The Computer Electronics Show where the biggest companies announce their new technologies and roadmaps has finally arrived. Today, there is news from the big trio of chipmaking, Intel, Nvidia, and AMD, as well as some smaller news from Qualcomm. There are also some interesting new technologies from a variety of companies. So, let’s have a look at them.
AMD: Ryzen 6000 mobile APUs, Radeon RX 6000 GPUs, and RDNA 2 on phones
AMD is one of the most exciting companies to hear its new announcements in recent years since they broke Intel’s monopoly, as well as the “4-core CPUs are enough for everyone” cycle. Because of that, now we have options to get much beefier CPUs.
The company announced the partnership with Samsung, bringing their RDNA 2 GPU architecture into Samsung Exynos SoCs. That should boost mobile gaming performance by a lot, but we should wait and see its power management.
AMD also launched its new laptop CPU series, Ryzen 6000. The Ryzen 6000 is built with Zen3+ architecture and includes RDNA2 GPU. It is built with a 6 nm node and supports a variety of new techs such as USB4 and WiFi 6E. The CPU series has also an integrated security chip that is developed in partnership with Microsoft. The maximum battery life of the laptops with Ryzen 6000 APUs is said to be 24 hours.
New Radeon GPUs have been launched: Radeon RX 6500 XT and Radeon RX 6400. Radeon 6500 XT comes with 4 GB GDDR6 memory, 16 compute units with 1024 stream processors. It also has 16 ray accelerators. MSRP of RX 6500 XT is $199 but it is likely to go up much higher, thanks to GPU scalpers. Radeon RX 6400’s price is yet to be announced.
We will need to wait until the second half of this year for the next-gen desktop Ryzen CPUs. Ryzen 7000 series will be manufactured on TSMC’s 5 nm node.
Intel: Arc GPUs finally arrives, 12000KS series launch as well as H and P series
Intel’s efforts for making new graphics chips by putting Raja Koduri at the top in 2017 are bringing actual consumer-focused products for the first time. The Arc GPUs are going to be competing with Radeon and GeForce series. The company announced its first laptops using Intel Arc. They will be arriving in the first quarter of this year.
The company also announced its 12th gen KS series desktop CPUs that aim top performance with higher overall clock speeds. These CPUs will be able to deliver an astonishing 5.5 GHz single-core and 5.0 GHz all-core boost speeds. The desktop CPUs also change their bundled coolers with much better-looking ones.
Lastly, Intel has announced eight H series mobile CPUs as well as six P series, all included in the 12th gen architecture. The H series will be using 45 watts of power, while the P series will be limited to 28 watts for lighter and more efficient laptops.
Nvidia: Desktop and mobile Ti GPUs, RTX 3050, and GeForce Now-ready TVs
GPU side is a bit complicated due to scalpers and general shortage. People want to see the current GPUs in stock instead of new and refreshed ones. That’s why Nvidia’s announcements are not so exciting, just like AMD’s new Radeon GPUs. The company has announced a new, shiny, upgraded, beefier GPU, RTX 3090 Ti, which people won’t be able to buy. It has a little faster GDDR6X memory, as well as faster silicon itself. The new desktop model RTX 3050 will deliver 1080p gaming to mid-low tier PCs, aiming for 60+ FPS on modern games. It will be launched later this month for an MSRP of $249. That might result in a $600 scalper price if you can find it.
On the mobile side, Nvidia will be offering new RTX 3080 Ti and RTX 3070 Ti GPUs. The RTX 3080 Ti comes with a whopping 16 GB GDDR6 memory and the company claims that this GPU beats RTX Titan desktop GPU. The laptops that will use those GPUs will be available on the 1st of February.
As a partnership with Samsung, Nvidia will be delivering GeForce Now to the new Samsung TVs.
Samsung: Remote controllers without batteries and new monitors
The Bluetooth or IR remotes for TVs and other electronic devices generally tend to use so little energy, they can be used over one year with a single battery. Samsung seems to be trying to avoid those batteries used by remotes; last year they introduced solar-powered remotes. This year, the company takes those remotes one step further. The new remotes that have been announced at CES 2022, charge themselves with the radio waves around. It uses 2.4 GHz WiFi signals to charge and it does not need to be close to the source.
The company also announced three new different monitors, all aiming different segments. The Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 comes for gamers. It has a 4K resolution with a 240 Hz refresh rate. It uses Quantum Mini LED technology with whopping 2000 nits peak brightness. It is a 32-inch monitor with 1000R curvature. Samsung Smart Monitor M8 32” brings 99% sRGB color gamut to 4K panel, with 10bit color at a 400 nit brightness. It has connectivity options for Type-C laptops with 65 watts charging and an integrated-but-movable webcam. The last monitor, Samsung High Resolution Monitor S8 comes in two sizes: 27” and 32”. It brings 98% DCI-P3 color gamut and supports VESA Display HDR 600. It can deliver 90 watts of power via an integrated USB Type-C hub and also includes a LAN port for easy connections with Type-C supported laptops.
Sony PlayStation VR2 headset
Sony has announced its new VR headset that supports several new features. VR2 comes with 2000×2040 OLED displays, per eye, that can reach 120 Hz frequency. It supports HDR and provides a 110-degree field of view. It has haptic sensors that were also used on PS5 controllers. The users’ eyes will be tracked via cameras placed inside which opens new possibilities in future games such as further performance optimizations.
John Deere’s self-driving tractor
The agricultural equipment company John Deere has announced its autonomous tractor. It will be able to do its job without needing the farmer inside its cabin. The farmer will be able to control the tractor via a smartphone. The tractor has a GPS for guidance and they will follow farmers’ orders.