(Bloomberg) — Apple Inc. is testing a pair of new high-end Macs and their accompanying processors ahead of its Worldwide Developers Conference next week, suggesting that it’s nearing the release of professional-focused desktop computers.

The company is planning two new Mac models — labeled internally as Mac 14,13 and Mac 14,14 — that run the M2 Max processor announced in January and a yet-to-be-unveiled M2 Ultra chip. That second processor would replace the M1 Ultra model currently featured in the Mac Studio, a high-end desktop announced in March 2022.

The new computers are part of an effort to overhaul the Mac line and attract consumers during a sluggish stretch for the computer industry. Powerful desktop models remain key to Apple’s appeal among professional users, such as video editors or graphic designers. The company also is just days away from WWDC, its annual gathering of developers who rely on such machines to build apps.

A representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple declined to comment.

The first desktop computer in testing is running an M2 Max processor with eight high-performance cores — components for the most demanding tasks — as well as four efficiency cores and 30 graphics cores. Those are the same specifications featured in the MacBook Pro with the M2 Max. This particular machine also includes 96 gigabytes of memory and is running macOS 13.4, the version of the Mac operating system that was just released earlier this month. 

The second machine in testing has what is labeled as an M2 Ultra chip, which the company’s hasn’t yet announced. That component, which sports 24 processing cores, doubles the performance of the M2 Max model. The chip includes 16 high-performance cores and eight efficiency cores, as well as 60 graphics cores. The company is testing it in configurations with 64 gigabytes, 128 gigabytes and 192 gigabytes of memory. 

The M2 Ultra chip will also include a more powerful option, with as many as 76 graphics cores, doubling the 38-core maximum found in the current M2 Max chip, Bloomberg has reported.

The M2 Ultra chip was initially designed for a future version of the high-end Mac Pro desktop. That machine currently still runs Intel Corp. chips — a holdout in Apple’s three-year effort to use homegrown processors in its computers.

Apple has been vague about when a new Mac Pro is coming. It said more than a year ago that an updated model would arrive “another day.” Inside Apple, the future Mac Pro with in-house chips has been labeled Mac 14,8. That suggests that the latest desktops in testing are different machines, such as new versions of the Mac Studio, which is currently offered in M1 Max and M1 Ultra configurations. 

Bloomberg reported in April that two new Mac Studio updates are in the works. Apple has also been developing a 15-inch version of the MacBook Air, along with future iterations of the 13-inch MacBook Air and 15-inch model with a 3-nanometer M3 processor. And it’s planning a low-end 13-inch MacBook Pro and an iMac with the next-generation chip.

Next week’s developer expo kicks off Monday with the debut of Apple’s much-anticipated mixed-reality headset. The company also will unveil updates to the software that runs on the iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch and Mac. The presentation will include multiple new Mac models as well. 

In another sign that new machines are coming soon, Apple is planning to start letting customers trade in more types of Macs for a gift card next Monday. The Macs that Apple will begin accepting: the M2 13-inch MacBook Air and 13-inch MacBook Pro, as well as the current Mac Studio. Such a move typically heralds that new versions are on the way.

©2023 Bloomberg L.P.

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Microsoft MSFT-Q on Tuesday accused Britain’s anti-trust regulator of being a global “outlier” in blocking its $69-billion takeover of “Call of Duty” maker Activision Blizzard ATVI-Q.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) vetoed the deal in April, saying it could hurt competition in the nascent cloud gaming market, sparking a furious row.

The company’s appeal against the decision is likely to be heard in late July, a judge at the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) indicated on Tuesday.

Microsoft’s lawyer Daniel Beard told the CAT: “If this process does not move forward quickly, it jeopardizes this merger being completed.”

Microsoft argues the CMA was wrong to conclude the deal would lead to a substantial lessening of competition in the United Kingdom’s cloud gaming market.

He said that 10 regulators – including the European Union’s competition authority, which gave the deal the go-ahead earlier this month – have already approved the merger.

“The CMA is the outlier here in its position,” Beard said. “It creates the uncertainty that risks derailing this deal and it is for that reason that speed is of the essence.”

He added: “It is only here that we have this uncertainty in terms of there being a decision which we say is fundamentally wrong and purports to stop this merger worldwide in relation to a tiny part of the gaming industry.”

Microsoft has also appealed the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s action seeking to block the deal on the grounds that, the agency said, it would suppress competition.

Activision has applied to intervene in Microsoft’s appeal against the CMA’s decision, saying that the planned deal has a “drop dead” date of July 18.

Its lawyer Anthony Grabiner said the CMA’s conclusion that cloud gaming was a separate market from so-called native gaming, where gamers access games installed on their devices through a digital download or physical disc, was wrong.

Cloud gaming is “nothing more than simply a delivery mechanism … it is not a separate market,” he said.

“From a U.K. plc perspective, it is a terribly important case,” Grabiner added.

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Small form factor might not be limiting your GPU size

Updated: May 31, 2023 8:45 am

Table of Contents Table of Contents

Sometimes looking for a small form factor case, you might be size-limited, but Cooler Master’s new vertical NCore 100 Max can fit an RTX 4090. At Computex 2023, Cooler Master is showing off a very stylish standing PC case under a small form factor. As Tom’s Hardware shows off, it comes in a few different colors and with a lot of easily accessible parts to it.

The small form factor case does offer a toolless design and has tabs and levers to use that allow it to be disassembled without any screws needed. It does also come with preinstalled cooling and power supply. The PSU on board is an 850W SFX Gold option and the CPU cooler offers a thick radiator and 2,400 RPM Silencio fan. Supposedly it has been tested with a 13900K at 250 Watts with no issues.

The case comes in at a size of 155-172mm (6.1-6.7in) thick, height of 481mm (18.9in), and width of 212mm (8.3in). Even though it seems rather small, it does support an RTX 4090 that is up to 357mm long (14in). With no RGB, you just get the various colors available of the anodized aluminum panels, these are bronze or deep green.

With the small size, you are limited in the expansions, with just one drive bay for a 2.5-inch bay and a small I/O expansion. There is no pricing as of yet so you have to wait and see to its release to find if you want to actually buy it.

Materials	Steel, Plastic, Aluminum
Dimensions	155-172 x 212 x 481 (3-4 slots)
Motherboard support	ITX
Drive bays	1x 2.5 inch
I/O panel	2x USB 3.0, 1x USB 3.1 Type -C
Included PSU	V SFX Gold 850W ATX 3.0
Pre installed fans	1x 120mm Silencio 4-pin, 1x 120mm Sickleflow 4-pin PWM
Radiator support	120mm with 38mm thickness (top mount)
Clearances	CPU fan (47mm), GPU (357 x 180mm)

Video on the NCore 100

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