Intel is planning to launch Xeon 5500 (Nehalem-EP) and Xeon 3500 series (Nehalem-WS) server CPUs in the first quarter of 2009, according to sources at server makers.
Intel will launch ten CPUs for the Xeon 5500 series: quad-core W5580 (3.2GHz), X5570 (2.93GHz), X5560 (2.8GHz), X5550 (2.66GHz), E5540 (2.53GHz), E5530 (2.4GHz), E5520 (2.26GHz), E5506 (2.13GHz), E5504 (2GHz) and dual-core E5502 with prices at US$1,600, US$1,386, US$1,172, US$958, US$744, US$530, US$373, US$266, US$224 and US$188 in thousand-unit tray quantities.
For the Xeon 3500 series, Intel will launch three CPUs: quad-core W3570, W3540 and W3520 priced at US$999, US$562 and US$284.
In additional news, Intel is planning to phase out seven notebook CPUs including the Core 2 Extreme X7900 and X7800, and Core 2 Duo T7800 and L7700 in January next year.
AMD launches first 45nm, quad-core Shanghai Opterons, hitting desktops Q1
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AMD has been blazing architectural trails well before Nehalem. As EE Times points out, AMD's 65-nm Barcelona was the first quad-core processor with 2MB of shared L3 cache integrated with the Northbridge memory controller. Now AMD has (finally) caught up with its own 45-nm technology under the code-name, Shanghai. AMD's newest quad-core Opteron server chip with 6MB L3 cache now offers up to 35 percent better performance while drawing 35 percent less idle power. Better yet, it's drop-in compatible with Barcelona which should keep IT-types happy as they extend the life of their server farms. Available immediately in 75-watt, quad-core versions running clock speeds from 2.3GHz to 2.7GHz.
"Barcelona was obviously a pretty rough start for them. And that does not appear to be the case for Shanghai," said Dean McCarron, the principal and founder of Mercury Research, a company that tracks chip market movements. "One of the big distinctions was they wanted to be absolutely sure that Shanghai was ready to go."
AMD launches first 45nm
Major customers are brimming with accolades for Shanghai. "We've been very pleased. Thrilled with their execution," said with Paul Gottsegen, vice president of Industry Standard Servers, HP, in an interview.
"We'll have products that will be shipping just after launch. We had high performance expectations for the product and it exceeded our expectations," he said. "We're going to put Shanghai across the meat of our product line. You'll see six different rack servers, three different blades, all up and down parts of our product line."
Shanghai technology ahead of Intel
Much of Shanghai's raw technology is a generation ahead of Intel. In a posting at EE Times, Don Scansen, a semiconductor technology analyst at Semiconductor Insights, said that many of the features that Intel is touting as new are not new to AMD and were initially introduced in AMD's Barcelona processor.
"Intel's Nehalem is due out soon, but many of the features of what has widely been touted as a 'new' architecture are only new to Intel," he writes.
source
"Barcelona was obviously a pretty rough start for them. And that does not appear to be the case for Shanghai," said Dean McCarron, the principal and founder of Mercury Research, a company that tracks chip market movements. "One of the big distinctions was they wanted to be absolutely sure that Shanghai was ready to go."
AMD launches first 45nm"We'll have products that will be shipping just after launch. We had high performance expectations for the product and it exceeded our expectations," he said. "We're going to put Shanghai across the meat of our product line. You'll see six different rack servers, three different blades, all up and down parts of our product line."
Shanghai technology ahead of Intel
Much of Shanghai's raw technology is a generation ahead of Intel. In a posting at EE Times, Don Scansen, a semiconductor technology analyst at Semiconductor Insights, said that many of the features that Intel is touting as new are not new to AMD and were initially introduced in AMD's Barcelona processor.
"Intel's Nehalem is due out soon, but many of the features of what has widely been touted as a 'new' architecture are only new to Intel," he writes.
source
Atom 330 is benchmarked
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Atom 330 is benchmarked, worse than expected
Atom 330 is benchmarked
Intel's dual-core, 1.6GHz Atom 330 coupled with a 7200 RPM SATA hard drive and 1GB of DDR2 RAM,was benchmarked run-through, and they've got some conflicting details to pass on to you. Overall, the testers found the Atom to be, as expected, faster than the N270, but only by 16 percent. In specific tests, the 330 ran Office 2003 slower than both a 2GHz VIA C7-D and the single-core Atom; PC Pro actually performed the test several times just to be sure it wasn't a glitch... and it wasn't. The 330 performed better running 2D graphics, outpacing the N270 by 41 percent, and it also outperformed its competitors in encoding and multitasking.
