CPU Wars: Intel vs. AMD

Intel sets timeline to develop world's first conflict-free processor

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 15:16:00 +0000

Intel is preparing to produce the world’s first conflict-free processor by the end of 2013. The revelation comes as part of the company’s recently-released Corporate Responsibility Report 2011 that outlines a number of green efforts though 2020.

Conflict materials are those that are mined in regions that contain armed conflicts or human rights issues – a good example of this is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, money earned from the export of minerals from conflict regions is a solid source of funding for armed groups. As you can imagine, this isn’t exactly good PR for tech companies.

Intel has declared intentions to become conflict-free across four key minerals: gold, tantalum, tin and tungsten by the end of 2013. In fact, the company plans to achieve the tantalum goal by the end of this year. This essentially means that next-generation microarchitecture Haswell processors could be the first ever to contain conflict-free materials.

Other environmental goals include a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and water use per processor manufactured as well as increasing the efficiency of data centers and notebook computers by 25 times through 2020.

There are also plans to build new facilities in Arizona, Costa Rica, China, Israel and Malaysia that would meet LEED Silver Certification in addition to an energy-saving plan that would reduce power consumption by 1.4 billion kWh through 2015. Chipzilla hopes to achieve zero chemical waste to landfill by 2020.

Source: techspot.com

Cedar Trail to last to Q1 2013

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:59:00 +0000

Intel Cedar Trail, in both the desktop and notebook variants, will most likely remain unchanged until the end of Q1 2013. After this date, there might be a chance for a new architecture based mobile Atom, but until then both N2800 and N2600 will remain the only choice.

N2800 a faster of two has two cores and four treads running at 2x1.83GHz, 1 MB cache and DDR3 1066 support. It has a TDP or 6.5W, just the CPU. Its graphics works at 640MHz. The slower of two the Atom N2600 also has two cores and four threads, 1MB cache, DDR3 800 support and 3.5W CPU that with chipset stays at really nice 5W TDP for the whole kit.

Silvermont 22nm Atom in 2013

Intel Cedar Trail, in both the desktop and notebook variants, will most likely remain unchanged until the end of Q1 2013. After this date, there might be a chance for a new architecture based mobile Atom, but until then both N2800 and N2600 will remain the only choice.

N2800 a faster of two has two cores and four treads running at 2x1.83GHz, 1 MB cache and DDR3 1066 support. It has a TDP or 6.5W, just the CPU. Its graphics works at 640MHz. The slower of two the Atom N2600 also has two cores and four threads, 1MB cache, DDR3 800 support and 3.5W CPU that with chipset stays at really nice 5W TDP for the whole kit.

The good thing is that it plays Blu-Ray 2.0 and full HD remaining fanless, slick and thin. Its graphics core works at 400MHz. Both are 32nm parts and they will last more than a year, since the Cedar Trail platform and Cedar View processors were introduced in Q4 2011.

The successor codenamed Silvermont is a 22nm Atom architecture and is expected in 2013. If all goes well we might even see it in Q2 2013, but we don’t have any fix confirmation on this date, just that Silvermont 22nm Atom comes in 2013.

Source: fudzilla.com

50 percent of next-gen netbooks will be fanless

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:44:00 +0000

Intel has at least two different design kits for different netbook form factors that should revive this category in 2012. Well, at least they will try.

The smaller netbooks should end up with a fanless design and Intel hopes that at least 50 percent of all available Cedar Trail netbooks in 2012 should end up without a fan. The secret is the 5W TDP kit that was optimized for fanless designs.

The plan is that 10.2-inch netbooks should end up fanless and have longer battery life than 11.6- and 12.1-inch designs, with 8W TDP kits.

5W dual-core TDP kit

Intel has at least two different design kits for different netbook form factors that should revive this category in 2012. Well, at least they will try.

The smaller netbooks should end up with a fanless design and Intel hopes that at least 50 percent of all available Cedar Trail netbooks in 2012 should end up without a fan. The secret is the 5W TDP kit that was optimized for fanless designs.

The plan is that 10.2-inch netbooks should end up fanless and have longer battery life than 11.6- and 12.1-inch designs, with 8W TDP kits.

Even the 5W 10.2-inch reference design is a dual-core and it comes with 2GB DDR3 memory and HDD or SSD. There is also a plan to put optional 3G in some of the machines. So, more than 50 percent of all Cedar Trail designs should end up fanless and this is definitely something to look forward to.

Intel also claims that the fanless kit has a lower bill of materials, quiet acoustics, clean and aesthetic design as well as enabling rugged and dust free design.

Systems based on current generation 1.6GHz N2600 dual-core are relatively affordable. The cheapest we could find listed was on sale for 259 euro with Linux, or just over 260 euro with Windows 7 Starter. You can check out the listings here.

Source: fudzilla.com

Intel's Tri-gate is a trapezoid

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:39:00 +0000

Reverse engineering outfit Chipworks has posted microscope cross-sections of parts of the 22-nm Ivy Bridge processor from Intel.

It shows that the much touted FinFETs, which Intel calls tri-gate transistors, are in fact trapezoidal. Chipworks broke up 64-bit, four-core Xeon E3-1230 CPUs intended for the server market, which Chipworks bought in Hong Kong. What is odd is that Intel appears to have moved away from a rectangular section which it was showing in 2011.

Platonic solids

Reverse engineering outfit Chipworks has posted microscope cross-sections of parts of the 22-nm Ivy Bridge processor from Intel.

