The 5-star level consists of Core i7 Series, QX9000 Series and several other high-end mobile CPUs. And Celeron falls to the lowest segment, including Celeron E1000, 400, T1000, 900, 700 and 500 Series.
Intel New Chip Logos and Star Rating System
Showing posts with label cpu. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cpu. Show all posts
Intel New Chip Logos and Star Rating System
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Intel has rolled out with new chip logos for its Core i7, Core 2, Centrino, Celeron and Pentium processors, and unveiled its Star Rating System with one star denoting the lowest performance and five stars the highest.
The 5-star level consists of Core i7 Series, QX9000 Series and several other high-end mobile CPUs. And Celeron falls to the lowest segment, including Celeron E1000, 400, T1000, 900, 700 and 500 Series.
The 5-star level consists of Core i7 Series, QX9000 Series and several other high-end mobile CPUs. And Celeron falls to the lowest segment, including Celeron E1000, 400, T1000, 900, 700 and 500 Series.
Intel D-0 Stepping Core i7-920
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In February Intel indicated that it’s initiating a C-0 to D-0 stepping conversion for the Intel Core i7-920 processor.
The overclocking performance of D-0 Core i7-920 is superior to that of C0/C1 stepping. New stepping Core i7-920 features a few changes including S-Spec from SLBCH to SLBEJ, and the CPU ID from 0×000106A4 to 0×000106A5, so a BIOS update is required. Besides, the Ink Swatch number has been also removed.
D0 Core i7-920 has hit retail at AKIBA at price tag of Yen 30780 which is about $306.
Source: [AKIBA]
The overclocking performance of D-0 Core i7-920 is superior to that of C0/C1 stepping. New stepping Core i7-920 features a few changes including S-Spec from SLBCH to SLBEJ, and the CPU ID from 0×000106A4 to 0×000106A5, so a BIOS update is required. Besides, the Ink Swatch number has been also removed.
D0 Core i7-920 has hit retail at AKIBA at price tag of Yen 30780 which is about $306.
Source: [AKIBA]
32nm CPUs next year from AMD
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Although Advanced Micro Devices was previously expected to get ready to produce central processing units under the 32-nanometer process technology only in 2011, it seems that the chip maker plans to speed things up a little. Dirk Meyer, chief executive of AMD, stated recently that the company was set to “ramp up” production in the middle of next year, and that it expected volume production to start in the fourth quarter of the year.
Currently, the CPUs shipped by both AMD and Intel are fabricated using the 45nm process. The Sunnyvale company has managed to come to the market with processors manufactured under the 45nm process only in the fourth quarter of last year, but it seems that it expects to be able to move to the next-generation 32nm fabrication by mid 2010.
Unlike the previous generation of chips made by AMD, the 32nm CPUs will only be designed by the company, The Foundry Company being the one that will take on the manufacturing process. It seemsthat the spinoff of its facilities into a new entity helped the chip maker keep on track with rolling out new-generation processors only about a year behind archrival Intel.
According to Meyer, AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Co., formed by the Abu Dhabi government, will close today the deal regarding the spinoff of the chip maker's manufacturing operations into a joint company. This move is expected to help AMD put an end to an entire line of quarterly loses.
Meyer says that the chip maker expects the Foundry Co to provide it with the necessary resources, mainly due to the fact that AMD will own 34 percent of the newly formed joint venture. At the same time, he seems to believe that the spinoff was a great move for AMD. “We've been actually impressed to see the quality and depth of the relationship a fabless company can have with its partners,” Meyer said.
source
Currently, the CPUs shipped by both AMD and Intel are fabricated using the 45nm process. The Sunnyvale company has managed to come to the market with processors manufactured under the 45nm process only in the fourth quarter of last year, but it seems that it expects to be able to move to the next-generation 32nm fabrication by mid 2010.
Unlike the previous generation of chips made by AMD, the 32nm CPUs will only be designed by the company, The Foundry Company being the one that will take on the manufacturing process. It seemsthat the spinoff of its facilities into a new entity helped the chip maker keep on track with rolling out new-generation processors only about a year behind archrival Intel.
According to Meyer, AMD and Advanced Technology Investment Co., formed by the Abu Dhabi government, will close today the deal regarding the spinoff of the chip maker's manufacturing operations into a joint company. This move is expected to help AMD put an end to an entire line of quarterly loses.
Meyer says that the chip maker expects the Foundry Co to provide it with the necessary resources, mainly due to the fact that AMD will own 34 percent of the newly formed joint venture. At the same time, he seems to believe that the spinoff was a great move for AMD. “We've been actually impressed to see the quality and depth of the relationship a fabless company can have with its partners,” Meyer said.
source
AMD's Phenom II at 6.5GHz, smash 3DMark record
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A team of hardcore speed freaks with access to liquid nitrogen and liquid helium created an environment for OC'ing one of AMD's latest Phenom II X4 chips in -232 degrees Celsius weather. Once the silicon was appropriately chilled, they proceeded to push the clock speed to a staggering 6.5GHz, which proved nimble enough to deliver a patently absurd 45,474 3DMark05 score.The adoring public was there to bear witness, and every nail-biting second of it is hosted up in the video just past the break.
AMD's Phenom II at 6.5GHz, smash 3DMark record
via:engadget.com
AMD's Phenom II at 6.5GHz, smash 3DMark recordvia:engadget.com
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Core 2 processors with TDP desktop systems
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Despite the recent debut of solutions based on Nehalem architecture, marketed under the brand name of Core I7 few days, Intel seems not willing to stop the development of solutions Core 2 Duo systems for Socket 775 LGA least for the first part of 2009 .
