Tech Advisor March 2023

Goodbye, SO-DIMM: memory overseer JEDEC will formally adopt the ‘CAMM Common Spec’ as the next RAM module standard for laptops. JEDEC, the memory group that officially approves RAM standards, is in the process of hammering out the new specification to replace the basic SO-DIMMs that have been in use for 25 years, according to JEDEC committee member, and Dell Senior Distinguished Engineer Tom Schnell. Schnell actually created the original CAMM – or Compression Attached Memory Module – design for Dell last year. JEDEC’s CAMM standard will be based on that CAMM design, but is likely to be somewhat different as companies hammer it out. While the adoption of new hardware standards can be fraught, with hand‑wringing, foot-dragging and all the friction of a negotiation among co-workers over where to get…

Intel’s long awaited Core i9-13900KS was unwrapped in January and will officially be the first x86 consumer CPU to hit the 6GHz barrier. You will pay a premium for the barrier-breaking privilege, as the chip costs £749. The 24-core Core i9-113900KS is essentially a special edition version of the already released (and unapologetically fast) Core i9-13900K. It features eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. The original Core i9-13900K could reach 5.8GHz on single-core loads, while the Core i9-13900KS will round that up to a smooth 6.0GHz on single-core loads. “The Core i9-13900KS continues our 13th Gen Intel Core desktop processor family excellence, showcasing the new performance heights made possible by our performance hybrid architecture,” Intel Client Computing Group manager Marcus Kennedy said in a statement. “Extreme gamers and enthusiasts…

Goodbye, SO-DIMM: memory overseer JEDEC will formally adopt the ‘CAMM Common Spec’ as the next RAM module standard for laptops. JEDEC, the memory group that officially approves RAM standards, is in the process of hammering out the new specification to replace the basic SO-DIMMs that have been in use for 25 years, according to JEDEC committee member, and Dell Senior Distinguished Engineer Tom Schnell. Schnell actually created the original CAMM – or Compression Attached Memory Module – design for Dell last year. JEDEC’s CAMM standard will be based on that CAMM design, but is likely to be somewhat different as companies hammer it out. While the adoption of new hardware standards can be fraught, with hand‑wringing, foot-dragging and all the friction of a negotiation among co-workers over where to get lunch, JEDEC seems…

Microsoft’s next-gen Surface Duo phone may actually be a single-screen device, according to a recent report – and that’s probably for the best. Windows Central’s sources say that the ‘Surface Duo’ may actually be a foldable phone using a single screen rather than the dual screens that defined the Duo name. While Microsoft originally planned a dual-screen Duo as their next-gen Surface Duo 3, that device has been scrapped, the site reports. Though my review of the Surface Duo 2 was middling (fave. co/3H7Gs8L), I kept using the device for months afterwards, just so I could fully experience its strengths and weaknesses. Everything that the review stated is still valid, but I found that over time I just fell out of love with the two screens. Yes, in certain scenarios…

Intel’s long awaited Core i9-13900KS was unwrapped in January and will officially be the first x86 consumer CPU to hit the 6GHz barrier. You will pay a premium for the barrier-breaking privilege, as the chip costs £749. The 24-core Core i9-113900KS is essentially a special edition version of the already released (and unapologetically fast) Core i9-13900K. It features eight performance cores and 16 efficiency cores. The original Core i9-13900K could reach 5.8GHz on single-core loads, while the Core i9-13900KS will round that up to a smooth 6.0GHz on single-core loads. “The Core i9-13900KS continues our 13th Gen Intel Core desktop processor family excellence, showcasing the new performance heights made possible by our performance hybrid architecture,” Intel Client Computing Group manager Marcus Kennedy said in a statement. “Extreme gamers and enthusiasts can now…

Microsoft’s next-gen Surface Duo phone may actually be a single-screen device, according to a recent report – and that’s probably for the best. Windows Central’s sources say that the ‘Surface Duo’ may actually be a foldable phone using a single screen rather than the dual screens that defined the Duo name. While Microsoft originally planned a dual-screen Duo as their next-gen Surface Duo 3, that device has been scrapped, the site reports. Though my review of the Surface Duo 2 was middling (fave. co/3H7Gs8L), I kept using the device for months afterwards, just so I could fully experience its strengths and weaknesses. Everything that the review stated is still valid, but I found that over time I just fell out of love with the two screens. Yes, in certain scenarios the…