It shows that the much touted FinFETs, which Intel calls tri-gate transistors, are in fact trapezoidal. Chipworks broke up 64-bit, four-core Xeon E3-1230 CPUs intended for the server market, which Chipworks bought in Hong Kong. What is odd is that Intel appears to have moved away from a rectangular section which it was showing in 2011.

In a statement Gold Standard Simulations has also waded into the debate. Its CEO Professor Ase Asenov said that there is speculation about the possible advantages and disadvantages of the trapezoidal, or almost triangular, shaped 'bulk' FinFET." GSS has performed a simulation analysis of the FinFET using its statistical 3-D TCAD simulator called Garand. Its simulation looked at the dependence of threshold voltage on gate length for the trapezoidal Intel transistor and an equivalent rectangular-fin transistor.

He said that the rectangular fin has better short channel effects. Still, the million-dollar question is if the almost-triangular shape is on-purpose design, or is this, what bulk FinFET technology can achieve in terms of the fin etching? We will only know when Intel lets people come up and see its etching.

Source: fudzilla.com

Chief Exec of AMD: We Will Come In and Steal Ultrabook's Bacon

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:14:00 +0000

Chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices believes that lower cost of the company's A-series "Trinity" accelerated processing units will help it to steal a lot of notebook market share from Intel Corp., which is pushing relatively expensive ultrabooks. The firm believes that it does not need high-end client chips in the light of the fact that that the cloud computing is emerging.

"I think we come in and steal the bacon around the whole thin-and-light movement and capture a significant portion of the opportunity there. [...] That [performance client computing] era is done. There is enough processing power on every laptop on the planet today," said Rory Read, chief executive officer of AMD, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

The head of AMD was referring to the fact that A-series Fusion "Trinity" APUs is behind Intel's Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" chips in terms of general-purpose performance, but is ahead when it comes to graphics processing performance.

AMD Continues to Defend Lack of Necessity of High-Performance Chips for Clients

Chief executive officer of Advanced Micro Devices believes that lower cost of the company's A-series "Trinity" accelerated processing units will help it to steal a lot of notebook market share from Intel Corp., which is pushing relatively expensive ultrabooks. The firm believes that it does not need high-end client chips in the light of the fact that that the cloud computing is emerging.

"I think we come in and steal the bacon around the whole thin-and-light movement and capture a significant portion of the opportunity there. [...] That [performance client computing] era is done. There is enough processing power on every laptop on the planet today," said Rory Read, chief executive officer of AMD, in an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek.

The head of AMD was referring to the fact that A-series Fusion "Trinity" APUs is behind Intel's Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" chips in terms of general-purpose performance, but is ahead when it comes to graphics processing performance.

What should be kept in mind is that high-performance in the cloud means high-performance server processors. Since technologies used to create high-performance chips are used both for central processing units for datacenters and for microprocessors aimed at client PCs, it is impossible to supply high-end server CPUs and sell low-performance client chips: either both types show decent performance or both do not. Nowadays AMD's highest-performance FX-series microprocessors are behind of Intel's performance-mainstream Core i7-3000-series chips across the board.

Mr. Read claims that instead of boosting general-purpose performance of client CPUs, AMD needs to integrate as many functions as possible into its microprocessors, something that makers of ARM-based system-on-chips do.

Source: xbitlabs.com

Intel Boosts Security Capabilities of vPro Platform

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:02:00 +0000

IT managers face a range of challenges from complex business processes to sophisticated security threats. To address these challenges, Intel Corp. has added a number of new functions and capabilities into its third-generation Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" processors with vPro technology designed specifically for business and intelligent systems.

The enhancements to the Intel Core vPro processor platform provide a more secure platform for business computing and drive the next wave of innovation in intelligent systems. New capabilities embed security at every layer, including the silicon, without compromising performance. Software innovation allows IT managers to set up and configure systems within minutes to quickly implement compelling solutions. Additionally, the enhanced graphics and secure manageability help accelerate the transition and growth in intelligent systems for the retail, industrial, and healthcare industries.

Intel Reveals Third-Generation Core i-Series vPro Chips

IT managers face a range of challenges from complex business processes to sophisticated security threats. To address these challenges, Intel Corp. has added a number of new functions and capabilities into its third-generation Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" processors with vPro technology designed specifically for business and intelligent systems.

The enhancements to the Intel Core vPro processor platform provide a more secure platform for business computing and drive the next wave of innovation in intelligent systems. New capabilities embed security at every layer, including the silicon, without compromising performance. Software innovation allows IT managers to set up and configure systems within minutes to quickly implement compelling solutions. Additionally, the enhanced graphics and secure manageability help accelerate the transition and growth in intelligent systems for the retail, industrial, and healthcare industries.

To defend against identity theft, Intel introduced Intel Identity Protection Technology with public key infrastructure (Intel IPT with PKI) into Intel Core vPro processors. The technology provides a new second layer of authentication embedded into the PC that allows websites and business networks to validate that a legitimate user is logging in from a trusted PC by using a private key stored in a PC's firmware. Intel has been working with solution providers and online Web properties such as Feitian, InfoServer, Symantec and Vasco to take advantage of Intel IPT technology to safeguard users' identity.

The latest version of the Intel Core vPro platform also features Intel OS Guard and Intel Secure Key. Intel Secure Key, with Intel AES new instructions, protects media, data and assets from loss, while Intel OS Guard detects and prevents malware. The new Intel Core vPro family of chips includes Intel Active Management Technology (AMT) to remotely manage computing issues.

