i7-8550U (4-core - 1.8 GHz base, 4.0 GHz Turbo) i5-8350U (4-core - 1.7 GHz base, 3.6 GHz Turbo) i5-8250U (4-core - 1.6 GHz base, 3.4 GHz Turbo) i5-7300U (2-core - 2.6 GHz base, 3.5 GHz Turbo) i5-7200U (2-core - 2.5 GHz base, 3.1 GHz Turbo)
Maximum Memory	32GB DDR4-2400 (2 SO-DIMMs)
Network Connectivity	Intel Dual-Band Wireless AC 8265 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 3.2 Intel I219-LM GbE Intel I219-V GbE (non vPro)
Internal Storage	256GB up to 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 512GB M.2 SATA FIPS 128GB up to 256GB M.2 SATA SSD
Graphics	Intel HD / UHD Graphics 620 AMD Radeon RX540 (4GB GDDR5)
Expansion Slots	1 x Smart card reader
Display	13.3" / 14" / 15.6" - FHD IPS LED-backlit touchscreen (220 cd/m 45% sRGB) 13.3" / 14" / 15.6" - HP Sure View Integrated Privacy Screen - FHD IPS 13.3" / 14" / 15.6" - FHD IPS anti-glare LED-backlit (400 cd/m - 72% sRGB) 13.3" FHD IPS anti-glare LED-backlit (220 cd/m - 45% sRGB) 14" / 15.6" 4K IPS anti-glare LED-backlit (400 cd/m - 72% sRGB) 14" HP Sure View IPS anti-glare LED-backlit (700 cd/m - 72% sRGB)
Ports and Connectors	1 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) 2 x USB 3.0 (charging) 1 x HDMI 1.4b 1 x RJ-45 1 x docking connector 1 x headphone/microphone combo 1 x AC Power
Input Device	HP Premium Collaboration Keyboard (spill resistant with drain, optional backlit)
Camera	HD Camera, HD IR webcam
Power	45W/60W USB Type-C adapter 45W/60W External AC power adapter HP Long Life 3-cell, 50 wh Li-ion
Dimensions	830 - 12.22" x 9.03" x 0.7" 840 - 12.84" x 9.22" x 0.7" 850 - 14.6" x 9.91" x 0.72"
Weight	2.94lbs / 3.27lbs / 3.94lbs

HP ZBook 14u/15u G5

The HP ZBook 14u/15u G5 is the next product line in the Zbook family to get an upgrade. The ZBook 14u reduces its thickiness by 28% compared to the last generation, while both the 14u and 15u lines get an upgrade to 8th Generation Intel Core processors (up to quad core). Updates also include Radeon Pro discrete graphics, and high speed PCIe SSD options for fast storage. HP has also put the 14u/15u through MIL-STD 810G testing including additional testing for bench handling and crash hazard shock.

Outside of the performance and durability, HPs aimed to deliver premium features to the mainstream in the Zbook as well. The chassis of the HP Zbook 14u/15u uses a CNC machined LCD cover along with an aluminum keyboard deck, which HP claims gives a solid fit and finish that was selected for both aesthetics, and durability. It comes in a silver color with different shades on the chassis, keyboard deck, and touchpad.
For specifications, these new models will also Intel 8^th Generation processors along with Radeon Pro Graphics. For storage, the Zbook 14u/15u G5 will use the HP Z Turbo drive PCIe SSD with capacities ranging from 256GB to 2TB. It is also the first workstation which uses the integrated privacy screen using HPs Sure View Gen 2 technology. These, like the Elitebook above, are also mindful of security and use the Sure Start, Sure Recover, and Sure Click features from HP.