The debut of some new cpu with Intel quad core architecture characterized by low levels of consumption of particular content, with maximum TDP in 65 Watt said.
The models are to debut Core 2 Quad Q9550, with clock frequency of 2.83 GHz and L2 cache of 12 Mbytes, Core 2 Quad Q9400 with clock of 2.66 GHz and 6 MB of L2 cache and Core 2 Quad Q8200 with clock of 2.33 GHz and L2 cache of 4 MB. For all these cpu are the same value as TDP quad pumped bus and by 1333 for MHz clock.he prices are respectively 369, 320 and 245 U.S. dollars excluding taxes.
The following versions of the processor that will be presented by Intel during the month of November.
Core 2 Extreme QX9300
Core 2 Quad Q9100
Core 2 Extreme X9100
Core 2 Duo T9600
Core 2 Duo P9500
Core 2 Duo T9400
Core 2 Duo P8600.
The debut of some new cpu with Intel quad core architecture characterized by low levels of consumption of particular content, with maximum TDP in 65 Watt said.
The models are to debut Core 2 Quad Q9550, with clock frequency of 2.83 GHz and L2 cache of 12 Mbytes, Core 2 Quad Q9400 with clock of 2.66 GHz and 6 MB of L2 cache and Core 2 Quad Q8200 with clock of 2.33 GHz and L2 cache of 4 MB. For all these cpu are the same value as TDP quad pumped bus and by 1333 for MHz clock.he prices are respectively 369, 320 and 245 U.S. dollars excluding taxes.
The following versions of the processor that will be presented by Intel during the month of November.
Core 2 Extreme QX9300
Core 2 Quad Q9100
Core 2 Extreme X9100
Core 2 Duo T9600
Core 2 Duo P9500
Core 2 Duo T9400
Core 2 Duo P8600.
Intel shows working 80-core processor
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Last year, Intel announced a project to build a processor that would pack no less than 80 cores. While the idea may seem rather futuristic to some, the chip maker is reported to have already demonstrated the CPU at the Gitex Dubai trade show. Reports say that the Santa Clara based company wasn't shy at all at showcasing the processor, with the demonstration being made in the general public area outside of the trade show.
Intel shows working 80-core processor
As we all know, Intel has other multi-core projects in the pipeline, and Larrabee is one of them. However, the showcased processor was not Larrabee, but another CPU. The company is said to have started working on this CPU long before Larrabee came into play. The showcased CPU features 80 small cores, and is able to deliver 1 Teraflops of computing power. The 80-core chip is said to need only 78.35W of power, and that it features a 3.13GHz clock speed.
According to Fudzilla, Intel also detailed several other features of the CPU. The technology it comes with allows for almost all of the cores to be totally shut down when not needed. Also, it seems that the CPU can downclock all the way to 780MHz in such situations, and that the peak Teraflops performance will drop to 0.01. The CPU would only need 6.45W to compute the 4tile, 4x4 matrix mult withcomm equation.The research processor was built under the 65nm process and the company expects it to be ready for the market in the next five or seven years. It seems that Intel will come out with this eighty-core CPU as a part of the future line of sixteen, thirty two, sixty four CPUs, right before a ninety six-core version. The chip manufacturer considers the multi-core as being the near future for the CPU industry, although such an approach might sound rather idealistic.
Since the current multi-core processors are already facing problems concerning the lack of adequate software able to scale on a large number of cores, Intel should also consider conducting a research project in this area as well, so as to allow users to benefit from all the eighty featured cores.
Intel shows working 80-core processorAccording to Fudzilla, Intel also detailed several other features of the CPU. The technology it comes with allows for almost all of the cores to be totally shut down when not needed. Also, it seems that the CPU can downclock all the way to 780MHz in such situations, and that the peak Teraflops performance will drop to 0.01. The CPU would only need 6.45W to compute the 4tile, 4x4 matrix mult withcomm equation.The research processor was built under the 65nm process and the company expects it to be ready for the market in the next five or seven years. It seems that Intel will come out with this eighty-core CPU as a part of the future line of sixteen, thirty two, sixty four CPUs, right before a ninety six-core version. The chip manufacturer considers the multi-core as being the near future for the CPU industry, although such an approach might sound rather idealistic.
Since the current multi-core processors are already facing problems concerning the lack of adequate software able to scale on a large number of cores, Intel should also consider conducting a research project in this area as well, so as to allow users to benefit from all the eighty featured cores.
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Core i7 dated for November 17th
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Intel will launch its Core i7 processors at a press event in San Francisco on the 17th of this month and already we have pricing estimates sliding off whispering lips. Distributors buying in bulk will pay a modest $284 for the 2.66GHz Core i7-920, $562 for the 2.93GHz 940, and $999 for the 3.2GHz Extreme 965 -- consumers will pay more of course, but we don't know exactly how much. Even the 920 squarely defeated the Core 2 Quad Q9650 in benchmarks, and we'll admit we had fun playing with the 965 over the weekend. As for those of you who haven't been so lucky, your chance to run up that credit card debt is fast approaching.
source:TG Daily
source:TG Daily
Intel's Clarksfield to begin production in second half of 2009
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Penryn-based Monteniva just hit the streets a few months ago, but hardware geeks are fickle fellows, so Intel said today that Clarksfield, its Nehalem-based mobile CPU, will go into production in the second half of next year; sadly, there was no word on when the chips will actually be available to consumers in the Calpella platform, which (rumor has it) will have built-in WiMAX. Clarksfield will include an onboard memory controller and a bunch of other new techs like its desktop brethren, so the promise of performance gains comparable to what we've seen in the desktop benchmarks is there -- we'll just have to wait at least a year to enjoy them, so get comfy.