Intel Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" chips with vPro technology are or will be available for desktops, laptops and ultrabooks.

Source: xbitlabs.com

AMD Formally Introduces Second-Generation Fusion "Trinity" Chips for Notebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sat, 19 May 2012 13:57:00 +0000

Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday officially introduced its new-generation of Fusion A-series accelerated processing units (APUs) previously known as Trinity. The new chips feature new x86 code-named Piledriver cores and Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cores. AMD hopes that its new APU will help it to increase presence on the market of various notebooks.

“The latest OEM notebooks, ultrathins, all-in-ones and desktops based on the new AMD A-Series APU enable the best video and gaming experiences

AMD Boosts Performance of Flagship Mobile Offerings with Fusion A-Series "Trinity" APUs

Advanced Micro Devices on Tuesday officially introduced its new-generation of Fusion A-series accelerated processing units (APUs) previously known as Trinity. The new chips feature new x86 code-named Piledriver cores and Radeon HD 7000-series graphics cores. AMD hopes that its new APU will help it to increase presence on the market of various notebooks.

“The latest OEM notebooks, ultrathins, all-in-ones and desktops based on the new AMD A-Series APU enable the best video and gaming experiences, highly responsive performance with AMD Turbo Core, and accelerate an ever-increasing range of productivity and multimedia applications -- in sleek, stylish designs at price points that make sense,” said Chris Cloran, corporate vice president and general manager of AMD client business unit.

The AMD A-series "Trinity" APUs feature up to four x86 cores powered by enhanced Bulldozer/Piledriver architecture, AMD Radeon HD 7000-series graphics core with DirectX 11-class graphics support, DDR3 memory controller and other improvements, such as new dynamic acceleration Turbo Core technology, improved video playback engines and so on. The new chip is made using 32nm process technology at Globalfoundries, just like its predecessor code-named Llano, but thanks to architectural improvements it is projected to be 25% - 50% faster - depending on the task - than the first-gen A-series APU.

“Our second-generation AMD A-series APU is a major step forward in every performance and power dimension, allowing users to enjoy a stunning experience without having to give up the things that matter to them most. This experience doesn’t stop at mainstream notebooks. It carries over into affordable ultrathin form factors featuring the latest in AMD Radeon graphics,” added Mr. Cloran.

The initial family of AMD A-series Fusion "Trinity" chips currently includes only five models with 17W, 25W and 35W thermal design power.

AMD claims it has a record number of design wins with companies like Acer, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Samsung and Toshiba based on its new AMD A-series APUs, with mainstream and ultrathin notebooks as well as embedded solutions, available beginning today.

Source: xbitlabs.com

Intel Begins Work on 7nm, 5nm Process Technologies

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:35:00 +0000

Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel Corp. said that the company had begun to work on 7nm a 5am process technologies. The company's plans now are to equip its Oregon, Arizona and Irelands fabs to make chips using 14nm fabrication processes.

"Our research and development is quite deep, I talk about ten years," said Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel.

Chief executive of the world's largest maker of microprocessors said that that the company's products made using 7nm and 5nm process technologies "on time and on target".

Intel Discloses Fab Transition Plans

Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel Corp. said that the company had begun to work on 7nm a 5am process technologies. The company's plans now are to equip its Oregon, Arizona and Irelands fabs to make chips using 14nm fabrication processes.

"Our research and development is quite deep, I talk about ten years," said Paul Otellini, chief executive of Intel.

Chief executive of the world's largest maker of microprocessors said that that the company's products made using 7nm and 5nm process technologies "on time and on target".

"The invention continues. [...] We will continue to deliver value to [our investors] and partners through our silicon technology," said Mr. Otellini during a meeting with investors.

Source: xbitlabs.com

Intel CEO Points to Legacy Drawbacks for Windows 8 on ARM

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:32:00 +0000

Intel CEO Paul Otellini is certainly feeling a bit of heat as ARM processor architecture is set to come into Intel's traditional market of notebooks running Windows and compete head-to-head. Intel has been unable to compete directly against ARM in the mobile market for smartphones and tablets due to the higher power consumption of Intel chips. That is changing, however, with Intel "Medfield"-based smartphones coming to market.

Otellini was addressing a group of investors at Intel's investor day this week and took the time to throw stones at ARM platforms running Windows RT.

Missing legacy mode will hurt ARM Windows 8 according to Intel

Intel CEO Paul Otellini is certainly feeling a bit of heat as ARM processor architecture is set to come into Intel's traditional market of notebooks running Windows and compete head-to-head. Intel has been unable to compete directly against ARM in the mobile market for smartphones and tablets due to the higher power consumption of Intel chips. That is changing, however, with Intel "Medfield"-based smartphones coming to market.

Otellini was addressing a group of investors at Intel's investor day this week and took the time to throw stones at ARM platforms running Windows RT.

"There's been a lot of debate that [Windows 8] is going to be a real entree for the ARM camp into Windows for the first time," said Otellini. "While at face value, that's true...[but] I think they have a big uphill fight."

During the meeting, Intel showed off a new ultrabook with a touchscreen that was running Windows 8. The demonstration showed how the machine could be changed between the new touch centric Metro mode and a classic mode with the keyboard and mouse for control called legacy mode.

"With one button you can get to legacy mode...this is critically important for CIOs who want to preserve all of their investments in software," he said. "We have the advantage of the incumbency, advantage of the legacy support. Not just in terms of applications but devices."

Otellini also said that Windows 8 on ARM lacks corporate enterprise readiness which will further limit it's appeal.