HP ZBook 14u/15u G5
Price ($US)	Starting at $1099 (14u), $1109 (15u)
Type	Mobile Workstation
Processor Family	7th and 8th Generation Intel Core i7 and i5
Processors	i7-8650U (4-core - 1.9 GHz base, 3.9 GHz Turbo) i7-8550U (4-core - 1.8 GHz base, 4.0 GHz Turbo) i5-8350U (4-core - 1.7 GHz base, 3.6 GHz Turbo) i5-8250U (4-core - 1.6 GHz base, 3.4 GHz Turbo) i5-7300U (2-core - 2.6 GHz base, 3.5 GHz Turbo) i5-7200U (2-core - 2.5 GHz base, 3.1 GHz Turbo)
Maximum Memory	32GB DDR4-2400 (2 SO-DIMMs)
Network Connectivity	Intel Dual-Band Wireless AC 8265 802.11ac Wi-Fi + Bluetooth 3.2 Intel I219-LM GbE (vPro) Intel I219-V GbE (non vPro) WWAN: HP hs3110/hs3210/t4120/t4132 HSPA + Intel mobile broad band module
Internal Storage	512GB M.2 SATA FIPS 140-2 SED SSD 256GB up to 512GB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 256GB up to 1TB PCIe NVMe M.2 SSD 256GB up to 1TB HP Z Turbo Drive G2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 630 AMD Radeon Pro WX 3100 (2GB GDDR5)
Expansion Slots	1 x UHS-II SD card reader 1 x Smart card reader
Display	14" / 15.6" FHD IPS eDP anti-glare LED backlit 14" / 15.6" FHD UPS LED-backlit touch screen 14" / 15.6" 4K IPS eDP LED-backlit 14" / 15.6" HP Sure View Integrated Privacy Screen (FHD IPS eDP anti-glare LED-backlit touch screen_
Audio	Band & Olufsen dual stero speakrs, dual array microphone
Ports and Connectors	Left Side: 1 x USB 3.0 (charging) Right Side: 1 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C, DisplayPort 1.2, USB 3.1) 1 x USB 3.0 1 x RJ-45 1 x power connector 1 x headphone/microphone combo
Input Device	HP Premium Collaboration Keyboard (spill resistant with drain, optional backlit)
Camera	HD Camera, HD IR webcam
Power	HP Smart 65W External AC Power adapter HP Long Life 3-cell, 50 Wh Li-ion polymer
Dimensions	12.84" x 9.22" x 0.71" 14.6" x 9.91" x 0.72"
Weight (14u / 15u)	3.27lbs / 3.89lbs

All ZBook models will be available in February 2018.
Related Reading:

• Best Laptops: Q1 2018
• GIGABYTE at CES 2018: Aero 15x and AORUS X9 Gaming Laptops
• MSI at CES 2018: Updated GT75VR Gaming Laptop Receives Killer (Wireless-AC 1550) Upgrade
• Acer Unveils Nitro 5: 15.6-inch Gaming Laptop with AMD Ryzen Mobile & Radeon RX560

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HP's last announcement of the day are additions to its 4K monitor lineup in the Z27, Z32, Z43, and EliteDisplay S270n monitors. The new lineup includes HP's first 4K EliteDisplay, as well as HP's largest 4K display in the Z43. HP mentions enterprise customers chose high-quality color as the most important display feature while high resolution as quality comes in as second. The EliteDisplay line are meant to be designed specifically for ergonomics and aesthetics in office environments.

The EliteDisplay S270n features 350 cd/m² brightness, 1300:1 static contrast ratio, and 14 ms gray to gray response times. It has a DisplayPort 1.2 input, and two HDMI inputs (1.4 and 2.0). The monitor has one port or a connector, a single USB Type-C supporting Displayport 1.2 and able to deliver up to 60W of power to a connected device.
The Z27, Z32 and Z43 (where number is the screen size ) monitors will offer the same 4K UHD resolution and IPS based panels but varies a bit in outputs. These models will still deliver the same 350 cd/m² brightness and 1300:1 static contrast ratio, but the response time is improved on the 27-inch and 42-inch models to 8 ms gray to gray (the 31-inch model is at 14 ms). Like the EliteDisplay, the Zxx series of monitors also connects via one single USB Type-C which supports Displayport 1.2 and can send up to 65W of power to the connected device.