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Dual-core Phenom pops up again
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Much (digital) ink has run on the subject of dual-core Phenom derivatives. Rumor sites initially expected such chips to launch quad-core Phenoms last year, but we later heard that AMD had shelved the concept until the 45nm switch. Then, 65nm dual-core Phenom listings somehow made their way onto a price search engine in Europe, and unofficial benchmarks of a 2.2GHz model surfaced. We still haven't heard a peep from AMD on the subject, though.
Expreview now claims to have the latest scoop. The Chinese site says AMD may have given up on the 2.3GHz chip we heard about last month, but the chipmaker's October roadmap includes two new dual-core Phenom derivatives. Branded Athlon X2 7550 and Athlon X2 7750, the two CPUs have respective clock speeds of 2.5GHz and 2.7GHz, which they each pair with 3MB of total cache—likely 512KB of the L2 variety per core and 2MB of shared L3 cache per chip.The roadmap reportedly pegs the arrival of these CPUs in the first quarter of next year. However, Expreview says AMD will manufacture them using 65nm process technology, and both models will have 95W thermal envelopes. This claim sounds a tad implausible, although AMD has made some strange moves in the past.
Expreview now claims to have the latest scoop. The Chinese site says AMD may have given up on the 2.3GHz chip we heard about last month, but the chipmaker's October roadmap includes two new dual-core Phenom derivatives. Branded Athlon X2 7550 and Athlon X2 7750, the two CPUs have respective clock speeds of 2.5GHz and 2.7GHz, which they each pair with 3MB of total cache—likely 512KB of the L2 variety per core and 2MB of shared L3 cache per chip.The roadmap reportedly pegs the arrival of these CPUs in the first quarter of next year. However, Expreview says AMD will manufacture them using 65nm process technology, and both models will have 95W thermal envelopes. This claim sounds a tad implausible, although AMD has made some strange moves in the past.
AMD taking on Atom with Athlon !
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Another week, another AMD leak about taking it directly to Intel's minimalist Atom. No, not with Bobcat, but with the new Athlon Ultra-Value Client (UVC) series. AMD is targeting the 230 with its 2650e, a single-core 1.6 GHz chip, and the 330 with its 3250e dual-core 1.5 GHz processor. Both have 512KB of cache per-core, matching the competition, but are rated at 15- and 22-watts respectively, much higher than the Atom's miserly 4-watts. It's unclear if that rating is current for just the CPU or the matching 740 chipset as well, but given the fact that AMD's Athlon 64 2000+ is already quite frugal we wouldn't be surprised if it were for the package. There's no mention of price, and right now these chips are just for desktop OEMs, but laptop versions are said to be in the works and could be quite popular amongst the netbook crowd -- if they're cheap enough. 1.2GHz of Turon can do wonders, and we're hoping for even better from 1.6.
That's netbooks and nettops taken care of - what about mobile internet devices (MIDs), also a target of Atom? Well will the MID platform thus far failing to catch buyers' attention the way that SCCs have, there's no great rush to release. However, AMD is expected to announce its 'Bobcat' chip in the near future, and that's thought to be aimed at MIDs.
65 Nm GPUs For Xbox 360 In Production, Xbox '540' Coming In 2009
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Taipei (Taiwan) - News about refreshed Xbox 360 consoles are trickling, which is about time given the fact that the console will celebrate its third birthday later this year. The Taiwan Economic News is reporting that first wafers with 65 nm GPUs are leaving the production lines, joining the 65 nm Xenon CPU. Rumors about a Blu-ray Xbox 360 remain alive and we are hearing first information about a possible mid-cycle refresh for the console, which will include the ’Valhalla’ SoC.
It has been almost a year since Chartered has begun taking the Xbox 360 Xenon CPU from 90 nm to 65 nm and it really was just a matter of time until other hardware would follow. According to the Taiwan Economic News, TSMC has initiated first wafer starts of the 65 nm Xenos GPU and Northbridge. Microsoft apparently has ordered 10,000 300 mm wafers from TSMC at this time.
As it is the case with any die-shrink, Microsoft should see substantial economic advantages from this move, supporting the company’s ongoing strategy to reduce the production cost of the console (the reduction of the Xbox 360 production cost has been one of the key reasons why Microsoft’s entertainment division has been able to notably increase its profits over the past seven quarters). If the 65 nm Xenos "v2" scales down linearly from 90 nm, the new die size should be around 125 mm2, while the eDRAM chip will remain at 70 mm2. The new production process should yield about 35% more GPUs per wafer than before.
TSMC will continue to be in charge of the wafers, while Nanya will be delivering the flip-chip packaging substrates. ASE combines the silicon and substrate and is responsible for QA.
Quite honestly, we were a bit surprised to hear that Microsoft did not decide to die-shrink both the CPU and GPU at the same time, especially because two different foundries are manufacturing the chips. However, our sources at TSMC explained that Microsoft has the same production philosophy as Nvidia: Wait for a manufacturing process to mature and then run the initial wafer order. Apparently, the transition was simulated in detail by ATI and the tapeout happened without problems, at least according to our sources close to ATI. Keep in mind that ATI is only a contracted partner for Microsoft: Both the CPU and GPU are officially Microsoft parts, and the Ballmer-Gates company is the only one in the console segment following through with such a strategy.