Source: dailytech.com

AMD invests in expanding sales force, sort of

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 03:03:00 +0000

Products like Coca Cola are so ubiquitous that most of us are surprised to enter a shop that sells any kind of food or drink and find out that they have no Coke. In fact, many restaurants will apologise before saying, “But we have Pepsi”. At the same time, how many of us have ever met a Coca Cola employee? Looks like someone at AMD has spotted the benefit of the extended family. KitGuru prepares to marry its own grandmother.

Reading a story about a job cut at AMD is like seeing a news article about petrol prices or the pitiful lack of growth in the Western economy. While it may be true and there may be an article in there, it’s part of such an overall pattern that it’s hard to pick out the single item of note.

Imagine our surprise when we discovered that AMD is focusing budget on recruiting an extended sales force. There will be 3 divisions for the new league and, presumably, the opportunity for promotion and demotion as partners vie to move up from ‘Select’ to ‘Premier’ to ‘Elite’.

While Fusion processors may be a thing of the past, the name itself must have sounded cool enough to the Austin powers that be. It’s now the name of the all-encompassing, triple-layer cake called the Fusion Partner Programme. Alongside education and networking, arguably the most important/interesting part for channel players who want to offer genuine choice to their customers, will be that the Premier and Elite partners get funded.

Premier partners will get something called ‘marketing funding’, while those who qualify for membership of the Elite echelon will be suckling at the sweet teat of ‘financial accelerators’. We have no idea what they are, but we’re compelled to do at least a little lip licking.

Source: kitguru.net

Faster 17W low power Core i7 in Q4 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:59:00 +0000

It is not certain when we will see the transition from Core i7 2677M to Core i7 3667U in the 17W dual-core notebook market.

Core i7 2677M is Sandy Bridge based and has 4MB cache, a 1.8GHz base clock and can turbo-clock all the way to 2.9GHz. The replacement is still scheduled for Q2 2012 and the new Ivy Bridge 22nm based CPU to take the crown in this market is Core i7 3667U. It is a 2GHz processor with two cores and four threads, with HD 4000 graphics, 4MB cache and 17W TDP. This time the top turbo speed is 3.2GHz which means we can expect this new 17W king of the hill to make quite a difference.

Q2 still launch date for dual-core Ivy Bridge

It is not certain when we will see the transition from Core i7 2677M to Core i7 3667U in the 17W dual-core notebook market.

Core i7 2677M is Sandy Bridge based and has 4MB cache, a 1.8GHz base clock and can turbo-clock all the way to 2.9GHz. The replacement is still scheduled for Q2 2012 and the new Ivy Bridge 22nm based CPU to take the crown in this market is Core i7 3667U. It is a 2GHz processor with two cores and four threads, with HD 4000 graphics, 4MB cache and 17W TDP. This time the top turbo speed is 3.2GHz which means we can expect this new 17W king of the hill to make quite a difference.

Most roadmaps are indicating that Core i7 3667U launches in May but we think that Computex 2012, taking place in Taiwan on June 5th, might be the right place to launch this new generation of ultra-low voltage processors for Ultrabooks and long battery life lovers.

The replacement, or a faster version of Core i7 3667U is planned for Q4 2012 at the earliest, but this is something that Intel can decide depending on the sales of the Core i7 3667U 2GHz with 3.2GHz turbo clock part.

This processor and its potential predecessor have to rule the Ultrabook market at least until new architecture codenamed Haswell makes an appearance in Q2 2013, roughly a year from now.

Source: fudzilla.com

AMD to introduce new embedded APUs

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:37:00 +0000

AMD is gearing up to introduce Trinity next week and it seems it will also throw a few embedded parts in the mix.

We must point out that we don’t keep a close eye on the embedded market, mainly because you, or dear readers, simply don’t care about it. However, this time around AMD has revealed some interesting graphics performance figures.

AMD compared its new R-464L and R-272F parts to similar Sandy Bridge chips and it came out on top in terms of GPU muscle. The R-464L and R-272F are 35W parts, yet they outperform the 45W Core i7-2720QE by a wide margin in 3Dmark.

35W R-series parts outpace Sandy Bridge in GPU tests

AMD is gearing up to introduce Trinity next week and it seems it will also throw a few embedded parts in the mix.

We must point out that we don’t keep a close eye on the embedded market, mainly because you, or dear readers, simply don’t care about it. However, this time around AMD has revealed some interesting graphics performance figures.

AMD compared its new R-464L and R-272F parts to similar Sandy Bridge chips and it came out on top in terms of GPU muscle. The R-464L and R-272F are 35W parts, yet they outperform the 45W Core i7-2720QE by a wide margin in 3Dmark. The R-464L delivers twice the performance of the Core i7, while the R-272F is 45 percent faster. Both APUs also left the 35W Core i5-2520M and Core i3-2310M in the dust.

AMD has not released the exact specs or feature set for the new R-series parts. However, CPU World has learned that the R-464L is a 2.3GHz quad-core with HD 7660G graphics and it is pretty close to the A10-4600M in terms of performance.

Trinity seems able to run circles around Sandy Brige, with HD 3000 graphics, and it should also end up quite a bit faster than Ivy Bridge parts in the graphics department.

Source: fudzilla.com

Report: AMD Launching Trinity APUs Soon; Desktop in August

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:34:00 +0000

We've been getting a bit impatient when it comes to waiting for AMD's Trinity APUs to arrive. Lucky for us, the latest scuttlebutt has the company's latest A series APUs launching this month.

