This week’s hardware news highlights the US crackdown on illegal GPU exports to China, AMD’s financial impact from export restrictions, Intel’s CEO controversy, and critical Dell firmware vulnerabilities, alongside AMD’s new GPU release and rumored powerful CPU. Additionally, Microsoft launched Windows XP-themed Crocs as a nostalgic novelty, while the video creator plans a detailed documentary on the GPU black market supported by community funding.
This week’s hardware news covers significant developments in the global GPU black market and US export controls. The US Department of Justice has arrested two individuals in California for illegally exporting AI GPUs, including Nvidia’s H100 and RTX490, to China through third countries like Singapore and Malaysia to bypass restrictions. This crackdown highlights the ongoing smuggling operations despite companies like Nvidia denying the scale of such activities. The video creator has been investigating this black market extensively in China and plans to release a detailed documentary on August 15th, funded by community support through backer tiers.
AMD has been financially impacted by these export controls, reporting an $800 million charge related to restrictions on its Instinct MI308 data center GPUs, which were banned from sales to China. Despite this, AMD posted strong quarterly results with $7.7 billion in revenue, driven by growth in its data center and gaming segments. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump announced plans to impose a 100% tariff on semiconductor imports, exempting companies that manufacture in the United States, though the exact details and implications of this policy remain unclear. This move could disproportionately affect smaller chip companies that lack US manufacturing capabilities.
Intel is also in the spotlight, with controversy surrounding its CEO, Lip Boutan, who previously led Cadence during a period when the company was fined for export control violations involving China. US Senator Tom Cotton has expressed concerns about Boutan’s ties to Chinese firms and called for his resignation, a sentiment echoed by President Trump on social media. Intel has undergone significant layoffs and stock declines under Boutan’s leadership, with questions about the company’s strategic direction and security compliance continuing to mount.
In hardware news, AMD quietly introduced the RX 960 non-XT GPU targeted at OEMs for 1080p gaming, featuring slightly reduced specs compared to the XT version. Additionally, rumors suggest AMD may release a powerful dual CCD, dual X3D Zen 5 CPU with increased cache and higher power consumption, potentially named something complex like “9950X3DX2.” On the security front, Dell disclosed critical vulnerabilities in its Control Vault 3 firmware affecting millions of laptops, which could allow attackers to steal passwords and compromise devices, urging users to update their systems promptly.
Finally, in lighter news, Microsoft has released limited edition Windows XP-themed Crocs featuring nostalgic icons like the Bliss wallpaper, MSN logo, Internet Explorer, and Clippy charms, initially for internal sale. This quirky product serves as a humorous reminder of the past amid a week filled with heavy, geopolitically charged tech stories. The video concludes with a call for viewer feedback on how much background explanation should be included in the upcoming GPU black market documentary, emphasizing the channel’s commitment to in-depth investigative coverage.