The Xbox 360 is scheduled to ship in an "all 65 nm" package (Jasper platform) this August. Consumers won’t notice the refresh, unless Microsoft decides to put a Blu-ray drive into the Xbox 360. We were not able to receive a confirmation either way, and we keep digging to find out if the Asustek subsidiary Pegatron will manufacture regular Xbox 360’s or units with an integrated Blu-ray drive. In any case, Celestica, Pegatron and Wistron will have a busy summer cranking out millions of refreshed Xbox 360 consoles.
A more dramatic and perhaps visible change will happen next year: TSMC plans to begin producing the Valhalla chip, which will be the foundation of the mid-cycle refresh of the Xbox 360, thus called ’Xbox 2.5’ or simply ’Xbox 540’ (360+180), in fall of 2009. We learned that this new chip is apparently much more than a die-shrink and end up as a system-on-a-chip design. This change is likely to enable to redesign the Xbox 360 casing and go towards a slim-design, much like what Sony did with the Gen1 and Gen2 PS2. We believe that TSMC will use a 45 nm process for this Multi-Chip-Module package (CPU+GPU+eDRAM).
There are also some interesting pieces of information that Microsoft is shopping for a more efficient cooling solution - efficient in more ways than just one: Several people close to the cooling industry told us that Microsoft approached them and asked for better and cheaper cooling than what is used in the Xbox 360 right now. Some may claim that the current Xbox 360 cooler design is already as cheap as it gets, but we have no doubts that Microsoft will find a way to drop the cost once again.
It has been almost a year since Chartered has begun taking the Xbox 360 Xenon CPU from 90 nm to 65 nm and it really was just a matter of time until other hardware would follow. According to the Taiwan Economic News, TSMC has initiated first wafer starts of the 65 nm Xenos GPU and Northbridge. Microsoft apparently has ordered 10,000 300 mm wafers from TSMC at this time.
As it is the case with any die-shrink, Microsoft should see substantial economic advantages from this move, supporting the company’s ongoing strategy to reduce the production cost of the console (the reduction of the Xbox 360 production cost has been one of the key reasons why Microsoft’s entertainment division has been able to notably increase its profits over the past seven quarters). If the 65 nm Xenos "v2" scales down linearly from 90 nm, the new die size should be around 125 mm2, while the eDRAM chip will remain at 70 mm2. The new production process should yield about 35% more GPUs per wafer than before.
TSMC will continue to be in charge of the wafers, while Nanya will be delivering the flip-chip packaging substrates. ASE combines the silicon and substrate and is responsible for QA.
Quite honestly, we were a bit surprised to hear that Microsoft did not decide to die-shrink both the CPU and GPU at the same time, especially because two different foundries are manufacturing the chips. However, our sources at TSMC explained that Microsoft has the same production philosophy as Nvidia: Wait for a manufacturing process to mature and then run the initial wafer order. Apparently, the transition was simulated in detail by ATI and the tapeout happened without problems, at least according to our sources close to ATI. Keep in mind that ATI is only a contracted partner for Microsoft: Both the CPU and GPU are officially Microsoft parts, and the Ballmer-Gates company is the only one in the console segment following through with such a strategy.
The Xbox 360 is scheduled to ship in an "all 65 nm" package (Jasper platform) this August. Consumers won’t notice the refresh, unless Microsoft decides to put a Blu-ray drive into the Xbox 360. We were not able to receive a confirmation either way, and we keep digging to find out if the Asustek subsidiary Pegatron will manufacture regular Xbox 360’s or units with an integrated Blu-ray drive. In any case, Celestica, Pegatron and Wistron will have a busy summer cranking out millions of refreshed Xbox 360 consoles.
A more dramatic and perhaps visible change will happen next year: TSMC plans to begin producing the Valhalla chip, which will be the foundation of the mid-cycle refresh of the Xbox 360, thus called ’Xbox 2.5’ or simply ’Xbox 540’ (360+180), in fall of 2009. We learned that this new chip is apparently much more than a die-shrink and end up as a system-on-a-chip design. This change is likely to enable to redesign the Xbox 360 casing and go towards a slim-design, much like what Sony did with the Gen1 and Gen2 PS2. We believe that TSMC will use a 45 nm process for this Multi-Chip-Module package (CPU+GPU+eDRAM).
There are also some interesting pieces of information that Microsoft is shopping for a more efficient cooling solution - efficient in more ways than just one: Several people close to the cooling industry told us that Microsoft approached them and asked for better and cheaper cooling than what is used in the Xbox 360 right now. Some may claim that the current Xbox 360 cooler design is already as cheap as it gets, but we have no doubts that Microsoft will find a way to drop the cost once again.
AMD six-core CPU prepared for second half of 2009
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Intel has announced its first six-core processor, codenamed Dunnington which is set for a Q3 release but it's only just now that AMD has revealed its plans to release a similar product.
Build on 45nm and bearing the 'Istanbul' codename, AMD's six-core part will be introduced in the second half of 2009, will feature HyperTransport 3.0 and will be compatible with Socket (F) 1207 boards.
Trying to catch up with Intel, AMD is planning to release yet another 6-core CPU in the first half of 2010, this time for a new Socket - G34. Dubbed Sao Paolo, the CPU will have DDR3 support and battle Intel's 32nm hexa-core processor which should be released around the same time.