AMD confirmed in mid-April that it had started shipping Trinity and it looks like things are on moving along nicely and still on track for a release this quarter. Word comes via Digitimes, which is citing sources from notebook players in reporting that AMD is gearing up to launch the notebook versions of its Trinity APU this month.

Perhaps more interesting is the fact that AMD is apparently planning the launch of its desktop Trinity processors for later this summer, in August. Digitimes sources say we can expect to see the A10-5800K, A10-5700, A8-5600K, and A8-5500, as well as the A6 (Weatherford) and A4 (Richland) series processors. The site also pegs entry-level Brazos 2.0 in June.

Source: tomshardware.com

Dell Unveils World's First Microserver Based on Intel Xeon "Ivy Bridge" Chip

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:26:00 +0000

Dell on Tuesday introduced the industry's first microserver based on yet unannounced Intel Corp.'s E3-1200 v2-series microprocessors with reduced thermal design power. Dell's new PowerEdge C5220 micro servers with new processors are designed to deliver up to 95% more performance within the same rack and 50% more density compared to the previous generation of micro servers.

“We are constantly inspired by the unique ways our customers are leveraging Dell microserver platforms to drive specialized web 2.0, HPC and cloud computing applications.

Intel's Xeon E3-1200 with 17W TDP Powers Dell PowerEdge C5220

Dell on Tuesday introduced the industry's first microserver based on yet unannounced Intel Corp.'s E3-1200 v2-series microprocessors with reduced thermal design power. Dell's new PowerEdge C5220 micro servers with new processors are designed to deliver up to 95% more performance within the same rack and 50% more density compared to the previous generation of micro servers.

“We are constantly inspired by the unique ways our customers are leveraging Dell microserver platforms to drive specialized web 2.0, HPC and cloud computing applications. As the microserver market and ecosystem have matured, customers like Vibrant Media have validated that microservers are a cost-effective, scalable platform in web 2.0 environments,” said Forrest Norrod, vice president and general manager of Dell server solutions.

Dell PowerEdge C5220 servers powered by Intel's forthcoming Xeon central processing units made using 22nm fabrication process are designed to power business-critical web 2.0, cloud, and content delivery networks (CDN), as well as high-performance computing (HPC) applications.

Intel's latest Xeon E3-1200 v2 product family includes various dual-core and quad-core chips with thermal design power ranging between 17W and 45W. The new processors also support such technologies like Turbo Boost, Hyper-Threading, ECC memory, 64-bit processing, virtualization and so on.

The PowerEdge C5220 featuring the latest Intel Xeon E3-1200v2 processor series will be available May 22, 2012. Pricing starts at $12 207.84.

Source: xbitlabs.com

POLL #2 Result: Water cooling becoming mainstream?

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Sun, 06 May 2012 14:09:00 +0000

POLL: Water cooling becoming mainstream?

RESULT: Majority says No...

Atom D2700 last shipment in late Q3 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 03 May 2012 15:02:00 +0000

If you were thinking about buying the latest 32nm Atom, something like the Atom D2700, better do it quickly.

Intel has just notified its partners that Atom D2700, clocked at 2.13GHz, has entered death row as of April 30th. This CPU entered Product Discontinuance Program Support phase four days ago and Last Product Discontinuance Orders will be accepted up to June 29th. After this date orders are non-cancelable and non-returnable.

This will finally lead to Last Product Discontinuance Shipment date in September 28th 2012 and after that there won’t be any new shipments. Our sources are telling us that this decision just affects the fastest 2GHz+ Atom 32nm CPUs and slower parts will continue to ship.

Product discontinuance for tray SKUs

If you were thinking about buying the latest 32nm Atom, something like the Atom D2700, better do it quickly.

Intel has just notified its partners that Atom D2700, clocked at 2.13GHz, has entered death row as of April 30th. This CPU entered Product Discontinuance Program Support phase four days ago and Last Product Discontinuance Orders will be accepted up to June 29th. After this date orders are non-cancelable and non-returnable.

This will finally lead to Last Product Discontinuance Shipment date in September 28th 2012 and after that there won’t be any new shipments. Our sources are telling us that this decision just affects the fastest 2GHz+ Atom 32nm CPUs and slower parts will continue to ship.

The replacement part is already out. The D2550, clocked at 1.86GHz with 1MB of cache, will take the place of the D2700 place and we are hearing that low yields of these 2GHz+ parts are to blame for this product discontinuance decision.

Only when Atom shrinks to 22nm you can expect something faster than the D2700 but next generation parts are expected next year.

Source: fudzilla.com

Intel's Ivy Bridge Hotter Than Sandy Bridge When Overclocked

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:58:00 +0000

The question among reviewers while overclocking Ivy Bridge chips is why the processors run hotter than their predecessor, Sandy Bridge. Overclockers.com reports temperatures “to be as much as 20 °C higher on Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge when overclocked.”

This extra heat is a huge drawback when overclocking, allowing Sandy Bridge to hit a much higher frequency and effectively matching the performance levels of Ivy Bridge. The question remains, how is it possible that the more power-hungry Sandy Bridge chips run cooler than Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors?

Intel's 22 nano-meter die shrink can be seen as a huge achievement for the company, but that doesn't mean it is without faults.

The question among reviewers while overclocking Ivy Bridge chips is why the processors run hotter than their predecessor, Sandy Bridge. Overclockers.com reports temperatures “to be as much as 20 °C higher on Ivy Bridge compared to Sandy Bridge when overclocked.”