Atom 330 is benchmarked
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Atom 330 is benchmarked
Atom 330 is benchmarked
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Online retailers start listing Core i7 processors
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According to our sources, Intels new Core i7 processors wont appear on store shelves until November 17. That deadline apparently hasnt stopped some e-tailers from putting up early listings for the CPUs and their matching motherboards, though.
PC Connection currently lists the Core i7-920 for $334.02 and the Core i7-940 for $662—both notable markups over the tray prices, which are $284 and $562, respectively, for those two chips (see our review). Meanwhile, PC Mall has listings for a Core i7-920 at $384, a Core i7-940 at $722, and a Core i7-965 at $1,250. PC Mall has none of these chips in stock right now, but PC Connections website says "Limited Quantities Available" in the stock status column.
A search for "Core i7" at PC Connection also lists no fewer than seven motherboards, all based on the Intel X58 Express chipset and priced between $261.38 and $463.98. The cheapest of the bunch looks to be the MSI X58 Platinum, while a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 is already in stock and available for $352.87. The Asus P6T Deluxe we reviewed a few days back is up for $392.09, too, well above the $309 suggested retail price.
PC Connection currently lists the Core i7-920 for $334.02 and the Core i7-940 for $662—both notable markups over the tray prices, which are $284 and $562, respectively, for those two chips (see our review). Meanwhile, PC Mall has listings for a Core i7-920 at $384, a Core i7-940 at $722, and a Core i7-965 at $1,250. PC Mall has none of these chips in stock right now, but PC Connections website says "Limited Quantities Available" in the stock status column.
A search for "Core i7" at PC Connection also lists no fewer than seven motherboards, all based on the Intel X58 Express chipset and priced between $261.38 and $463.98. The cheapest of the bunch looks to be the MSI X58 Platinum, while a Gigabyte GA-EX58-UD5 is already in stock and available for $352.87. The Asus P6T Deluxe we reviewed a few days back is up for $392.09, too, well above the $309 suggested retail price.
AMD to release Atom killer netbook CPUs
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We've been hearing rumors of AMD's Atom killer CPUs for over a year now. Unfortunately, vapor doesn't help the bottom line -- it does however explain AMD's conspicuous absence from the deluge of netbooks now trumping laptops for shelf-space. AMD's CEO, Dirk Meyer, has promised on a few occasions (as recently as the Q3 earnings call) to unveil "Bobcat" in November. So seeing the chips on display at tomorrow's analyst conference is pretty much a given. Check back then for all the details.
It will be very interesting to see how AMD approaches the netbook marketplace since just about every netbook announced this year seems to feature an Intel Atom processor. Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Acer, Toshiba, Asus and HP seem fully on board with Intel’s solution, which makes me wonder who’s going to be the first manufacturer to adopt AMD’s upcoming netbook processor.
Intel Core 2 Quad
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Verdict: These high-end processors deliver maximum performance, but at a heavy price.
The Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme are the most powerful CPUs in Intel's line-up. As the name implies, Core 2 Quad processors all have four physical cores, while the Core 2 Extreme range includes one dual-core processor - the X6800 - as well as the quad-core QX6000 and QX9000 ranges.
Core 2 Quad
The Core 2 Quad range includes both 65nm and 45nm parts, based on the Kentsfield and Yorkfield cores respectively. Internally, they're effectively a pair of Core 2 Duo processors built into one chip. As AMD likes to point out, this is less efficient than the Phenom's fully integrated design, as cores on different dies can't communicate directly at the chip's full internal speed. Instead, they have to pass data back and forth via the slower front side bus.