All monitors are available now. The S270n is priced at $549, while the Z27, Z32, and Z43 are priced at $559, $899, and $799 respectively.
[TABLE]
[TR]
[TD="class: contentwhite, colspan: 6"]HP 4K Monitors[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR="class: tlblue"]
[TD] [/TD]
[TD]EliteDisplay S270n[/TD]
[TD]X27[/TD]
[TD]Z32[/TD]
[TD]Z43[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Display Size (Diagonal)[/TD]
[TD]27"[/TD]
[TD]27"[/TD]
[TD]31.5"[/TD]
[TD]42.5"[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Display Type[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 4"]IPS with LED backlight[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Viewing Angle[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 4"]178° Horizontal &Vertical [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Brightness[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 4"]350 cd/m²[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Contrast Ratio (Dynamic/Static)[/TD]
[TD]1000000:1
1300:1[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 2"]5000000:1
1300:1[/TD]
[TD]5000000:1
1000:1[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Response Time (GtG)[/TD]
[TD]14ms (with Overdrive)[/TD]
[TD]8ms[/TD]
[TD]14ms[/TD]
[TD]8ms[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Native Resolution[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 4"]4K UHD (3840 x 2160) @ 60Hz[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]Input Signal[/TD]
[TD]DisplayPort 1.2
HDMI 1.4
HDMI 2.0[/TD]
[TD="colspan: 3"]DisplayPort 1.2
Mini-DisplayPort 1.2
HDMI 2.0
USB Type-C[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: tlgrey"]USB Type-C Alt[/TD]
[TD]DisplayPort 1.2

For certain groups of users, Intel’s Xeon D product line has been a boon in performance per watt metrics. The goal of offering a fully integrated enterprise-class chip, with additional IO features, with lots of cores and at low power, was a draw to many industries: storage, networking, communications, compute, and particularly for ‘Edge’ computing. We reviewed the first generation Xeon D-1500 series back in June 2015, and today Intel is launching the second generation, the Xeon D-2100 series.

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This week, AMD and Valve announced AMD TrueAudio Next (TAN) support for Steam Audio, introducing it with the newly released Steam Audio 2.0 beta 13. Introduced just about a year ago, Steam Audio is Valve’s cross-platform developer tool for VR spatial audio, implementing features like binaural rendering, sound occlusion, and 3D sound propagation. Although consumers do not directly use this SDK, TAN support allows developers to utilize additional audio processing capabilities for GCN-based AMD GPUs. In turn, games and VR applications built on Steam Audio may feature more complex and immersive VR audio on AMD’s GCN-based video cards.

As part of the LiquidVR initiative, the TrueAudio Next SDK was announced in 2016 as a physics-based real-time audio acoustics rendering technology, with the corresponding open-source library part of GPUOpen, and comparable to NVIDIA’s contemporaneous release of VRWorks Audio. Like the other LiquidVR pieces, the goal was to push for maximum VR immersion, of which accurate and immersive audio is a key part. To be clear, although the technology takes its namesake from AMD’s original TrueAudio introduced in 2013, TAN uses existing AMD GPU resources rather than dedicated DSP hardware.

For Steam Audio, two core features of TAN play into its implementation: resource reservation and GPU-based convolution compute. For the former, developers can reserve AMD GPU compute units (CUs) for dedicated audio processing, though the feature limits itself to 20 – 25% of all CUs. The feature can also be enabled or disabled on a scene-by-scene basis, where TAN might be disabled for a graphically intensive scene that demands maximum compute resources.

For audio convolution, where audio signals modifying or filtering in a specific manner, the TAN library offers algorithms that can run on CPUs and GPUs. Using the GPU, TAN can accelerate the versatile convolution reverb for indirect sound, where sound bounces off solid objects before reaching the listener. Valve notes that indirect sound simulation and rendering is the most computationally intensive part of Steam Audio, and because of the Ambisonics technology used for directional variation of indirect sound, more spatial detail and quality require many more convolutions per audio source.

With resource reservation and GPU-accelerated time-varying convolution reverb, Steam Audio can easily offload both tasks from the CPU, which can instead take on other tasks like physics simulations or AI calculations. The other benefit is the isolation between audio and graphics processing, which brings benefits in both directions: computationally and/or graphically intensive scenes will not cause audio clicks, pops, and glitching, while moments of heavy audio processing will not cause sudden framerate drops and stuttering. Valve stated that the performance impact on CU reservation was more-or-less linear, where reserving 10% of available CUs results in 10% lower average framerates. Excluding that resource reservation feature, AMD’s TrueAudio Next whitepaper states that only a relatively small amount of video memory bandwidth is shared.

Utilizing TAN for Steam Audio is completely optional, taking the form of optional higher detail settings for TAN-capable GPUs. TAN can also be used in the various Steam Audio plugins for FMOD Studio, Unreal Engine 4, and Unity, as well as directly through the Steam Audio C API. More details can be found on the Steam Audio 2.0 beta 13 release notes and TAN GPUOpen page. The Steam Audio SDK and integrated plugins can be downloaded from its Github page.