This extra heat is a huge drawback when overclocking, allowing Sandy Bridge to hit a much higher frequency and effectively matching the performance levels of Ivy Bridge. The question remains, how is it possible that the more power-hungry Sandy Bridge chips run cooler than Intel's latest Ivy Bridge processors?

According to The Inquirer, Intel has no problem admitting that the Ivy Bridge platform runs hotter than its predecessor, stating that the extra heat is due the 22 nm die shrink, causing increased thermal density. The company noted that it is also using “a different package thermal technology”, that “thermal technology” is known as thermal paste, which replaced a soldered heat spreader used on Sandy Bridge processors. Intel further added that “users may observe higher operating temperatures when overclocking,” but reassured customers that “this is as designed and meets quality and reliability expectations for parts operating under specified conditions.”
Intel Ivy Bridge Thermal Paste Technology

So there you have it, Ivy Bridge runs hotter than Sandy Bridge when overclocked but offers reduced power consumption and meets Intel's expectations at stock speeds. If you are interested in overclocking, make certain to purchase an adequate cooling solution or hold off on Ivy Bridge until the next stepping, which may improve overclocking capabilities.

Source: tomshardware.com

AMD chip owners to get 20% off GameFly's digital downloads

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:52:00 +0000

AMD and GameFly have announced a deal that promises discounted games for folks using AMD processors. Gamers with machines powered by "select" Athlon II, Phenom II, FX series and A series chips will receive a free 30-day GameFly membership as well as a 20% discount on new PC games through the service's digital store.

Unfortunately, the 600-plus-word press release doesn't say a thing about when the promotion will begin, how you can take advantage of it or precisely who's eligible. Apparently, however, there was room to brag about the FX series making it into the Guinness World Record seven months ago, because that's awfully relevant.

For whatever it's worth, GameFly only lists the US and UK as eligible regions for its rental service, which usually costs $15.95 a month to borrow one game or $22.95 for two. The company's digital component (formerly Direct2Drive, purchased last May), offers most of the major titles you'll find elsewhere, so a 20% discount could prove to be awesome if done right.

For instance, many gamers are afraid to take advantage of the usual 10-20% preorder discount because they prefer waiting until reviews are available. This deal could let such individuals wait without sacrificing savings. Given the lack of details though (especially clarification on what constitutes a "new PC game"), we're reserving our excitement.

Despite gaining about 1% of the processor market in the first quarter, AMD's performance-oriented desktop lineup isn't in the best shape, especially with Ivy Bridge just launching. Bulldozer was a relative disappointment and Llano isn't really geared toward gamers. Nonetheless, there's a case to be made for the company's chips if you approach the subject from a value perspective, and deals like this can only help improve AMD's reputation on this front.

In a similar situation, the company recently responded to Nvidia's flagship GeForce GTX 680 graphics card by slashing prices on its HD 7900 series along with bundling three free games (Dirt Showdown, Nexuiz and Deus Ex: Human Revolution).

Source: techspot.com

Intel Shows-Off Pico-ITX PC with Core i "Ivy Bridge" Inside

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:41:00 +0000

Intel Corp. has demonstrated the world's smallest personal computer powered by Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" central processing unit. The PC uses pico-ITX sized mainboard, but provides all the capabilities the latest chips from the microprocessor giant have to offer. Presently Intel positions the 10cm*10cm PC for embedded applications, but it is likely that eventually such miniature solutions will reach desktops.

The ultra-small Intel desktop PC is called Next Unit of Computing (NUC) and features Intel Core i3/i5 "Ivy Bridge" microprocessor (any model, provided that it can be cooled down by a not very large cooling solution), two SO-DIMM slots for memory, two mini PCIe headers for expansion cards of storage solutions as well as Thunderbolt, HDMI and USB 3.0 ports. The whole system offers features like any other fully-fledged personal computer, but on an extremely small sized mainboard.

Intel Demos 10cm*10cm System Powered by Ivy Bridge

Intel Corp. has demonstrated the world's smallest personal computer powered by Core i-series "Ivy Bridge" central processing unit. The PC uses pico-ITX sized mainboard, but provides all the capabilities the latest chips from the microprocessor giant have to offer. Presently Intel positions the 10cm*10cm PC for embedded applications, but it is likely that eventually such miniature solutions will reach desktops.

The ultra-small Intel desktop PC is called Next Unit of Computing (NUC) and features Intel Core i3/i5 "Ivy Bridge" microprocessor (any model, provided that it can be cooled down by a not very large cooling solution), two SO-DIMM slots for memory, two mini PCIe headers for expansion cards of storage solutions as well as Thunderbolt, HDMI and USB 3.0 ports. The whole system offers features like any other fully-fledged personal computer, but on an extremely small sized mainboard.

Currently Intel NUC is primarily targeted at digital signage and kiosks, reports ExtremeTech, but it can perfectly fit into set-top-boxes, home-theater PCs, nettops and many other solutions that benefit from both miniaturization and powerful performance. Unfortunately, Intel is not planning to make NUC a truly mass product just now.

"In the second half of this year one can get one of the NUCs. [...] We are working on different kind of SKUs, but [NUC in general] is not something that is going to get into hundreds of thousands [units shipped] range," said Fred Birang, product marketing engineer at Intel's motherboard division.

Intel is known for showing prototypes of systems that will be viable in the distant future. Perhaps, it will take several generations of chips to make NUC a feasible desktop solution for the masses. Still, even in its current form, it can serve some niche markets.