The proof is in the results. The Core 2 Quad Q6600 costs just £4 more than AMD's flagship Phenom 9600, but includes 8MB of on-die L2 cache, twice the total available to the Phenom. This helped the Q6600 achieve a storming 1.45 in our benchmarks, while AMD's quad-core processor scored only 1.28. In fact, in our tests, every Core 2 Quad processor easily outpaced anything produced by AMD. That's partly down to bigger L2 caches (up to 12MB for the Q9450 and Q9550) and partly thanks to clock speeds that go as high as 2.83GHz on a 1,333MHz front side bus.
Yet as a desktop processor, the Core 2 Quad range faces stiff competition from Intel's own Core 2 Duos. The E8400, for example, achieved a higher overall benchmark score than the Q9300 in our tests, despite costing £42 less. The extra processing power of the Core 2 Quad only shines through in properly multithreaded applications, such as our 3ds Max test: here, the E8400 took 206 seconds to render a scene that the Q9300 completed in 156 seconds. But if you're looking for an all-rounder, the Core 2 Duo is better value.
The Core 2 Quad and Core 2 Extreme are the most powerful CPUs in Intel's line-up. As the name implies, Core 2 Quad processors all have four physical cores, while the Core 2 Extreme range includes one dual-core processor - the X6800 - as well as the quad-core QX6000 and QX9000 ranges.
Core 2 Quad
The Core 2 Quad range includes both 65nm and 45nm parts, based on the Kentsfield and Yorkfield cores respectively. Internally, they're effectively a pair of Core 2 Duo processors built into one chip. As AMD likes to point out, this is less efficient than the Phenom's fully integrated design, as cores on different dies can't communicate directly at the chip's full internal speed. Instead, they have to pass data back and forth via the slower front side bus.
The proof is in the results. The Core 2 Quad Q6600 costs just £4 more than AMD's flagship Phenom 9600, but includes 8MB of on-die L2 cache, twice the total available to the Phenom. This helped the Q6600 achieve a storming 1.45 in our benchmarks, while AMD's quad-core processor scored only 1.28. In fact, in our tests, every Core 2 Quad processor easily outpaced anything produced by AMD. That's partly down to bigger L2 caches (up to 12MB for the Q9450 and Q9550) and partly thanks to clock speeds that go as high as 2.83GHz on a 1,333MHz front side bus.
Yet as a desktop processor, the Core 2 Quad range faces stiff competition from Intel's own Core 2 Duos. The E8400, for example, achieved a higher overall benchmark score than the Q9300 in our tests, despite costing £42 less. The extra processing power of the Core 2 Quad only shines through in properly multithreaded applications, such as our 3ds Max test: here, the E8400 took 206 seconds to render a scene that the Q9300 completed in 156 seconds. But if you're looking for an all-rounder, the Core 2 Duo is better value.
Broad Software Ecosystem Support from AMD
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AMD today announced ecosystem support by leading x86 operating system (OS) and virtualization partners for the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, codenamed “Shanghai.” Built on 45nm process technology, the enhanced processor will offer innovations for AMD software partners like Microsoft, Red Hat, Sun Microsystems and VMware specifically designed to improve OS and virtualization performance. Strategic improvements in comparison to 65nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors include a larger L3 memory cache, and features designed to further optimize application performance in virtualized environments. The new AMD Opteron processor is uniquely architected to handle more memory-intensive applications while also enabling customers of all sizes to operate a flexible and scalable IT infrastructure.
“AMD is seeing rapid industry growth and demand for cutting edge technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization,” said Earl Stahl, vice president, Software Development, AMD. “As a result of our ongoing collaboration with software partners, AMD customers can soon easily upgrade to the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. Enterprise customers can leverage the ongoing enhanced performance and features like AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology that AMD continues to deliver, while protecting the investments made to their current software infrastructure.”With more companies turning to virtualization to help improve data center efficiency and costs, AMD designed the new AMD Opteron processor to deliver a robust platform that can manage customers’ most demanding workloads, such as web hosting and complex database management, helping to maximize the business benefits of virtualization.
ISV Ecosystem Support
By collaborating with leading OS and virtual infrastructure vendors to help ensure applications are optimized for the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, AMD is providing customers with greater opportunity to utilize the software solutions that best meet the needs of their businesses.