Build on 45nm and bearing the 'Istanbul' codename, AMD's six-core part will be introduced in the second half of 2009, will feature HyperTransport 3.0 and will be compatible with Socket (F) 1207 boards.
Trying to catch up with Intel, AMD is planning to release yet another 6-core CPU in the first half of 2010, this time for a new Socket - G34. Dubbed Sao Paolo, the CPU will have DDR3 support and battle Intel's 32nm hexa-core processor which should be released around the same time.
Intel X58 to be the first Nehalem desktop chipset
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Whether AMD likes it or not, Intel sill be introducing the first 45nm-built Nehalem processors in Q4 and with them, a whole new range of silicon chips will arrive. One of them, the Tylersburg chipset, has now been exposed to bearing the X58 marketing name. Set to be paired up with the ICH10 southbridges, the X58 will be used on Socket 1366 motherboards and act as the assistant of the quad-core Bloomfield processors.The platform based on the X58 and Bloomfield couple will provide triple-channel DDR3-1333 support, two or four PCI-Express 2.0 x16 slots and will act as Intel's top desktop offer. Just about the same time the X58 rolls out AMD should start delivering its first quad-core 45nm Phenom CPUs so expect this year to end with quite a clash of titans. Well, it'll be more David and Goliath.
AMD to stockholders: Everything will be all right
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During its annual shareholder meeting in Austin, Texas this morning, AMD CEO Hector Ruiz attempted to reassure shareholders that his company is on the right track. Ruiz opened by stressing how disappointed he is with last year's financial results, but he quickly went on to paint a more optimistic picture of AMD's future:
In looking back, 2007 was a difficult year of transition for AMD. And I speak for every AMD employee when I say that I could not be more disappointed with our financial results. The Barcelona processor delay really hurt. But that is behind us. As a matter of fact, we've learned some lessons very important to us. In our materially cyclical industry, we have learned to anticipate and prepare for the inevitable downturn. And that's exactly what we did. We have a healthy cash balance sheet approaching $2 billion, and we have some financial cushioning in place if the macro-economic environment continues to disappoint, particularly in North America.
Ruiz reiterated that AMD is on track to become operationally profitable again in the second half of the year, and he called 2008 "a year of opportunity." He also explained that the company is taking steps to avoid a repeat of the past few quarters:
While our short-term goal is to achieve operational profitability in the second half of this year, our long-term goal is to achieve consistent profitability in good times and bad times. To that end, we are re-architecting the business so that our financial success is not invariably dependent on continuous component performance and leadership.
In order to keep AMD's head above the water, Ruiz said, "[we will be] reducing our break-even point by several hundred million dollars so that we will be profitable on our current revenue stream." In other words, if the previously announced job cuts and restructuring work out, AMD may not need to double its market share to be profitable again.
Speaking of restructuring, Ruiz also had a little more to say about AMD's long-awaited "asset smart" strategy. As part of the strategy, Ruiz said, AMD will "deploy [its] manufacturing assets to most cost-effectively stay at the leading edge and deliver customer value." While vague, the statement further hints that AMD might spin off its manufacturing business as a separate entity.
Did Ruiz's promises successfully convince stockholders? That's hard to say: the only question after his monologue came from an elderly Austin resident, who talked for several minutes in a slow, baritone drawl about golf tournaments.
©THE REGISTER
In looking back, 2007 was a difficult year of transition for AMD. And I speak for every AMD employee when I say that I could not be more disappointed with our financial results. The Barcelona processor delay really hurt. But that is behind us. As a matter of fact, we've learned some lessons very important to us. In our materially cyclical industry, we have learned to anticipate and prepare for the inevitable downturn. And that's exactly what we did. We have a healthy cash balance sheet approaching $2 billion, and we have some financial cushioning in place if the macro-economic environment continues to disappoint, particularly in North America.
Ruiz reiterated that AMD is on track to become operationally profitable again in the second half of the year, and he called 2008 "a year of opportunity." He also explained that the company is taking steps to avoid a repeat of the past few quarters:
While our short-term goal is to achieve operational profitability in the second half of this year, our long-term goal is to achieve consistent profitability in good times and bad times. To that end, we are re-architecting the business so that our financial success is not invariably dependent on continuous component performance and leadership.
In order to keep AMD's head above the water, Ruiz said, "[we will be] reducing our break-even point by several hundred million dollars so that we will be profitable on our current revenue stream." In other words, if the previously announced job cuts and restructuring work out, AMD may not need to double its market share to be profitable again.
Speaking of restructuring, Ruiz also had a little more to say about AMD's long-awaited "asset smart" strategy. As part of the strategy, Ruiz said, AMD will "deploy [its] manufacturing assets to most cost-effectively stay at the leading edge and deliver customer value." While vague, the statement further hints that AMD might spin off its manufacturing business as a separate entity.
Did Ruiz's promises successfully convince stockholders? That's hard to say: the only question after his monologue came from an elderly Austin resident, who talked for several minutes in a slow, baritone drawl about golf tournaments.
©THE REGISTER
12-Core Chips from AMD in 2010
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AMD has released its product roadmap for the next two years and the company appears to have gone core crazy. Plans for several multi-core chip releases over the next two years will culminate in a 12-core CPU to be released in the first half of 2010.