Source: xbitlabs.com

AMD, Globalfoundries, Others Set to Use Fully-Depleted SOI with 14nm, 20nm Chips

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 03 May 2012 14:12:00 +0000

Soitec, a leading designer of materials for semiconductors, has announced its fully depleted (FD) product roadmap comprising two products designed for both planar and three-dimensional (FinFET) approaches to building transistors. Industry checks by X-bit show that AMD, Globalfoundries and some other companies are interested in FDSOI for 20nm chips.

"Our fully depleted product roadmap addresses the critical needs of the semiconductor industry and solves key challenges facing manufacturers today. Whichever path chip vendors choose to follow – planar or FinFET – Soitec provides solutions that address cost, performance, power-efficiency and time-to-market issues.

Based on industry checks, X-bit labs believes that Globalfoundries and other partners will use fully-depleted SOI with its 20nm processes and more advanced technologies for making chips, including those designed by Advanced Micro Devices.

AMD, Globalfoundries to Use Fully-Depleted SOI Technology

Soitec, a leading designer of materials for semiconductors, has announced its fully depleted (FD) product roadmap comprising two products designed for both planar and three-dimensional (FinFET) approaches to building transistors. Industry checks by X-bit show that AMD, Globalfoundries and some other companies are interested in FDSOI for 20nm chips.

"Our fully depleted product roadmap addresses the critical needs of the semiconductor industry and solves key challenges facing manufacturers today. Whichever path chip vendors choose to follow – planar or FinFET – Soitec provides solutions that address cost, performance, power-efficiency and time-to-market issues. FD-2D enables immediate and significant performance leaps, while FD-3D makes FinFET a reality for the entire industry at accelerated schedules and reduced risk," said Paul Boudre, chief operating officer of Soitec.

Based on industry checks, X-bit labs believes that Globalfoundries and other partners will use fully-depleted SOI with its 20nm processes and more advanced technologies for making chips, including those designed by Advanced Micro Devices.

Fully-depleted wafers from Soitec, pre-integrate critical characteristics of the transistor within the wafer structure itself. Soitec’s FD wafers offer an early, low-risk migration at the 28nm node down to 10nm and beyond, lowering costs and enabling significant advances in the performance and power efficiency of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets.

Soitec’s FD-2D product line enables a unique planar approach to fully depleted silicon technology as early as the 28nm node, in which chipmakers can continue to leverage their existing designs and process technologies. FD-2D also enables immediate gains in performance and energy efficiency for mobile and consumer multimedia chips.

The company’s FD-3D product line facilitates the introduction of three-dimensional (FinFET) architectures with reduced time and investment, and drives substantial simplifications in the transistor fabrication process, targeting nodes below 20nm.

Soitec’s proprietary Smart Cut layer transfer technology is said to generate thin layers with high quality and uniformity, bringing the ability to tune starting wafers to successive technology nodes and delivering key advantages as chip manufacturers pursue the best performance, efficiency and manufacturability results.

Source: xbitlabs.com

Intel reports flat sales

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:50:00 +0000

Chipmaker Intel reported Tuesday that sales of its chips for personal computers and servers were flat in the company’s first quarter.

Industry analysts had predicted renewed demand for PCs and Intel Boss Paul Otellini said that chips for smartphones and servers in the second quarter would provide a tremendous foundation for growth in 2012 and beyond. Intel’s net income for the first quarter was $2.7 billion, or 53 cents a share, down 13.4 percent from $3.2 billion, or 56 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue of $12.9 billion was up slightly from $12.8 billion a year ago.

But Otellini says things will get better

Chipmaker Intel reported Tuesday that sales of its chips for personal computers and servers were flat in the company’s first quarter.

Industry analysts had predicted renewed demand for PCs and Intel Boss Paul Otellini said that chips for smartphones and servers in the second quarter would provide a tremendous foundation for growth in 2012 and beyond. Intel’s net income for the first quarter was $2.7 billion, or 53 cents a share, down 13.4 percent from $3.2 billion, or 56 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue of $12.9 billion was up slightly from $12.8 billion a year ago.

Otellini said that was a solid start to what’s expected to be another growth year for Intel. A lot is riding on whether Intel can sell chips for mobile devices, particularly smartphones and tablets, as well as ultrabooks
Another wild card is how HP, Dell and other PC makers do with ultrabooks.

The figures also were too early for anyone to see if there had been any success with the new version of its Xeon chip for servers in cloud computing data centers.

Source: fudzilla.com

Core i5 3570T is 45W TDP Quad core

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:47:00 +0000

The point of going for three gate transistors and 22nm is to take the TDPs down, but you have to remember that in spite of smaller transistors and general consumption Ivy Bridge has a much more powerful graphics core.

This is one of the reasons that first and only 45W quad core desktop part branded as Core i5 3570T will stay at 2.3GHz base clock and 3.3GHz with the help of turbo. We call it unimpressive as Core i5 3570T is supposed to replace 32nm Sandy Bridge based Core i5 2500T that has the same 45W TDP, the same 2.3GHz core clock and 3.3GHz with the help of turbo.

Clocked the same as 32nm predecessor

The point of going for three gate transistors and 22nm is to take the TDPs down, but you have to remember that in spite of smaller transistors and general consumption Ivy Bridge has a much more powerful graphics core.