“With the adoption of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to address customers’ infrastructure virtualization needs, it’s exciting to see the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor coming to market to help improve the performance and scalability of virtualized environments and help provide power savings benefits for customers,” said Mike Schutz, director of product management, Windows Server virtualization at Microsoft. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with AMD to help customers utilize virtualization technologies and enable businesses of all sizes to make the most of their IT investments.”
“Red Hat is committed to bringing performance, reliability and security to our customers as they expand their use of open source virtualization throughout the enterprise,” said Brian Stevens, CTO at Red Hat. “As evidenced by our recent collaboration with AMD on live migration technology, Red Hat continues to deliver business value to customers via high-performance, standards-based virtualization solutions for heterogeneous environments.”
“Sun is committed to working with AMD to include optimization and tuning advancements in the Sun xVM virtualization software portfolio in order to meet the desktop and server virtualization requirements of our customers,” said Jim McHugh, vice president of marketing, Datacenter, Sun Microsystems. “Sun xVM Server, a datacenter-grade server virtualization solution, runs on 45 nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processor-based systems and offers customers the ability to virtualize and manage heterogeneous workloads, including Windows, Linux and Solaris™ operating systems, as guests. Sun xVM Server is an easy-to-use, open source hypervisor that enables a simplified and secure environment for our customers.”
“The VMware platform helps AMD customers to minimize capital and operating costs, increase availability of mission-critical applications, and promote energy efficiencies,” said Shekar Ayyar, vice president of infrastructure alliances, VMware. “The advanced virtualization features in the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, such as AMD Extended Migration and AMD-V with Rapid Virtualization Indexing, can extend those benefits to optimize application performance in VMware virtualized environments.”
AMD also recognizes support for its forthcoming and current Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors from software and virtualization partners such as Parallels, Transitive and Virtual Iron. For more information about the software support of the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. source
“AMD is seeing rapid industry growth and demand for cutting edge technologies such as cloud computing and virtualization,” said Earl Stahl, vice president, Software Development, AMD. “As a result of our ongoing collaboration with software partners, AMD customers can soon easily upgrade to the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. Enterprise customers can leverage the ongoing enhanced performance and features like AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology that AMD continues to deliver, while protecting the investments made to their current software infrastructure.”With more companies turning to virtualization to help improve data center efficiency and costs, AMD designed the new AMD Opteron processor to deliver a robust platform that can manage customers’ most demanding workloads, such as web hosting and complex database management, helping to maximize the business benefits of virtualization.
ISV Ecosystem Support
By collaborating with leading OS and virtual infrastructure vendors to help ensure applications are optimized for the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor, AMD is providing customers with greater opportunity to utilize the software solutions that best meet the needs of their businesses.
“With the adoption of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to address customers’ infrastructure virtualization needs, it’s exciting to see the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor coming to market to help improve the performance and scalability of virtualized environments and help provide power savings benefits for customers,” said Mike Schutz, director of product management, Windows Server virtualization at Microsoft. “We look forward to continuing to work closely with AMD to help customers utilize virtualization technologies and enable businesses of all sizes to make the most of their IT investments.”
“Red Hat is committed to bringing performance, reliability and security to our customers as they expand their use of open source virtualization throughout the enterprise,” said Brian Stevens, CTO at Red Hat. “As evidenced by our recent collaboration with AMD on live migration technology, Red Hat continues to deliver business value to customers via high-performance, standards-based virtualization solutions for heterogeneous environments.”
“Sun is committed to working with AMD to include optimization and tuning advancements in the Sun xVM virtualization software portfolio in order to meet the desktop and server virtualization requirements of our customers,” said Jim McHugh, vice president of marketing, Datacenter, Sun Microsystems. “Sun xVM Server, a datacenter-grade server virtualization solution, runs on 45 nm Quad-Core AMD Opteron™ processor-based systems and offers customers the ability to virtualize and manage heterogeneous workloads, including Windows, Linux and Solaris™ operating systems, as guests. Sun xVM Server is an easy-to-use, open source hypervisor that enables a simplified and secure environment for our customers.”
“The VMware platform helps AMD customers to minimize capital and operating costs, increase availability of mission-critical applications, and promote energy efficiencies,” said Shekar Ayyar, vice president of infrastructure alliances, VMware. “The advanced virtualization features in the new Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, such as AMD Extended Migration and AMD-V with Rapid Virtualization Indexing, can extend those benefits to optimize application performance in VMware virtualized environments.”
