Intel Core i9-12900K Engineering Sample Smiles For The Camera

As the supposed November launch date for Intel’s 12th generation Alder Lake lineup looms over us, it’s only normal that the chipmaker’s rusty plumbing develop more leaks on the subject. To that end and thanks to the internet, there are now very detailed, close-up shots of what is believed to be an engineering sample of the Core i9-12900K.

Pictures of the 12900K were posted by prominent leakster Yuuki_AnS (@yuuki_ans) on the Chinese social media platform, Bilibili, as well as Twitter. The CPU bears the label “QX7H”, which is apparently the second revision of the flagship CPU. Needless to say, the close-up shots are gorgeous and filled with enough detail that we actually don’t have to squint. Of the entire album, the most detailed of the photos is the one that shows the CPU’s grid array.

On another note, the pictures also show offs the CPU’s longer shape and form factor, confirming Intel’s departure from its symmetrical CPU design. Moreover, the images also give us a look at the height of the 12900K, which earlier reports have said will be different from its current Rocket Lake lineup.

The changes in Alder Lake’s form factor also means that consumers may have no choice but to purchase a new cooling solution that fits the LGA1700 form factor or simply update the brackets on their currently existing coolers. Just like MSI or Noctua are doing.

Intel is expected to launch the Alder Lake desktop CPU lineup on 4 November.

Android 12 Dessert Name Is Snow Cone, Confirms Engineering VP

Back when Android 12 was still in its developer preview stages, we saw reports of the Google mobile OS being referred to as Snow Cone. We took it as simply being its internal reference name, rather than a public one like the older Android versions. But with its release to the Android Open Source Project (AOSP), Android’s VP of Engineering Dave Burke shared the name on Twitter, alongside an appropriate image of the OS mascot.

It’s a nice thing to see for users who were fans of the dessert names. It’s also unusual that the name used for internal reference is kept all the way to its release. After all, before Android 7 was released with the name Nougat, it was known internally as New York Cheesecake.

That being said, the name Snow Cone will still likely not be part of the official Android 12 name. After all, the company stopped doing that with Android 10, which was just referred to as Q.

And with all that being said, it will be awhile before Android 12 actually becomes available on any phone. It’s just gotten its AOSP release, it will still be a few weeks before it even gets to Google Pixel devices. And it will be even later that the mobile OS comes to the devices of other brands.

AirAsia’s Asia Digital Engineering Gets Base Maintenance Approval From Civil Aviation Regulator

AirAsia Group’s wholly-owned subsidiary Asia Digital Engineering (ADE) just received base maintenance approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM).

This means ADE will now not only perform regular line maintenance, but also base maintenance (hangar or C-checks) for AirAsia Group’s airlines. The company will also be able to support third-party airlines for aircraft maintenance repairs and overhaul (MRO).

“AirAsia Group have been sending aircraft to other MRO operators for scheduled base maintenance, which will now be able to be serviced locally in Malaysia delivering significant efficiencies including reduced maintenance costs,” said ADE CEO Mahesh Kumar.

He said that, based on demand, the company is planning to expand its aircraft maintenance facilities and services in KLIA, Johor and other airports in Malaysia, either by utilising existing hangars or building new hangars.

With the approval from CAAM, Mahesh said that ADE was now poised to become not just the biggest MRO in Malaysia, but also one of the biggest in Asean and beyond.

“Our operations are highly driven by big data and state-of-the-art digital technologies. Being a fully integrated digital company, we strive for operational excellence through enhanced visibility, intelligence, and decision making enabled by data,” he said.

ADE provides a range of aircraft services focused on the Airbus A320, A321, and A330 for line maintenance services, component and warehouse services, and engineering support services.

Alleged Intel Xe HPG Desktop Engineering Sample Appears For The First Time

By now, we’ve heard several rumours and seen several snippets of Intel’s Xe HPG GPU, but never the desktop graphics card form factor that several of us have been hoping to see. That is, until today.

YouTuber Moore’s Law is Dead recently published a video on his channel, along with images of what is apparently an engineering sample of the chipmaker’s upcoming Xe-HPG desktop graphics card. According to the YouTuber, the dual-fan cooling solution being shown is just one of three cooler designs that Intel has in store for the lineup.

Moore’s Law is Dead’s video also provides some details about the Xe-HPG, although it’s not information we haven’t heard before; the GPU is expected to have 16GB GDDR6 graphics memory, along with a 256-bit memory bus and TDP of 275W. On the subject of power, the video also shows an image of the card’s PCIe power ports, which are 8-pin and 6-pin. Lastly, the card will also feature 512 Execution Units (EU) and boost clocks of 2.2GHz.

If you’re wondering what all those details equate to in terms of performance metrics for the alleged Xe-HPG, Moore’s Law is Dead says that it should be somewhere between an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 and RTX 3080. Oh, and they also mention that Intel actually has an AI-powered super sampling technology similar to NVIDIA’s DLSS, known as XeSS.

As for the availability, the YouTuber says that at this rate, a launch this year is beginning to look very unlikely, with a 2022 availability now looking far likely. Naturally, this is all merely rumours, so take this with a grain of salt.