Computex 2019: AMD, Intel®, and NVIDIA Announcements

Computex is back again this year with big announcements from industry heavyweights including AMD, Intel®, and NVIDIA with new processors, chipsets, and graphics cards. See if there's anything for you, below.

AMD CPU

Starting it off, AMD highlighted the advancements of its Zen 2 architecture with up to a 15% increase in instructions per clock (IPC) compared to its predecessor. Zen 2 will be powering next-generation AMD Ryzen and EPYC processors with further design improvements, such as larger cache sizes and a redesigned floating point engine. These 3rd-generation socket AM4 Ryzen processors will be available July 7 at multiple price/performance points ranging from Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 9. In addition, 3rd-gen Ryzens will also be supporting PCIe 4.0 with upcoming X570 chipset motherboards. PCIe 4.0 has roughly double the bandwidth of PCIe 3.0, which is beneficial for graphics cards, networking devices, NVMe drives, and more. Expect to see many OEMs and System Integrators with 3rd-gen Ryzen systems soon. On the datacenter side of things, 2nd-gen EPYC processors are expected to deliver up to 2x the performance-per-socket over their predecessors and are slated to launch sometime around Q3 2019.

AMD GPU

Similar to the CPU side of things, AMD has dropped its previous-generation Graphics Core Next (GCN) architecture for RDNA. This change is projected to provide up to 1.25x higher performance-per-clock and up to 1.5x higher performance-per-watt compared to GCN, resulting in better gaming performance with lower power and latency. Drawing on parallels, these 7nm Navi GPUs will also be featuring the PCIe 4.0 interface and be released on July 7, starting with the AMD Radeon RX 5700-series. AMD has opted for GDDR6 this round, rather than the pricier HBM2, which should help with availability. That's all AMD had to show for now; however, more details about its GPUs will be unveiled at the upcoming E3 livestream event, on June 10.

Intel®

Looking to upgrade your processor? The time might be now because Intel® also unveiled the 10th-Gen "Ice Lake" Intel® Core™ processors. Built on Intel's 10nm process technology and the "Sunny Cove" architecture, the 10th-Gen CPUs feature integrated Iris Plus graphics and broad-scale artificial intelligence (AI). Using Intel® Deep Learning Boost™ (Intel DL Boost), the 10th-Gen processors can deliver approximately 2.5x the AI performance for low-latency workloads. With integrated Intel® Iris Plus™ graphics based on the Gen11 graphics architecture, the processors can provide pro-level content creation capabilities with approximately 2x the HEVC encode. Watch 4K HDR in a billion colors, game with up to double the FPS, and play thousands of popular titles at Full HD 1080p. These processors will also deliver both integrated Thunderbolt™ 3 and integrated Intel® Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+) for the first time to enable nearly 3x faster wireless speeds. Intel® says the 10th-Gen Intel® Core™ processors will range from Intel® Core™ i3 to Intel® Core™ i7, with up to 4 cores and 8 threads, up to 4.1 max turbo frequency and up to 1.1 GHz graphics frequency. OEM systems are expected to arrive in holiday 2019.

Gamers and enthusiasts can opt for the special edition of the 9th-Gen Intel® Core™ i9-9900KS, which can deliver up to 5 GHz all-core turbo. To make it easier to overclock your processor, Intel® released the Intel® Performance Maximizer™ (IPM). This automated overclocking tool allows you to custom-tune your unlocked 9th-Gen Intel® Core™ desktop processors dynamically and reliably, based upon their individual performance DNA. IPM is free and is part of the Intel® Adaptix Technologies™ toolkit, which has other useful tools, like Intel® Dynamic Tuning Technology™, Intel® Extreme Tuning Utility™, and Intel® Graphics Command Center™. You can get your hands on this processor by holiday 2019.

Intel® also announced several product line updates. The company is launching 14 new 9th-Gen Intel® Core™ vPro processors for mobile (H-series) and desktop (S-series) computers. Desktop Intel® Core™ i9 vPro processors can have up to 8 cores, 16 threads, and reach up to 5 GHz while mobile models can reach up to 4.8 GHz. The Intel® vPro™ platform is designed for the business user, thanks to its built-in security features, remote manageability, and stability.

Intel® is also launching 14 new Intel® Xeon E™ processors for mobile and desktop workstations. These processors will have the same features as the previously mentioned Intel® Core™ vPro platform, as well as professional-grade performance and real-time data analytics capabilities. The Xeon E™ processors will have up to 8 cores, 16 threads, 5 GHz turbo frequency, Wi-Fi 6 (Gig+), Intel® Optane Memory™ H10, and 128GB 2666 MHz DDR4 ECC RAM support.

Intel® announced that new Intel® Core™ X-series processors will be coming in the fall of 2019. These processors will feature frequency improvements, increased memory speed, and updated Intel® Turbo Boost Max™ Technology 3.0.

NVIDIA

While it didn't release any new gaming hardware, NVIDIA ensured its ray-tracing technology is going strong with RTX in titles such as the upcoming Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the classic Quake II, and even a fantasy RPG Sword and Fairy 7. On the other side of things, to help developers and content creators working with ray tracing, NVIDIA unveiled NVIDIA Studio, which consists of RTX GPUs and the NVIDIA Studio Stack of specialized SDKs and dedicated Studio Drivers. Certified systems will have a badge denoting they meet hardware and software requirements to power creative workflows. These systems will include GeForce or Quadro GPUs with mobile workstations sporting cards such as a Quadro RTX 5000, 4000, 3000, Quadro T2000, T1000, P620, and P520 for AI, ray tracing, and VR performance.

Stay tuned for more Computex 2019 news.