Increasing the number of cores on CPUs is a logical direction, and one that Intel is heading in as well. It has become increasingly difficult to squeeze higher speeds out of processors, so the solution to increasing CPU performance has been to integrate more cores into the chips themselves. While AMD's recently-announced roadmap focuses on server processors, this doesn't mean that desktop and laptop processors are getting the short shrift. Like Mary and her little lamb, wherever server processors go, desktop and laptop processors are sure to follow. Processor designs for AMD's mainstream systems will reap the benefits of the technological advances going into the server processors. The sockets will be different, there will be less on-board cache, fewer HyperTransport links, and no multi-processor support, but the desktop and laptop processors will share the same number of cores and have the same raw CPU power.
The first new product from AMD will be code-named "Shanghai," and is expected to see the light of day in the second half of this year. This will be AMD's first 45nm sever processor, and will support HyperTransport 3.0 as well as sporting a whopping 6MB of Level-3 cache. Shanghai will have four cores.
Next at bat will be "Istanbul," due out in the second half of 2009. Istanbul will sport six cores and will be designed for use in multi-processor systems (two processors and up). In early 2010, AMD expects to release its new Socket G34 platform with DDR3 memory support.
The pièce de résistance, however, will be AMD's 12-core, Socket G34-based, "Magny Cours" processor. A six-core version will also be available, code-named "Sao Paolo."
Intel To Launch 4-series Chipsets At Computex 2008
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Intel will officially launch its 4-series chipsets at Computex 2008, while motherboard makers will start shipping products in the third week of June, according to sources at motherboard makers. Initial 4-series chipset shipments will consist of the P45 and P43, for which the previously reported PCI Express compatibility bug has been fixed already.
More here at Digitimes
More here at Digitimes
Intel: Skulltrail Supports Crossfire & SLI
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Game Developers Conference, San Francisco, Feb. 19, 2008. Intel today officially announced its Skulltrail Dual Socket Extreme Desktop Platform, based on a dual socketed D5400XS desktop motherboard that supports two Intel quad core processors, the most current of which is the Core 2 Extreme QX9775 Compare Prices on Core 2 Extreme Processors. The D5400XS supports either ATI Crossfire or Nvidia SLI multi-card graphics solutions.
"For the team creating world-class games here at id, time is one of our most valuable assets," said Robert A. Duffy, Programming Director, id Software. "Having eight powerful Intel cores in a single machine helps our team create and test our latest titles at record speed. We have seen one of our most time-consuming asset generation processes cut from over 4 hours to under 20 minutes by utilizing all eight cores and threading the generation code. Long term this translates to better games on the market faster than previously possible."
The Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9775 is available now at an MSRP of $1,499 each. Estimated street pricing for the Intel Desktop Board D5400XS is $649. Platform components are sold separately. Several enthusiast PC manufacturers plan to offer systems based on this new platform starting today and over the next 30 days, including Armari, Boxx Tech, Digital Storm, Falcon Northwest, Maingear, Puget Systems, Scan, Velocity Micro, Vigor Gaming, Voodoo, @Xi Computers and others.
"For the team creating world-class games here at id, time is one of our most valuable assets," said Robert A. Duffy, Programming Director, id Software. "Having eight powerful Intel cores in a single machine helps our team create and test our latest titles at record speed. We have seen one of our most time-consuming asset generation processes cut from over 4 hours to under 20 minutes by utilizing all eight cores and threading the generation code. Long term this translates to better games on the market faster than previously possible."
The Intel Core 2 Extreme processor QX9775 is available now at an MSRP of $1,499 each. Estimated street pricing for the Intel Desktop Board D5400XS is $649. Platform components are sold separately. Several enthusiast PC manufacturers plan to offer systems based on this new platform starting today and over the next 30 days, including Armari, Boxx Tech, Digital Storm, Falcon Northwest, Maingear, Puget Systems, Scan, Velocity Micro, Vigor Gaming, Voodoo, @Xi Computers and others.
AMD: Promises, promises
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Here we go again. AMD’s latest server roadmap promises six and then 12 core delights. Sorry, but given AMD’s current track record of over-promising and under-delivering, color me doubtful.
This is a perfect example of what I was saying yesterday about AMD. While the marketing machine is hyperventilating over technologies that are more than an arm’s reach away, when it comes to actually delivering these goods in a timely manner (and the timeliness window for processors is shrinking daily - a 3 to 6 month delay can be disastrous) AMD is notorious for its failure to deliver.
Also, this jump from six to 12 cores that AMD is promising, maybe it’s me but that sounds gimmicky. AMD is good at packaging arguments for triple-core processors and jumps from six to 12 cores as being “what out customers want.” I’m certain that AMD is trying to carve out a market with such statements.
This is a perfect example of what I was saying yesterday about AMD. While the marketing machine is hyperventilating over technologies that are more than an arm’s reach away, when it comes to actually delivering these goods in a timely manner (and the timeliness window for processors is shrinking daily - a 3 to 6 month delay can be disastrous) AMD is notorious for its failure to deliver.
Also, this jump from six to 12 cores that AMD is promising, maybe it’s me but that sounds gimmicky. AMD is good at packaging arguments for triple-core processors and jumps from six to 12 cores as being “what out customers want.” I’m certain that AMD is trying to carve out a market with such statements.
Intel DX10 Drivers; NVIDIA Laughs
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Chip giant Intel finally released a driver update that will enable DirectX10 on its chipsets that feature integrated graphics. Intel has been claiming DirectX 10 compatibility since the introduction of the G965 chipset in 2006, but has only recently released driver support for it. The update available at Intel’s website, is naturally a Windows Vista driver only and is compatible with Intel’s G31, G33, G35, Q33, Q35, G965, Q963, and GM965 Express chipsets.
