Two new Opteron-powered supercomputers go online

AMD has now proudly announced that two new T2K supercomputer systems equipped with K10 Opteron CPUs have been powered on in Japan.
Developed by the University of Tsukuba, the University of Tokyo, and Kyoto University, the new systems have been build by Hitachi and Fujitsu and delivered to the Tsukuba and Kyoto universities.

The new Tsukuba and Kyoto systems feature four Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors per node and offer a theoretical peak performance of about 95 tflops and 61 tflops respectively. The new Opteron-equipped T2K supercomputers are expected to help with large-scale scientific calculations for researching subatomic particles and nuclear energy, astronomy, climate modeling and weather forecasting, and genetics and biomedical advancements.

AMD: 'Huge, monolithic' chips not our style

An interesting story on news.com today. I'll do the blunt copy/paste here as it's really interesting to see this article in it's entire original form. Advanced Micro Devices' ATI graphics chip unit doesn't want to build "huge" chips like rival Nvidia, an executive says.

But an Nvidia exec says smaller isn't always better or more efficient. Such statements will help define how the two chip giants do battle at the high end of the graphics chip market in the coming years.

One of the largest graphics chips yet will be Nvidia's upcoming high-end GTX 280. This is the kind of chip that high-end gaming enthusiasts crave. But great performance often means a large transistor count. And the GTX 280 is expected to have both.

AMD, of course, also intends to deliver extreme graphics technology with its upcoming X2, a follow-on to the current 3870 X2 series. And AMD wants to be clear: its strategy is fundamentally different than Nvidia's.

"We took two chips and put it on one board (X2). By doing that we have a smaller chip that is much more power efficient," said Matt Skynner, vice president of marketing for the graphics products group at AMD.

"We believe this is a much stronger strategy than going for a huge, monolithic chip that is very expensive and eats a lot of power and really can only be used for a small portion of the market," he said. "Scaling that large chip down into the performance segment doesn't make sense--because of the power and because of the size."

Skynner said that AMD tries to design GPUs (graphics processing units) for the mainstream segment of the market, then ratchet up performance by adding GPUs rather than designing one large, very-high-performance chip.

Nvidia's "strategy is to design for the highest performance at all cost. And we believe designing for the sweet spot and then leveraging for the extreme enthusiast market with multiple GPUs is the preferred approach," Skynner said.

This applies to memory too. AMD thinks support for technologies like GDDR5 memory is another way to deliver good performance at a reasonable cost. "You don't need a huge chip with a huge data path to get the bandwodth. You can utilize a technology like GDDR5 to get that bandwidth," Skynner said.

Nvidia tends to favor very-fast, single-chip solutions. Nvidia, of course, has a different take on why it chooses to develop big, fast chips.

"If you take two chips and put them together, you then have to add a bridge chip that allows the two chips to talk to each other...And you can't gang the memory together," said Ujesh Desai, general manager for GeForce products at Nvidia.

"So when you add it all up, you now have the power of two GPUs, the power of the bridge chip, and the power that all of that additional memory consumes. That's why it's too simplistic of an argument to say that two smaller chips is always more efficient."

Desai takes this argument a bit further. "They don't have the money to invest in high-end GPUs anymore. At the high end, there is no prize for second place. If you're going to invest a half-billion dollars--which is what it takes to develop a new enthusiast-level GPU--you have to know you're going to win. You either do it to win, or you don't invest the money."

Radeon HD 4850

Ati Radeon HD 4850

What's better than press photos of the upcoming Radeon HD 4850 but not as good as actual performance results you ask? Since it's Saturday and we're feeling pretty lazy let's just say non-press photos. Not coincidentally that's exactly what you can see below, some real, up close and personal pictures of the cheapest RV770-powered card currently in plan, the Radeon HD 4850.

The new card is set to offer 480 Stream Processors, a 256-bit memory interface, 512 MB of GDDR3 memory and something that apparently Nvidia can only dream about, DirectX 10.1 support. From the looks of it, the HD 4850 is not very different from its predecessor, with the upcoming card's length, cooling solution and connectivity being strongly resembling the HD 3850. The Radeon HD 4850 is expected to be released around June 18.
Pictures courtesy of bit-tech.

Intel and Micron manufacture first sub-40nm NAND chip

AMD party trasher Intel and memory heavyweight Micron have now started bragging with the manufacturing of the first sub-40nm NAND chip. The record-braking chip is made using the 34nm process and is a 32 Gb multi-level cell part. The advancement in manufacturing technology has been made by Intel and Micron's NAND joint venture IM Flash Technologies and it will see the new 32 Gb chip being sampled as soon as next month with mass production being planned for later this year.

"This new 32 Gb device provides the best bit storage density available in the industry," said Brian Shirley, vice president of Micron's Memory Group. "Together with our partners at Intel, we're proud to have now taken the lead in production process technology."

The 34nm-build 32 Gb NAND chip is expected to help bring higher-capacity solid state drives while also lowering the costs of such solutions. It's a win-win situation.

