amd vs intel compare, tests, overclocking, the best cpu wins! Intel i7,Intel Q8200,Amd 6000+,Amd Phenom..

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/

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

Intel, SGI To Build 10 PFlops Supercomputer For NASA

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Santa Clara (CA) - Intel and supercomputers is a combination of words we have been hearing quite a bit lately. Today we learned that the company has secured another contract with NASA, expanding on existing relationship that began with the deployment of the Columbia supercomputer in 2004. The new "Pleiades" system is planned to deliver 1 PFlops of computing power by 2009 and 10 PFlops by 2012.

Under the terms of a Space Act Agreement, NASA said that will work closely with Intel and SGI to increase computational capabilities for modeling and simulation at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing (NAS) facility at NASA’s Silicon Valley-based Ames Research Center at Moffett Field. As NASA’s Columbia supercomputer, currently listed at #20 in the list of the world’s 500 fastest supercomputers, is past its prime time, the new Pleiades is aimed to deliver the computing capability of new technologies and take NASA back to the top of the list.

Few details about Pleiades have been released, but NASA said that it targets a peak performance of 1 PFlops or 16x the performance of Columbia, which stands at about 61 TFlops. A 2012 is expected to result in a ten-fold increase in performance to about 10 PFlops.

This dramatic increase in performance raises questions how Intel and SGI will be able to deliver this speed, especially if we heard just yesterday that a 10 PFlops system would currently cost about $1 billion to construct. It seems as this system could be another project for Intel that takes advantage of Larrabee accelerator nodes.

Columbia went into operation in 2004 and is based on SGI Altix architecture with 10,240 Itanium 2 (Madison-9M core with 9 MB of L3 cache) processors, with the majority running at 1.5 GHz and some running at 1.6 GHz. Each Itanium 2 processor is rated at a maximum performance of 6.4 GFlops - which is only about 10% of what Xeon quad-core processors are estimated to be capable of today.
Last week, Intel said that it will be developing supercomputers in collaboration with Cray.
source:http://www.tomshardware.com

Intel delays next-gen integrated chipsets to fix video bug

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When does an Intel chipset launch? When it's first mentioned by the company in public? The next time? The time after that? The 'Eaglelake' chipset family has been discussed by Intel on several occasions, but it'll apparently be truly launched next month.

The Eaglelake line - aka the 4 series - comprises the P45, P43, G45, G43, Q45 and Q43, and will be formally launched at the Computex show, held in Taipei in early June.

No great surprise there: Intel has already confirmed a Q2 launch date, and Computex is the customary location for launches of this kind.

More interestingly, the chips will go out to motherboard makers in the third week of June, industry moles have told local newssite DigiTimes, which probably means mobo availability in July.

That's for discrete, 'P' parts - integrated, 'G' chipsets could arrive up to three weeks further down the track thanks to a glitch in GPU hardware that decodes the VC1 hi-def video codec, the site claims. Ditto the enterprise-oriented, 'Q' parts, which are being delayed pending a fix for a Virtualisation Technology bug.

The Eaglake series is designed to be PCI Express 2.0 compliant and support 1333MHz DDR 3 memory. Some integrated versions will be able to host DisplayPort monitor connectors.



© The Register.

AMD Phenom™ X4 9000 Series Quad-Core Processors

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AMD Phenom™ X4 9000 Series Quad-Core Processors and AMD Phenom™X3 8000 Series Triple-Core Processors Product Brief
INCREDIBLE PERFORMANCE

The ultimate megatasking experience. Featuring true multi-core design and award-winning AMD64 technology with Direct Connect Architecture, AMD Phenom™ processors deliver the ultimate megatasking experience by providing direct and rapid information flow between processor cores, main memory, and graphics and video accelerators. AMD Phenom™ processors have the technology to break through the most challenging processing loads. AMD Phenom™ processors feature low latency access to main memory for amazingly rapid response and phenomenal system performance. AMD Phenom™ processors were designed for megatasking—running multiple, multi-threaded applications. Surge through the most demanding processing loads, including advanced multitasking, critical business productivity, advanced visual design and modeling, serious gaming, and visually stunning digital media and entertainment.

Phenomenal performance with advanced processor design. The AMD Phenom™ processors are the most advanced processors for true multitasking with true quad-core design. Don’t get bogged down by non-native quad-core processors and obsolete front side bus architectures. With an integrated memory controller and shared L3 cache, AMD Phenom™ processors have low-latency access to main memory for amazingly rapid system response and phenomenal system performance.

