Opinion articles

Remember AMI BIOS? Turns out there's a buried treasure in firmware

The big picture: Firmware is one of those obscure areas of computing that is simultaneously critical yet largely ignored. Not coincidentally, we have been doing a lot of work lately digging around such dark corners of the industry. Despite the ubiquitous nature of firmware, almost no one talks about it much.

How to build a server in "100 easy steps": The growing pains of modern data centers

Lenovo unveils new AI laptops with Intel, AMD, and Qualcomm chips inside

Intel's Lunar Lake reignites PC competition, Core Ultra Series 2 is now official

Intel's gathering storm and why it needs to stay the course

AMD's $5 billion ZT acquisition: Strategic play or overpriced gamble?

Bottom line: The strategic rationale behind AMD acquiring ZT makes sense, to a point, but $5 billion is a lot to pay, especially when the true value of the transaction relies heavily on the price AMD will get when they spin off ZT's manufacturing unit.

Why are there so many AI accelerators?

Google's Pixel 9 series stands out by bringing practical AI to your pocket

Were we wrong about Zen 5?

Recap: We got our first look at AMD's new Ryzen 5 9600X and Ryzen 7 9700X processors last week, and it's fair to say we weren't impressed with what we saw. That said, online reviews were very mixed, despite reporting similar performance data overall. There were minimal gains in games, with mixed productivity performance. But that mixed reception from reviewers left readers confused, with many asking the question: Are these new Zen 5 processors good or bad? It's a fair question, and the answer is, as usual, "it depends."

Intel's rough quarter was expected, but management's messaging struggles were not

Bottom line: The fact that Intel had a bad quarter is not that surprising. What is surprising is the extent to which management does not seem to have a handle on how to communicate its plans.

Opinion: The rapidly evolving world of AI PCs

Something to look forward to: Even though it's only been two months since they were first announced and just a month since they've shipped, Copilot+ PCs are already having a noticeable impact on the PC market. Major OEMs like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and Microsoft's Surface group have released slick new NPU-accelerated "AI PCs." Other vendors such as Samsung, Acer, and Asus have also joined with impressive new devices.

AMD teases Ryzen 9000 performance ahead of July 31 launch, details B850 and B840 chipsets

Samsung unveils the Galaxy Z Fold6, Galaxy Z Flip6, new AI features, new smartwatches and the Galaxy Ring

Is there a sustainable model for AI factories?

Editor's take: Investors usually hate airlines – they're capital-intensive, have high operating expenses, limited suppliers, and no way to differentiate with customers. How are AI factories any different?

Redefining event keynotes: HPE's futuristic presentation at the Sphere

Opinion: Power Politics and GPUs

Editor's take: As much as it would make sense for Nvidia to focus solely on being the leading AI silicon vendor, their rise to power has left them with little choice but to continue pushing forward in areas that make some of their big customers uncomfortable.

MediaTek surprises with powerful partnerships at Computex 2024

Arm shows off new architectures at Computex, innovation in low-power computing

Intel strikes back: Pat Gelsinger outlines Intel's future at Computex 2024

Qualcomm embraces AI PC future with big Copilot+ showcase at Computex

AMD leaps into Copilot+ PCs and outlines infrastructure GPU roadmap

Why it matters: AMD is in the unique position of being the primary competitor to Nvidia on GPUs – for both PCs and AI acceleration – and to Intel for CPUs – both for servers and PCs – so their efforts are getting more attention than they ever have. And with that, the official opening keynote for this year's Computex was delivered by AMD CEO Dr. Lisa Su.

Nvidia's Jensen Huang kicks off Computex 2024 with a spotlight on GenAI and an accelerated GPU roadmap