Intel® Core™2 Extreme Processor QX9650

Intel Core 2 Extreme Processor QX9650
Processor Specifications:

sSpec Number:
CPU Speed:
PCG:
Bus Speed:
Bus/Core Ratio:
L2 Cache Size:
L2 Cache Speed:

SLAN3
3 GHz
05B
1333 MHz
9
12 MB
3 GHz

Package Type:
Manufacturing :
Core Stepping:
CPUID String:
Thermal Design Power:
Thermal Specification:
VID Voltage Range:

LGA775
45 nm
C0
10676h
130W
64.5°C
0.85V – 1.3625V

Intel Core 2 Extreme Mobile Processor

Extreme Gaming on the Go.

Experience with the world’s highest-performing mobile processor.‡¹ The Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile processor delivers when you need the ultimate in gaming and multimedia performance. Take your system with you to LAN parties or competitive gaming. Process your HD videos from wherever you want to be without slowing down.

Designed from the ground up for an unbeatable gaming experience, the Intel® Core™2 Extreme mobile processor enables gaming realism like never before. And its energy efficiency kicks you more battery and thermal resources for even more gaming power, faster memory, greater storage and higher performance graphics. With the unrivaled power of Intel® dual-core technology, you get extreme mobile performance and advanced power management. Translation? Play harder in more places with better battery life. And with integrated wireless LAN, the only thing you’ll have to plug in is your instincts.

Extreme performance unwired. Get yours.

6MB of Shared L2 Cache

Takes on complex game physics, artificial intelligence, and multi-threaded games: welcome to a vengeance for unrivaled realism.

800 MHz Front Side Bus (FSB)

Provides incredible gaming performance and play so realistic that you’ll think you’re in the game.

44W Thermal Design Power (TDP)

Helps save energy with the option of fine-tuning for optimum gaming performance.

Increase your domination with superior ammunition.

• Intel® Wide Dynamic Execution enables better gaming and multimedia execution time.
• Intel® Intelligent Power Capability provides extreme energy-efficient mobile performance in game.
• Intel® Advanced Smart Cache with mega performance smart cache is optimized for multi-threading games.
• Intel® Advanced Digital Media Boost enhances ultra-realistic game physics and AI.
• Flexible AP Roaming provides enhanced wireless capabilities so you can remain unwired longer.

source:intel.com

Via Launches Crysis-Capable Nano Processors

Via's next-gen Isaiah processors that they're hoping will break them into the mainstream market just got all official, going by the more consumer-friendly Nano moniker. When we talked with Via about them last week, they said that Isaiah-based processors will deliver 4x the performance of their current C7 chips (which power the OQO and Cloudbook) at the same power envelope. The press release touts the chips' ability to playback Blu-ray and run Crysis—that might be true, but we have the feeling you won't exactly want to in the latter case. Available to manufacturers now, you should start seeing Nano-powered wares in the fall. The low-power-but-decent-performance chip space is definitely getting a mite crowded.

VIA Launches VIA Nano Processor Family

Power efficient processors based on 'Isaiah' architecture designed for optimized performance for mainstream PC markets and new device types

Beijing, China, 29th May 2008 - VIA Technologies, Inc, a leading innovator of power efficient x86 platforms, today announced the new VIA Nano processor family based on the VIA Isaiah Architecture.

Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of the VIA C7 processor family, the VIA Nano processor family offers as much as four times the performance within the same power range to extend VIA's performance per watt leadership, while pin compatibility with VIA C7 processors will ensure a smooth transition for OEMs and motherboard vendors, and provides them with an easy upgrade path for current system or board designs.

The first 64-bit, superscalar, speculative out-of-order processors in VIA's x86 platform portfolio, VIA Nano processors have been specifically designed to revitalize traditional desktop and notebook PC markets, delivering truly optimized performance for the most demanding computing, entertainment and connectivity applications, including Blu-ray Disc™ HD video playback and the latest PC games, such as Crysis™.

The VIA Nano processor family leverages Fujitsu's advanced 65 nanometer process technology for enhanced power efficiency, and augments that with aggressive power and thermal management features within the compact 21mm x 21mm nanoBGA2 package for an idle power as low as 100mW (0.1W), extending the reach of power efficient green and silent PCs, thin and light notebooks and mini-notes around the world.

"VIA Nano processors represent the next generation of x86 technology, providing the fundamental building blocks for a new genre of optimized computing solutions," said Wenchi Chen, President and CEO, VIA Technologies, Inc. "'Small is Beautiful' is more than a design strategy; it's our vision of where the PC market is heading and our new processors will help the market realize that dream."

VIA's 'nano' association also extends to VIA's signature silicon and platform design characteristics of power efficiency and form factor size reduction, as demonstrated by VIA's ultra compact Nano-ITX boards and the processor packaging used for the current VIA C7 processor family and the first generation of VIA Nano processors.

About the VIA Nano Processor Family

Initially to be launched in two skus, the VIA Nano L-series processors for mainstream desktop and mobile PC systems and the ultra low voltage U-series for small form factor desktop and ultra mobile devices such as mini-notes.