Blast through performance bottlenecks. All AMD Phenom™ processors feature AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture to blast through performance bottlenecks. Award winning HyperTransport™ 3.0 technology just got faster, providing support for full 1080p high-definition video and extreme total system bandwidth.

Shatter the memory barrier. Superior AMD64 architecture offers direct access to DDR2 memory. Enjoy virtually unlimited memory options with AMD64 technology and 64-bit Windows Vista.® Shatter the memory barrier with AMD Phenom™ processors and 64-bit Windows Vista.®

INTENSELY VISUAL

Experience Windows Vista.® Harness the power of Windows Vista® with the AMD Phenom™ processors. AMD Phenom™ processors divide and conquer the most complex tasks with true multi-core design. Enjoy the ultimate megatasking experience on Windows Vista.® Enjoy virtually unlimited memory options with AMD64 technology and 64-bit Windows Vista.® Shatter the memory barrier with AMD Phenom™ processors and Windows Vista.®

STRIKINGLY EFFICIENT

Strikingly efficient Cool‘n’Quiet™ 2.0 technology.With the next generation of award-winning Cool‘n’Quiet™ technology, Cool‘n’Quiet™ 2.0 technology reduces heat and noise so you can experience amazing performance without distraction. Combined with core enhancements that can improve overall power savings, AMD Phenom™ processors deliver seamless multitasking and optimum energy efficiency. Work, play, talk, and share a PC that’s seen, not heard.

Purchase with Confidence
Founded in 1969, AMD has shipped more than 240 million PC processors worldwide. Customers can depend on AMD64 processors and AMD for compatibility and reliability. AMD processors undergo extensive testing to help ensure compatibility with Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, Windows NT®, Windows 2000, as well as Linux and other PC operating systems. AMD works collaboratively with Microsoft and other ecosystem partners to achieve compatibility of AMD processors and to expand the capability of software and hardware products leveraging AMD64 technology. AMD conducts rigorous research, development, and validation to help ensure the continued integrity and performance of its products.
source:amd.com

AMD Phenom X3 processor family performance

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AMD known for its fighting underdog spirit recently relaunched the Phenom with the B3-stepping, which we looked at just recently. The B3-stepping has not exactly breathed new life into the Phenom processors, but it has given AMD a chance to regroup and retarget its products, forcedly aiming at cheaper and more affordable Intel processors.

The latest processor series from AMD is a little unusual as it makes use of not one, two, or even four cores, but rather three! That rsquo;s right, the new Phenom X3 carries an unusual core configuration, and I guess the question most of you are probably asking yourselves (as we did) is why? The most reasonable explanation is that this still allows AMD to sell Phenom X4 processors with a defective core, minimizing their loss. Second, it gives some leverage for AMD to compete with Intel rsquo;s dual-core processors, being able to pull the "additional core" card.

The Phenom X3 family consists of three new processors: the 8450 (2.10GHz), 8650 (2.30GHz) and 8750 (2.40GHz), all of which we are testing here today.

View: AMD Phenom X3 processor family performance @ TechSpot

Read full story...

more: News source

AMD Must Double Processor Market Share to Survive

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Advanced Micro Devices needs to more than double its share of the microprocessor market to survive, according to a brief filed by the company's lawyers in its antitrust lawsuit against Intel.


At the end of 2007, AMD had 13 percent of the processor market, "less than half of what it requires to operate long-term as a sustainable business," the brief said, explaining that Intel's alleged efforts to shut the company out of the processor business had largely succeeded.


"Measured on a revenue share basis, AMD made little progress growing its slice of the pie," it said.

View Full Article: PC World

more: News source

AMD now has 'more than allegations' against Intel

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As Intel and AMD near the end of the discovery process in their US antitrust battle, the two companies have begun fighting over whose testimony will make it to the big dance. In a legal filing, AMD has pointed to the employees at some of the technology world's biggest names - HP, Dell, IBM and others - who it thinks will help make its case. Intel has responded in kind, and it's now up to a judge to decide on the strength of the vendors' arguments.

Following a dispute over the number of depositions allowed in the case, Special Master Vincent Poppiti appointed to hear evidence from both companies ordered up a pair of "preliminary pre-trial briefs." Well, it's those very briefs which have now been turned over to the press.

AMD's beefy filing claims to offer new evidence to support the original accusations filed back in 2005, at the U.S. District Court in Delaware.

"The current brief reflects that the allegations are more than allegations," said AMD spokesman, Michael Silverman. "The evidence exists."

Unfortunately, most of this purported evidence has been redacted from the public version of the brief. Both companies had previously signed a confidentiality order to guard trade secrets, making for long, tantalizing passages buried behind this kind of nonsense and more of it in AMD's latest 108-page summary.