AMD also recognizes support for its forthcoming and current Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors from software and virtualization partners such as Parallels, Transitive and Virtual Iron. For more information about the software support of the Quad-Core AMD Opteron processor. source
Intel core i7 CPU BOX
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Core i7 920 runs at 2.66GHz, L2 cache 256KB per core, L3 shared cache 8MB, the integrated memory controller supports tri-channel DDR3 memory 800MHz/1066MHz, TDP 130W. Today the CPU’s price is 2450CNY, around 358USD.
Core i7 920 retail version.
Core i7 920 retail version.
Core i7 920 retail version.
Core i7 920 retail version.
source:en.expreview.com
Core i7 920 retail version.
Core i7 920 retail version.
Core i7 920 retail version.
Core i7 920 retail version.
source:en.expreview.com
Intel Core 2 Duo T7400 and L7400 moving to G-0 stepping next year
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Intel has recently announced that three of its Napa mobile processors, the 2.16 GHz T7400 and 1.50 GHz L7400 Core 2 Duos and the Celeron M 530 will be moving to the G-0 stepping, from the current B-2 in Q1 2009. The new revisions will have a new CPUID (06FBh) and a die size that has been optimized for manufacturability but wont feature any thermal changes. Given the new CPUID, new BIOS is required to properly detect the G-0 processors.
Intel is set to start providing samples of the G-0 mobile CPUS next month - from December 3rd for the PGA parts and December 23rd for BGA parts, and will begin shipping them in large numbers from February.
Intel is set to start providing samples of the G-0 mobile CPUS next month - from December 3rd for the PGA parts and December 23rd for BGA parts, and will begin shipping them in large numbers from February.
Intel Core i7 Nehalem launching on November 17
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Intel provided information about its next-generation micro-architecture (Nehalem) with the Core i7 processors at a media event on Wednesday in Athens, Greece, prior to the worldwide official release of the system on November 17.
Intel Core i7 Nehalem launching on November 17
Intel Core i7 Nehalem launching on November 17The event ran under the headline of "the fastest processor on the planet". The two major characteristics of the new i7 architecture are the triple-channel integrated memory controllers and the new interface called Quick Path Interconnect (QPI). Other highlights include the monolithic die to consolidate all four cores in a single piece of silicon, and the shared L3 cache. Further improvements include the use of the Hyper-threading as well as the Turbo Boost technologies. The Core i7 processors are also optimized to operate with Intel's X58 chipset.The Corei7 series will feature three quad-core models: The 2.66 GHz Core i7 920 will aim for the sub-$1000 class of PCs, the 2.93 GHz Core i7 940 for more expensive PCs in the $1500-$2000 range and the 3.2 GHz 965 Extreme Edition at enthusiast PCs.
The prices (1K pieces) of these CPUs are $999 for the Extreme Edition, $562 for the 940 and $284 for the 920.The X58 Express chipset covers both the northbridge/southbridge operations. The X58 IOH supports up to 36 PCIe 2.0 lanes. Depending on the processor model, QPI may run at either 6.4 GT/sec (Core i7-965) or 6.4 GT/sec (Core i7-940, i7-920) to communicate with the X58 Express chipset in each direction. This is twice the bandwidth of Intel's currently available X48 chipset, plus the full-duplex transport instead of the half-duplex. AMD's HyperTransport 3.0 still has an advantage herewith up to 41.6GB/s of bi-directional bandwidth.However, the X58 Express does not support the legacy PS/2 IDE, serial or parallel ports.
Turbo mode
Under the "TurboMode", the utilization of the number of active cores is used to adjust the frequency. For example, if only two cores are active, then there will be much more headroom within the thermal and power envelope and the CPU will be clocked higher. So the "turbo" frequencies of each core depend on the number of cores active. We could say that this is mainly a power saving feature.
Turbo Mode boasts single threaded applications as well as the performance of multi-threaded applications, according to Intel. Below is a graph that Intel showed with the Core i7 Extreme CPU to process in single-core and quad-core configurations, with Turbo Mode enabled. The graph shows the percent performance increase with Turbo Mode enable.
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