The VIA Nano processor family boasts the highly efficient VIA V4 bus interface and brings a host of technology firsts to VIA's processor platform line-up, including:

— 64-bit Superscalar Speculative Out-Of-Order MicroArchitecture: Supports a full 64-bit instruction set and provides for macro-fusion and micro-fusion functionality, and sophisticated branch prediction for greater processor efficiency and performance.

— High-Performance Computation and Media Processing: The high-speed, low power VIA V4 Front Side Bus starting at 800MHz, plus a high floating point unit, support for new SSE instructions, and two 64KB L1 caches and 1MB exclusive L2 cache with 16-way associativity gives a big boost to multimedia performance.

— Advanced Power and Thermal Management: Aggressive management of active power includes support for the new "C6" power state, Adaptive PowerSaver™ Technology, new circuit techniques and mechanisms for managing the die temperature, reducing power draw and improving thermal management.

— Scalable Upgrade to VIA C7™ Processor: Pin-to-pin compatibility with current VIA C7 processors enables a smooth transition for OEMs and mainboard vendors, enabling them to offer a wider range of products for different markets with a single board or system design.

— Greener Technology: In addition to full compliance with RoHS and WEEE regulations, product manufacturing will be halogen-free and lead-free at launch, helping to promote a cleaner environment and more sustainable computing.

— Enhanced VIA PadLock™ Security Engine: Industry-leading on-die hardware cryptographic acceleration and security features, including dual quantum random number generators, an AES Encryption Engine, NX-bit, and SHA-1 and SHA-256 hashing.

[VIA]

Intel's Centrino 2 Platform Delayed

TGDaily is reporting that Intel's next-gen Centrino 2 platform (aka Montevina) has hit a series of snags and won't launch until July 14 at the earliest.
Aside from delaying new Centrino 2 notebooks generally (duh), it also significantly quashes the chances of new MacBooks at WWDC—particularly since one of the issues is with the integrated graphics chipset, which is causing serious failures in OEM notebooks.

Apparently, the Centrino 2 launch will be rolling, with some chipsets hitting in July and others following later. One of the other problems is with FCC certification of the sets with 802.11n, so that wireless N support "may see a slower ramp as Montevina can only be shipped with support 802.11 a/b/g for now."

If you recall the Santa Rosa launch last year, new MacBook Pros shipped about a month after the chipset debuted, pointing toward an August launch for new Centrino 2-based notebooks. [TGDaily]

Dell XPS M1730 17in gaming laptop

Review Dell’s acquisition of gaming manufacturer Alienware, followed by the introduction of 13.3in and 15.4in laptops to its XPS range, signalled a shift from hardcore gaming machines, with the brand targeting the regular consumer instead.

Despite rumours circulating that the company may even stop making XPS–branded machines altogether, the XPS M1730 represents a return to core values - it's Dell’s most focused gaming laptop to date. You’ll find the use of high-end components, two cutting-edge graphics chips and every feature you’re ever likely to need, all wrapped in a 17in chassis that screams for attention.

Dell has christened this machine "The Beast" – a moniker it more than lives up to, not least in terms of size. It’s absolutely massive, taking the opposite route to Apple’s waif-like Macbook Air, and cramming in as many features as possible. It measures 56mm at its deepest, and weighs in at a spine-crippling 5kg.

You’ll need the arms of an Olympian to carry it to the next room, then, and possibly a golf cart if you want to lug it further. Criticising the XPS for is weight is perhaps a little unfair, as it’s designed purely as a desktop replacement machine, and is similar in size to most of its rivals.

The sheer bulk also manifests itself in several plus points, one of which being excellent ventilation. The use of two GPUs and twin hard drives typically result in a machine hot enough to warm a small group of homeless folk, but the M1730 remained cool to the touch at all times.

Lights everywhere

There’s also loads of room for a good-sized set of controls. The spacious keyboard is ideal for all-night gaming sessions, and is one of the most comfortable we’ve used on a laptop. The large, individually mounted keys respond to the lightest of touches, yet have a long enough travel to prevent typos. That said, the quality of the keyboard does lag behind that of the XPS M1330, with the board flexing slightly under pressure.

read full article:http://www.reghardware.co.uk/

© The Register

Intel Six-core Processor Into 65 Watt Power Envelope

San Francisco (CA) - Intel is currently preparing the launch of its final Core-architecture processor design, the six-core server CPU Dunnington. Sources indicate that Intel was able to create product versions for all major power envelope levels in this segment, including a low-power 65 watt chip: Six cores and 65 watts sounds like a winner to us.

If there were still any doubts that over the scalability of the Core architecture, Dunnington should put any of those to rest. Like the quad-core Harpertown design, the multi-socket Dunnington will be targeting all three major server segments, covering the 130 watt, 95 watt and 65 watt power envelopes.

Considering that some Harpertown CPUs were rated at a 150 watt power envelope recently (updated to a 120 watt rating last week) and the fact that the 45 nm Dunnington will add two more cores, 9 MB L2 cache and a massive 16 MB L3 cache, the power achievement is impressive by any standard.

The Dunnington flagship, the X7460 model, will run at 2.66 GHz and will carry a thermal design power of 130 watt. The 65 watt version, which could become a major hit in blade-server designs will be clocked at 1.83 GHz. All Dunnington processors will be using FSB1066.