What can be gleaned from the filings are the companies that AMD claims have been influenced by Intel's anti-competitive behavior.

AMD fingers a laundry-list of major OEMs: Dell, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Lenovo, Gateway, Acer, Sony, NEC, Toshiba, Fujitsu, and Hitachi as holding anti-competitive, exclusive arrangements with Intel. It also calls for testimony from smaller builders such as Supermicro and Rackable. All the sections covering these vendors are heavily censored, however, making it hard to grasp anything beyond that AMD claims to have acquired specific evidence of misconduct.

For instance, in the section about Dell:

full artifcle:http://www.theregister.co.uk/

How to destroy 60 hard drives an hour

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Disk drives are extraordinarily resilient. I've seen one that had been run over, dropped in a toilet and then thrown out of the window of a seven-storey office block. It looked unusable. Kroll Ontrack managed to recover virtually all the data on it by drying it and taking it apart.

picture of hard disk crusher

Hard disk crusher

Clam shell casings are very strong and deleting data doesn't work effectively, and passing magnets over the disk isn't sure enough. Even repeated writing of zeroes isn't necessarily effective and certainly takes a long time.

So, if you really, seriously, want to render your hard drive unreadable and haven't used major league encryption of all its contents then what can you do?

Drill the little sucker right through its spindle heart is one answer.

EDR Solutions sells a machine to do just this. It's inaccurately called the Hard Disk Crusher but it doesn't crush the drive. Instead it drills through the spindles and this creates ripples in the platters rendering them effectively unreadable.

It can destroy the readability of disk drives at the rate of 60 an hour, taking 10 seconds once the disk is clamped in place. One EDR customer rendered 800 unreadable in just one day.

The machines costs $11,500, which includes a one-year warranty (return to factory).

More information here

Next-Gen PC Concepts Include Laser Screens, Tactile Interfaces, Glossiness

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The Microsoft-sponsored Next-Gen PC Design Competition asks its contestants to design the next generation of Windows-based PCs and judges the resulting entries on innovation, user experience, aesthetics and whether it can ever be manufactured. This year's contest focused on PC designs that "help people do what they feel passionate about." Public voting is over and the winners will be announced sometime this month, but even if we can't participate in the voting process, a lot of these concepts are worth gawking at. Check out some weird and interesting prototypes after the jump.

ngpcentry1

Palette is a hardware system design concept that designated for digital artist, painter, design visualizer and people with passion in visual arts. The system were designed based on the background of basic painting behavior and its physiology activities. Palette is designed to have connectivity with other devices such main PC system, Main monitor or other wireless peripherals. connectivity between them are wireless and the user interface screen surface of the palette is using photo-optic visual sensor with color recognition as its main advantage.

ngpcentry2

A biometric scan of a finger will recognize users and display all saved personal files and settings. As an optional security feature, users will be capable of enabling a voice recognition program with a library distinct voice commands. Once access has been granted, cutting-edge laser technology will display mid-air 2D and 3D images with pristine quality on a dual-head display, ideal for designers.
Bloom’s two “side branches” house the PC’s sound system and assist in the display of both 2D and 3D images. The branches allow the displays to range from 15 to 24 inches in size with a maximum viewing angle of 80 degrees. Users can effortlessly choose from a variety of display sizes and viewing angles by re-positioning the branches.

ngpcentry8

Momenta, the neck worn PC also captures the best and most exciting moments of your life. Ever thought, "Man I wish I had that on tape!" When everybody is laughing themselves to tears, Momenta has already captured the previous 5 minutes from its rolling buffer and continues to record until you tell it to stop. Triggered by increased heart rate, it captures those hilarious or exciting moments that are usually lost forever. Whether it's an exciting sports experience, a funny social scene, the scene of an accident, etc. you can capture it and share it.


ngpcentry7

ZEN is a system of software and hardware specifically designed for the visually impaired. It is comprised of a hardware called the ‘Sandbox PC’ and ZEN edition operating system which work together to create a computing environment that can be used with eyes closed. The innovation of ZEN is embedded in its name. ZEN is for ‘Z-axis Enabled,’ meaning it is a truly interactive 3D computer. The Sandbox PC features Active Surface, an electronic surface that can take different physical shape and can be manipulated by the user. You can read Braille text on it, make out windows, icons, and different textures. You can press into the surface, or scratch it with your fingers. All input output is made with the sense of touch. ZEN software uses a Tactile User Interface (TUI). The visually impaired are a negated market. It is fitting, then, to bring them to light using the negated sense of touch, by introducing a negated dimension of depth.


[Next-Gen Design Competition