However, NVIDIA has been reportedly been sending tech journalist tidbits on the performance of Intel’s DX10 update – mainly that there is no performance gain.
NVIDIA ran the usual benchmark of games under DX10 settings and to no surprise found Intel’s integrated graphics to be “downright incapable” of being used with DX10 applications.
NVIDIA goes on to say, “Saying GMA 3500 is DirectX 10 capable is kind of like saying Styrofoam is "nutrition capable". I guess Intel’s definition of capable is a lot different than our definition... a lot.” NVIDIA may be patting itself on the back for drawing that conclusion, but PC enthusiast have widely linked Intel’s IGP to poor performance for quite some time now. While NVIDIA should not be worried too much about Intel upping the performance on its IGP, they should be worried about Intel’s upcoming Larrabee project.
Larrabee, due in 2010, is a multicore discrete graphics initiative from Intel based off of the x86 architecture and supports OpenGL and DirectX instructions. Larrabee, has drawn much interest from the technology community and is one of the most anticipated product launches in the industry.
Jen-sun Huang, NVIDIA CEO, and the rest of NVIDIA have been on the initiative of opening “a can of whoop ass”, before Larrabee takes off. This latest act from NVIDIA appears to be just another example of the company’s aggressive PR plan — pushing the consumer to link poor graphics performance with Intel. Conversely, Intel previously stated in a press call that it thinks computer graphics is hitting a severe bottleneck and that is vector based solutions coming down the line will be the way of the future for 3D.
source:http://www.tomshardware.com/
However, NVIDIA has been reportedly been sending tech journalist tidbits on the performance of Intel’s DX10 update – mainly that there is no performance gain.
NVIDIA ran the usual benchmark of games under DX10 settings and to no surprise found Intel’s integrated graphics to be “downright incapable” of being used with DX10 applications.
NVIDIA goes on to say, “Saying GMA 3500 is DirectX 10 capable is kind of like saying Styrofoam is "nutrition capable". I guess Intel’s definition of capable is a lot different than our definition... a lot.” NVIDIA may be patting itself on the back for drawing that conclusion, but PC enthusiast have widely linked Intel’s IGP to poor performance for quite some time now. While NVIDIA should not be worried too much about Intel upping the performance on its IGP, they should be worried about Intel’s upcoming Larrabee project.
Larrabee, due in 2010, is a multicore discrete graphics initiative from Intel based off of the x86 architecture and supports OpenGL and DirectX instructions. Larrabee, has drawn much interest from the technology community and is one of the most anticipated product launches in the industry.
Jen-sun Huang, NVIDIA CEO, and the rest of NVIDIA have been on the initiative of opening “a can of whoop ass”, before Larrabee takes off. This latest act from NVIDIA appears to be just another example of the company’s aggressive PR plan — pushing the consumer to link poor graphics performance with Intel. Conversely, Intel previously stated in a press call that it thinks computer graphics is hitting a severe bottleneck and that is vector based solutions coming down the line will be the way of the future for 3D.
source:http://www.tomshardware.com/
AMD Announces 6 And 12-core Opterons
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Sunnyvale (CA) - AMD has updated its server processor roadmap with single-die 6-core and dual-die 12-core Opteron processors. The new processors will be manufactured in a 45 nm process that will be introduced with the Shanghai quad-core later this year.
When Intel rolls out its Nehalem processors later this year, AMD appears to be better prepared than in late 2006 when Core began its triumph and until today pretty much wiped out all of the gains AMD Opteron has made in previous years. On the server side, AMD will counter Intel with the Shanghai quad-core CPU, which will be based on the current Barcelona technology, but will be manufactured in 45 nm and bring performance and power consumption benefits.
According to vice president Randy Allen, Shanghai will deliver about 20% more speed than Barcelona. While the chip will remain compatible with the current Socket F (1207) platform, the L3 cache will triple to 6 MB, 3-lane HT3 support will be integrated and DDR memory support will be extended to 800 MHz devices. AMD claims that the idle power consumption of the new CPUs will be 20% below their 65 nm counterparts.
Production of the 45 nm chip, which has been sampled to server vendors, is scheduled to begin late this year, while first products should be surfacing in Q1 2009. In the second half of that year, AMD plans to release a single-die 6-core Socket F processor code-named Istanbul. Offered for two- and four-socket systems, the chip will be clocked at lower clock speeds than the quad-cores.
A completely new platform (read: a departure from Socket F) is planned to be introduced in 2010. Called the "Maranello" platform, AMD will then transition to DDR3 memory and four HT3 lanes. The multi-socket processors will include the monolithic 6-core "Sao Paulo" with 6 MB of L3 cache, new hardware throttling and power management features, as well as the dual-die 12-core "Magny Cours" processor with 12 MB L3 cache. Both processors will be built in 45 nm. At least at this time AMD does not anticipate any Nvidia chipsets to support this platform and says that it will couple the CPU with its own RD890S and RD870S northbridges as well as the SB700S southbridge.