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Lenovo this week has began a voluntarily recall of some of its 5^th Generation (Kaby Lake, Intel 7000-series) ThinkPad X1 Carbon notebooks because of an unfastened screw that can potentially damage the battery and cause a thermal runaway. The recall covers tens of thousands of laptops produced between late 2016 and mid 2017.
So far Lenovo has received three customer complaints about an issue with this range of laptops, which have resulted in increased thermal activity beyond expected safe boundaries. Upon inspecting the issue, the conclusion is that an unfastened screw has the potential to damage the laptop batteries, causing thermal runaway. To date, no actual laptops have resulted in combustion, nor have they caused any injuries or property damage, but Lenovo naturally wants to eliminate any potential issues related to the manufacturing oversight.
After conducting an internal investigation, Lenovo has confirmed that some of its ThinkPad X1 Carbon notebooks (machine types 20HQ, 20HR, 20K3, and 20K4) produced between December 2016 and October 2017 are affected by the issue, and as a result it has started a voluntarily recall program. The ThinkPad Carbon X1 computers made before or after the said dates are not affected. The PC maker advises ThinkPad Carbon X1 owners to visit a special website and check out whether their machines are recalled.
Lenovo reports that the aforementioned ThinkPad X1 Carbon laptops were sold worldwide and that customers need to check their machines and contact Lenovo for a free-of-charge repair. The company confirmed that around 83,500 units were sold in the U.S. and Canada, but did not indicate how many of them were shipped to customers in other countries.

Lenovo advises customers who have an affected laptop to stop using it immediately and contact the manufacturer. The company claims that it will set up a repair date for each customer, and fix the things with a minimal delay. The repair process itself should not take long because the only thing that has to be done is the elimination of an unfastened screw.
In the recent years laptop recalls because of potential battery problems have became more frequent. As batteries and notebooks are becoming more compact, any damage to a battery pack has the potential to cause severe problems (not just for the user, but also for the reputation of the company). Nonetheless, this is the first situation in recent memory that has identified an unfastened screw as a potential thermal cause for recall.
Related Reading

• HP Recalls 50,000 Laptop Batteries Due to Fire and Burn Hazards
• Panasonic Recalls 280,000 Tablet Battery Packs Due to Fire Hazard
• HP Recalls Over 100,000 Laptop Batteries Due to Potential Fire and Burn Hazards
• Apple Recalls "Duckhead" Power Adapters for Select Mac Laptops and iPads
• Microsoft to Recall Power Cables for Previous-Gen Surface Pro Tablets

Gallery: Lenovo Recalls Some of ThinkPad X1 Carbon 5th Gen Laptops Due to Fire Hazard

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FSP this week has announced that its Hydro PTM+ 1200 W/1400 W power supply, featuring a liquid cooling block that was originally demonstrated at Computex 2017, would hit the market shortly. Priced at nearly $700, the PSU has a significant additional cost. To soften the blow for early adopters, the first 500 buyers will get a free Bitspower AIO LCS kit along with sleeved cables.
The FSP Hydro PTM+ PSU is compliant with the ATX12V v2.4 as well as EPS12V v2.92 standards and is rated for a 100 A maximum load and 1200 W power. The power supply is certified for the 80Plus Platinum badge at 1200 W when it is cooled down using its built-in 135-mm fan, but once it is connected to a liquid cooling system, the manufacturer guarantees that it can handle loads of up to 1400 W. The liquid cooling block of the FSP HPT1200M was developed by Bitspower and is compatible with various custom-built liquid cooling systems from different manufacturers.

Power Specifications of the FSP Hydro PTM+ PSU (Rated @ Unknown °C)
AC INPUT	100 - 240 VAC, 50 - 60 Hz
RAIL	+3.3V	+5V	+12V	+5Vsb	-12V
MAX OUTPUT	24A	24A	100A	3A	0,3A
120W		1200W	15W	3.6W
TOTAL	1200W

FSP does not officially disclose how efficient the Hydro PTM+ is at 1400 W, but says that the PSU remains silent even under maximum loads. This is an interesting claim, as users who regularly push 1000W+ tend to be compute, rendering, or cryptocurrency focused.

