Welcome back PCWorld fans for another romp through the world of computer hardware news
with this week’s round-up - I’ve got a good bit in store for you. I’m going to
talk about how Microsoft blinked with the security requirements around Windows 11. Major CPU changes
are being introduced with Intel’s 12th-Gen Alder Lake. How despite woes from gamers attempting to
get graphics cards, there are in fact plenty being sold. 3DMark has an all-new feature test
for DirectX 12 Ultimate. Some not-so-exciting news about how chip prices could be greatly affected by
a move from TSMC. That’s the top-up, now let me get you the lowdown on all these topics.
Microsoft said Friday that the company is relenting somewhat
on its minimum requirements for Windows 11, allowing enthusiasts that understand the risks
to download and upgrade Windows 11 on older, unsupported hardware. Exact details remain murky,
however, due to conflicting reports and the lack of an official Microsoft statement.
It seems that users who choose to download a standalone Windows 11 ISO file
will be permitted to run Windows 11, even if the PC doesn’t technically
qualify for the OS upgrade. Reports by ZDNet, The Verge, Windows Central, and Thurrott.com
all included unsourced attributions from Microsoft spokespeople that say users will be able to run
Windows 11 on unsupported hardware. Some of the publications implied that there will be a set
of minimum hardware requirements that Microsoft will enforce, while others simply ignored them.
For its part, Microsoft still seems to be saying that Windows 11 will require
a minimum set of hardware requirements, most of which haven’t changed. “We have concluded that
the compatible 64-bit processors selected, 4GB of memory, 64GB of storage, UEFI secure boot,
graphics requirements and TPM 2.0 are the right minimum system requirements to deliver on the
principles we established to best support you,” a blog authored by “the Windows Team” said Friday.
To be clear, Microsoft’s blog post did not publicly state
that users would be able to download and install Windows 11 on unsupported hardware.
PCWorld asked Microsoft representatives for comment, and PCWorld’s Windows reporter
Mark Hachman will update his post when he receives a reply. We’ll have to stay tuned for this one,
but at least we do know that a new CPU will get upgraded thanks to Windows 11.
Intel is gearing up for its next CPU launch cycle featuring its new 12th-Gen Alder Lake processors.
While these are most likely launching later this fall no dates have been
set just yet. But what has been set is the expectation of the cores
and thread structure. Desktop parts are going to be packing up to 16 cores and 24 threads,
but that’s where the interesting part comes in. Normally you would expect to hear the typical
high core counts thanks to more cores, but what 12th-Gen features is a mix of high-performance
cores with Hyper-Threading enabled, and additional cores aimed at efficiency which
do not feature Hyper-Threading. According to Intel, Alder Lake’s top end chip will feature
8 Performance Cores and 8 Efficiency Cores. So that’s how you get 16 cores and 24 threads.
If you’re wondering how this is supposed to work within Windows then you’ll be pleased
to hear that Intel has worked with Microsoft to develop a special thread scheduler called Thread
Director that will optimize performance across all cores. The long and short is to think of the
small efficient cores handling background tasks while the big performance cores handle what you’re
working on so that they’re not hindering each other. If you want to learn more about the makings
of 12th-Gen Alder Lake, we’ve got videos and articles for you, all linked in the description.
But if graphics cards are more your speed then you’ll be happy to hear that things are looking
up - at least in volume shipments according to Jon Peddie Research. While many PC gamers out there
are still struggling to find that exact graphics card of their dreams, that hasn’t stopped vendors
from pumping out record numbers to the tune of 123 Million units in Q2 of this year. The overall GPU
shipments increased by 3.4%, with AMD increasing by 2.3%, Nvidia by 3.6%, and Intel pushing 3.8%.
Market share shifts are always an important number to look at
because it shows us the overall market penetration for a moment in time. According
to the report in Q2 2021, Nvidia holds 83% of the dedicated GPU market with AMD holding 17%.
What’s interesting about those numbers is that this time last year AMD held 20% of the market,
showing they have lost some footing since, quite possibly due to supply constraints.
Now if you got one of these new graphics cards then you’ll be able to load 3DMark and take
advantage of the latest DirectX 12 Ultimate feature test. The team at ULBenchmarks has
added Sampler Feedback to their feature test allowing you to test this out for yourself.
Don’t expect the same kind of uplift as you’ll get from something as impactful as mesh shaders,
BUT I ran it on an RTX 3060 and saw about an 8% uplift in performance.
If you’re wondering what it does, well, Sampler Feedback allows the GPU to take
previous frame data to reuse shading from the previous frame. I can also allow for
some of the shading to be done at a lower detail level. It’s still going to be a bit before you
see this one in games but I’ll be sure to let you know when it does show up finally.
And last but not least, this news is a bit of a bummer topic. According to another report
by our own Mark Hachman, TSMC appears to have plans in place to raise chip prices
by 10 to 20 percent. And if you don’t think this won’t most likely end up finding its
way to the end-user, then I’ve got some ocean-front property in Arizona for sale.
The report comes from The Wall Street Journal and they claim that the chipmaker is planning to raise
prices as early as late this year or possibly next year. All as a result of the massive increase in
demand for their chips. The 20% is levied for manufacturing key automotive components
but we could see up to 10% getting applied to those segments that make up our CPU and GPU chips.
Well, there you have it folks, another rather interesting week behind us in the PC world.
Microsoft softens its stance on Windows 11 requirements. Things are getting quite
interesting for the upcoming Alder Lake CPU launch with a major departure from traditional
core arrangements. GPUs continue to sell faster and in more volume than ever before, showcasing
the growing demand for them. 3DMark’s new feature test will let you check out some upcoming DirectX
12 Ultimate features before they make their way to actual games. And the unfortunate reality of
possible processor price hikes settles in as demand doesn’t wane. Thanks for joining me this
week, and if you found these topics informative let me know by hitting that like button,
and make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss future PC Hardware and software goodness.