This is one of the reasons that first and only 45W quad core desktop part branded as Core i5 3570T will stay at 2.3GHz base clock and 3.3GHz with the help of turbo. We call it unimpressive as Core i5 3570T is supposed to replace 32nm Sandy Bridge based Core i5 2500T that has the same 45W TDP, the same 2.3GHz core clock and 3.3GHz with the help of turbo.

We don’t see the innovation at least with this part. The only big difference is that Core i5 3570T has HD 2500 graphics that works at 650/1150MHz compared to 650 / 1100MHz HD 2000 at Core i5 2500T and we believe that graphics core is responsible for limiting this 45W TDP quad core at the same clock as predecessor.

It is impressive to see any quad core with graphics core at 45W especially as just a five and a half years ago, November 2006 to be precise, Kentsfield 65nm based quad core without graphics was stuck at 95W to 130W TDP.

Source: fudzilla.com

Ivy Bridge CPU Torndown, Photographed, Tri-Gates Revealed

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:46:00 +0000

The company deconstructed the chip and performed a structural analysis that is planned to be released in two parts on May 4 and May 18. Some images have been released by EETimes, which is also part of UBM.

According to TechInsights, the 3.3 GHz Core i5-3550 was packaged in Malaysia and has a die size of 170 mm2, which is down from 208 mm2 for a comparable Sandy Bridge processor. The company analyzed the processor using electron microscopy as well as "x-ray techniques" and spreading resistance profiling and said it discovered 90 nm gate pitches in the embedded SRAM, but also 22 nm gate lengths in the logic areas.

Core i3 Ivy Bridge desktop in Q3 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:43:00 +0000

We have already mentioned that Intel doesn’t plan to call any of its mobile Ivy Bridge processors Core i3 but the name stays for desktop parts, at least not now.

In the desktop space, Core i7 3000 chips are quad cores, with turbo overclocking and eight treads, Core i5 3000 are also quad-cores with turbo overclocking and four threads, while Core i3 parts have no turbo and are dual-cores.

The fastest Ivy Bridge Socket 1155 22nm Core i3 part is 3440, a 3.4GHz dual core with four threads, 3MB cache and DDR3 1600 support. As we said there is no turbo overclocking support but the HD 2500 graphics are clocked at 650MHz to 1050 MHz. All of Core i3 3000 series are 55W parts.

Three SKUs, all 55W

We have already mentioned that Intel doesn’t plan to call any of its mobile Ivy Bridge processors Core i3 but the name stays for desktop parts, at least not now.

In the desktop space, Core i7 3000 chips are quad cores, with turbo overclocking and eight treads, Core i5 3000 are also quad-cores with turbo overclocking and four threads, while Core i3 parts have no turbo and are dual-cores.

The fastest Ivy Bridge Socket 1155 22nm Core i3 part is 3440, a 3.4GHz dual core with four threads, 3MB cache and DDR3 1600 support. As we said there is no turbo overclocking support but the HD 2500 graphics are clocked at 650MHz to 1050 MHz. All of Core i3 3000 series are 55W parts.

The runner up is Core i3 3225 a 3.3GHz clock and HD 4000 graphics while the rest of the spec is the same, 3MB cache, 55W, same TDP same graphics clocks. The slowest Core i3 3220 is the same as Core i3 3225 but it comes with HD 2500 inferior graphics. You know the story from mobile world, the quad core gets out first in late April, roughly next week while the dual cores will start ramping in late May early June.

You can expect these Core i3 3000 to start showing for back to school so any day after beginning of July is an option.

Source: fudzilla.com

Intel 22nm Core i7 3770K reaches 6.6 GHz

noreply@blogger.com (Jun) — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 01:42:00 +0000

Back in February, the folks at 3DCenter managed to break a 100-percent overclock on Intel's 22nm Core i7-3770K, the company's flagship quad-core Ivy Bridge desktop processor with 128 KB of L1 cache (4x32 KB), 1 MB of L2 cache (4x256 KB) and 8 MB of L3 cache. The processor operates at a stock frequency 3.50 GHz, and as another source has just confirmed, the chip is more than capable of breaking a 100-percent overclock provided the right base clock multiplier values, core voltages, extreme cooling and dedicated overclocking patience and voltage timing precision.

SuperPi 1M in just 5.585s

Back in February, the folks at 3DCenter managed to break a 100-percent overclock on Intel's 22nm Core i7-3770K, the company's flagship quad-core Ivy Bridge desktop processor with 128 KB of L1 cache (4x32 KB), 1 MB of L2 cache (4x256 KB) and 8 MB of L3 cache. The processor operates at a stock frequency 3.50 GHz, and as another source has just confirmed, the chip is more than capable of breaking a 100-percent overclock provided the right base clock multiplier values, core voltages, extreme cooling and dedicated overclocking patience and voltage timing precision.

On Tuesday, ultra high-performance overclocking enthusiast x-powerx800pro wanted to prove to the world that Intel's Core i7 3770K can reach 6.6 GHz using a base clock multiplier of 63x and a clock speed of 6584.86 MHz (104.52 x 63). Nevertheless, the raw compute performance resulting from such a massive overclock results in a SuperPi 1M calculation in just 5.585s, breaking HiCookie's August 24th world record of 5.781s on Intel's 32nm Core i7 Extreme 980X. Of course, the chip being used is an Intel Engineering Sample, possibly from a great cherry-picked batch at that, but the results have nevertheless been validated in CPU-Z 1.60.

As a precaution, Expreview's page incorrectly identifies the chip as a 32nm processor, when it is in fact a 22nm Ivy Bridge engineering sample chip. However, more images of the achievement can be found here

Source: fudzilla.com