Connectivity of FSP Hydro PTM+ PSU FSP HPT1200M
Connector type	Modular
ATX 24 Pin	1
EPS 4+4 Pin	2
PCI-E 6+2 Pin	8
SATA	12
Molex	4
Floppy	1
Fan	-
Dimensions	200 x 150 x 86 mm

Being aimed at enthusiasts and gamers, the FSP HPT1200M is fully modular, has built-in RGB LEDs, and is compatible with the ASUS Aura Sync lighting controls. The power supply is outfitted with a 24-pin ATX power connector, two 4+4-pin EPS power plugs as well as eight 6+2-pin auxiliary PCIe connectors, a configuration that enables it to handle dual-socket motherboards with four ultra-high-end graphics cards. The last time we tested a dual processor system with four GPUs at AnandTech, a dual socket 1366 with four HD 7970s, it was drawing 1550W at the wall during cryptocurrency, for perspective.

The FSP Hydro PTM+ 1200 W PSU will be available shortly for $699 from retailers like Amazon and Newegg. The MSRP of the FSP HPT1200M is considerably higher than the price of other high-end 1200 W 80Plus Platinum PSUs (the EVGA SuperNOVA 1200 is available for roughly $350), which is logical considering the unique nature of a liquid-cooled PSU. The 'good' news is that the first 500 buyers of the FSP Hydro PTM+ 1200 W PSU will get a free AIO LCS from Bitspower that includes a pump, a radiator, and a 120-mm fan. In addition, FSP will bundle sleeved cables with the PSU. This offer is apparently worldwide.

FSP and Bitspower were not the first to develop a liquid-cooled PSU for enthusiast-class PCs. For example, Deepcool demonstrated such power supply several years ago, but it never entered mass production.
Buy FSP Hydro PTM+ PSU on Amazon.com
Related Reading

• FSP Demonstrates Hydro PTM+ 1200 W: a Liquid-Cooled PSU with RGB LEDs
• CES 2016: Deepcool’s Gamer Storm brand Exhibits Water Cooling for a Power Supply
• FSP Dagger 500W and 600W SFX PSUs Come To Market: From $99 with 80Plus Gold
• FSP Announces Twins: 500W and 700W ATX PSU with Redundancy Capability
• The FSP Hydro G 750W Power Supply Review
• Thermaltake Adds RGB Lighting to Toughpower Grand Gold PSUs

Gallery: FSP’s Liquid-Cooled Hydro PTM+ 1200W PSU Announced, First Buyers Get Free LCS

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Intel has recently added eight unannounced desktop Coffee Lake processors to its MDDS (material declaration datasheet) database. Three new chips belong to the Core i3/i5 lineup are targeting mainstream PCs, whereas another five are Pentium Gold and Celeron products designed for entry-level systems. Their inclusion into the MDDS database likely precedes their formal introduction in the coming weeks or months.
Intel has introduced six desktop Coffee Lake CPU models to date, and considering how broad the company’s processor lineups usually are, it is obvious that the chip maker is prepping more SKUs. A list containing dozens of unannounced CFL products leaked in late November gave us an idea what to expect from the Coffee Lake family in general, but without many specifications or a timeline. Meanwhile, last week’s updates to the MDDS* database give us an idea what to expect from Intel in the near future.
The list of new Coffee Lake processors published by Intel includes its six-core Core i5-8600 and Core i5-8500 CPUs as well as a quad-core Core i3-8300 chip. The first two products will sit between the Core i5-8400 and the Core i5-8600K, so their prices will be higher than $182, but lower than $257. The Core i3-8300 will be positioned above the already available Core i3-8100 and will be priced accordingly (i.e., higher than $117).
The addition of three new Coffee Lake processors to the Core i3/i5 lineup will expand Intel’s family of mainstream CFL products, but it is the addition of the new Pentium Gold and Celeron products featuring the new microarchitecture that will make Intel’s 300-series platform more attractive to consumers in budget markets. Intel has yet to announce the specifications of its Pentium Gold G5600, Pentium Gold G5500, Pentium Gold G5400, Celeron G4920 and Celeron G4900, but from what we know about the CPUs is that they all have two physical cores (the Pentium chips also support Hyper-Threading), the Intel UHD 610 integrated GPU, and approximately ~51 W TDP. As for prices, Intel’s Pentium Gold and Celeron CPUs are not expensive and usually cost around $100 and lower.

