This week on Tom's Hardware Premium: August 14, 2026 — Testing the BC-250, our interview with Intel's Robert Hallock, and a big week for optical

This week on Tom's Hardware Premium, August 14, 2026, brought a closer look at the AMD BC-250, a repurposed PS5 APU designed for cryptocurrency mining. Despite mining's decline, the BC-250 has gained popularity due to community-made patches and fixes, making it a capable single-board computer for gaming. A 40 CU unlock patch was recently applied to the BC-250, sparking a comprehensive build test.

The article delves into the chip's impressive specifications, including 16GB of memory, at a budget-friendly price point of around $200. Readers can explore extensive benchmarks comparing the BC-250 to the Steam Machine, alongside performance results using various CU counts and OS images.

Additionally, Tom's Hardware Premium interviewed Intel's VP and GM of Enthusiast Business, Robert Hallock. During their 45-minute interview, Hallock shared insights into Intel's shift between Arrow Lake and Arrow Lake refresh platforms, the significance of CPU software optimization, and hinted at the upcoming Nova Lake lineup. Hallock also addressed whether there would be a V-Cache competitor from Intel, leaving readers eager for further details.

In other industry news, real PCIe 6.0 devices are finally becoming available for purchase. After a false start due to the shift to PAM4 signaling, commercial devices with capacities reaching up to 2 Petabytes are now on the market. To capitalize on this emerging market, controllers and drives from Marvell, Phison, and SMI have been reviewed to assess the current state of PCIe 6.0 technology.

The partnership between these companies aims to provide a comprehensive solution for PCIe 6.0 devices and their communication capabilities.

The article also examines the ongoing AI data center buildout, highlighting the protests, impact, and residents' fight against Big Tech's expansion. The report reveals that over 70% of Americans oppose AI data centers, with nearly 40 arrests made this year in opposition to AI factory buildouts. Hyperscalers continue to invest heavily in AI hardware and memory, pledging a staggering $2 trillion USD for this purpose.

With the demand for faster connection speeds growing, optical interconnects and photonics have emerged as the solution to meet the industry's evolving needs. However, the FCC's proposed Secure Networks Act could hinder the deployment of silicon photonics, potentially disrupting the already strained supply chain for optical modules, particularly in China.