Eagle-eyed readers may wonder about those production dates. A late 2008 45 nm volume production of these processors matches the information we received from industry sources and would mean that AMD will put 45 nm into production just about one year behind Intel. Intel plans on introducing 32 nm processors in late 2009 and AMD now indicates that its Sao Paulo and Magny Cours processors will be manufactured in 45 nm in the first half of 2010, leading us to believe that 32 nm won’t arrive until the second half of the year in a best case scenario. This could mean that AMD keeps up with Intel, but won’t gain any ground on Intel in this discipline anytime soon.
Randy Allen responded to our inquiry by saying that this assessment would not be accurate as server processors do not reflect the entire product range of AMD. However, at least for 45 nm, we have credible sources indicating that 45 nm AMD CPUs won’t arrive before Q4 of this year. The 2010 processors are too far out to speculate whether Intel will deliver them at the end of 2009 and whether AMD will have any 32 nm chips available in Q1 2010. But clearly, at least for now, the 2006 promises AMD made to analysts aren’t likely to be kept.
Until Shanghai arrives, AMD will have to survive with its Barcelona quad-core and it is not surprising that the company touts the power-efficiency drum to compare itself favorably to competing Intel products. Allen claimed that AMDs 75 watt part Opteron 2356 saves about 20% of power when idle, 14% in high-load scenarios and 10% under full-load when compared to Intel’s (45 nm) 80 watt Xeon 5440. The executive also noted that the Opteron delivers on average 13% more performance than its Intel counterpart.
Those claims are based on five SPEC benchmarks as well as two fluid dynamics tests. It often depends on a very specific need that exploits a very specific capability of a processor as the results in each of those benchmarks can change dramatically. While AMD claims a 19% lead in SPECompMBase2001, a 13 and 19% in SPECfprate_base2006 and SPECfprate_2006, we were not able to verify the latter two results. In fact, official SPEC results indicate that at least one Intel Xeon 5440 systems is 29% and 26% ahead of the best performing Opteron 2356 system listed.
source:http://www.tomshardware.com
When Intel rolls out its Nehalem processors later this year, AMD appears to be better prepared than in late 2006 when Core began its triumph and until today pretty much wiped out all of the gains AMD Opteron has made in previous years. On the server side, AMD will counter Intel with the Shanghai quad-core CPU, which will be based on the current Barcelona technology, but will be manufactured in 45 nm and bring performance and power consumption benefits.
According to vice president Randy Allen, Shanghai will deliver about 20% more speed than Barcelona. While the chip will remain compatible with the current Socket F (1207) platform, the L3 cache will triple to 6 MB, 3-lane HT3 support will be integrated and DDR memory support will be extended to 800 MHz devices. AMD claims that the idle power consumption of the new CPUs will be 20% below their 65 nm counterparts.
Production of the 45 nm chip, which has been sampled to server vendors, is scheduled to begin late this year, while first products should be surfacing in Q1 2009. In the second half of that year, AMD plans to release a single-die 6-core Socket F processor code-named Istanbul. Offered for two- and four-socket systems, the chip will be clocked at lower clock speeds than the quad-cores.
A completely new platform (read: a departure from Socket F) is planned to be introduced in 2010. Called the "Maranello" platform, AMD will then transition to DDR3 memory and four HT3 lanes. The multi-socket processors will include the monolithic 6-core "Sao Paulo" with 6 MB of L3 cache, new hardware throttling and power management features, as well as the dual-die 12-core "Magny Cours" processor with 12 MB L3 cache. Both processors will be built in 45 nm. At least at this time AMD does not anticipate any Nvidia chipsets to support this platform and says that it will couple the CPU with its own RD890S and RD870S northbridges as well as the SB700S southbridge.
Eagle-eyed readers may wonder about those production dates. A late 2008 45 nm volume production of these processors matches the information we received from industry sources and would mean that AMD will put 45 nm into production just about one year behind Intel. Intel plans on introducing 32 nm processors in late 2009 and AMD now indicates that its Sao Paulo and Magny Cours processors will be manufactured in 45 nm in the first half of 2010, leading us to believe that 32 nm won’t arrive until the second half of the year in a best case scenario. This could mean that AMD keeps up with Intel, but won’t gain any ground on Intel in this discipline anytime soon.
Randy Allen responded to our inquiry by saying that this assessment would not be accurate as server processors do not reflect the entire product range of AMD. However, at least for 45 nm, we have credible sources indicating that 45 nm AMD CPUs won’t arrive before Q4 of this year. The 2010 processors are too far out to speculate whether Intel will deliver them at the end of 2009 and whether AMD will have any 32 nm chips available in Q1 2010. But clearly, at least for now, the 2006 promises AMD made to analysts aren’t likely to be kept.
Until Shanghai arrives, AMD will have to survive with its Barcelona quad-core and it is not surprising that the company touts the power-efficiency drum to compare itself favorably to competing Intel products. Allen claimed that AMDs 75 watt part Opteron 2356 saves about 20% of power when idle, 14% in high-load scenarios and 10% under full-load when compared to Intel’s (45 nm) 80 watt Xeon 5440. The executive also noted that the Opteron delivers on average 13% more performance than its Intel counterpart.
Those claims are based on five SPEC benchmarks as well as two fluid dynamics tests. It often depends on a very specific need that exploits a very specific capability of a processor as the results in each of those benchmarks can change dramatically. While AMD claims a 19% lead in SPECompMBase2001, a 13 and 19% in SPECfprate_base2006 and SPECfprate_2006, we were not able to verify the latter two results. In fact, official SPEC results indicate that at least one Intel Xeon 5440 systems is 29% and 26% ahead of the best performing Opteron 2356 system listed.
source:http://www.tomshardware.com
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