Intel 8th Generation Desktop Processors Coffee Lake-S
Specifications not confirmed except *		Cores	Base Freq	Turbo Freq	L3	TDP	List Price
Core i7
Core i7-8700K	*	6 / 12	3.7	4.7	12 MB	95 W	$359
Core i7-8700	*	6 / 12	3.2	4.6	12 MB	65 W	$303
Core i7-8700B		6 / 12	?	?	12 MB	?	$303
Core i7-8700T		6 / 12	?	?	12 MB	35 W	$303
Core i7-8670		6 / 12	?	?	12 MB	65 W	?
Core i7-8670T		6 / 12	?	?	12 MB	35 W	?
Core i5
Core i5-8650K		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	?	?
Core i5-8650		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	65 W	?
Core i5-8600K	*	6 / 6	3.6	4.3	9 MB	95 W	$257
Core i5-8600	**	6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	65 W	?
Core i5-8550		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	65 W	?
Core i5-8500	**	6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	65 W	?
Core i5-8500B		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	?	?
Core i5-8500T		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	35 W	?
Core i5-8420		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	65 W	?
Core i5-8420T		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	35 W	?
Core i5-8400	*	6 / 6	2.8	4.0	9 MB	65 W	$182
Core i5-8400B		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	?	$182
Core i5-8400T		6 / 6	?	?	9 MB	35 W	$182
Core i3
Core i3-8350K	*	4 / 4	4.0		8 MB	91 W	$168
Core i3-8320		4 / 4	?		8 MB	65 W	?
Core i3-8320T		4 / 4	?		8 MB	35 W	?
Core i3-8300	**	4 / 4	?		?	?	?
Core i3-8300T		4 / 4	?		8 MB	35 W	?
Core i3-8120		4 / 4	?		6 MB	65 W	?
Core i3-8120T		4 / 4	?		6 MB	35 W	?
Core i3-8100	*	4 / 4	3.6		6 MB	65 W	$117
Core i3-8100T		4 / 4	?		6 MB	35 W	$117
Core i3-8020		4 / 4	?		6 MB	65 W	?
Core i3-8020T		4 / 4	?		6 MB	35 W	?
Core i3-8000		4 / 4	?		6 MB	65 W	?
Core i3-8000T		4 / 4	?		6 MB	35 W	?
Pentium Gold
Pentium Gold G5620		2 / 4	?		3 MB	?	?
Pentium Gold G5620T		2 / 4	?		3 MB	35 W	?
Pentium Gold G5600	**	2 / 4	?		3 MB	?	?
Pentium Gold G5500	**	2 / 4	?		3 MB	?	?
Pentium Gold G5500T		2 / 4	?		3 MB	35 W	?
Pentium Gold G5420		2 / 4	?		3 MB	?	?
Pentium Gold G5420T		2 / 4	?		3 MB	35 W	?
Pentium Gold G5400	**	2 / 4	?		3 MB	?	?
Pentium Gold G5400T		2 / 4	?		3 MB	35 W	?
Celeron
Celeron G4950		2 / 2	?		2 MB	?	?
Celeron G4930		2 / 2	?		2 MB	?	?
Celeron G4930T		2 / 2	?		2 MB	35 W	?
Celeron G4920	**	2 / 2	?		2 MB	?	?
Celeron G4900	**	2 / 2	?		2 MB	?	?
Celeron G4900T		2 / 2	?		2 MB	35 W	?

*Processors that are already launched
**New Entries in the MDDS database
Intel did not comment on the news story because the products have not been announced officially.

*Intel’s MDDS database contains information about ROHS compliancy and usage of hazardous materials by Intel’s products. Virtually all commercial products by the company end up there. However, a listing does not mean an imminent launch. Moreover, back in the day, this database included products that were never released.
Related Reading

• The AnandTech Coffee Lake Review: Initial Numbers on the Core i7-8700K and Core i5-8400
• Best CPUs for Gaming: Q1 2018
• Intel 8th Generation and 9th Generation Processor Lists Leaked: Coffee Lake Refresh?
• Intel to Use Additional Assembly & Test Factory to Improve Supply of Coffee Lake CPUs
• Price and Availability Watch: Core i7-8700K, Core i5-8600K and Core i3-8350K

Source: Intel MDDS via ComputerBase.

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