Processor Technology Reviews, Analysis And News
Processors come in many types for different applications. However, when it comes to computing, whether mobile, on the desktop or in the Internet of Things, these chips are widely known as the "brains" of the operation. Here you'll find Hot Hardware reviews and news on products from the biggest names in PC and mobile processors from Intel and AMD, to Qualcomm, ARM and more.
Though we're running the risk of sounding a bit platitudinal, this is definitely the IDF moment we're sure many of you have been waiting for. We've reported to you on Intel's various technology announcements and architectural initiatives over the past few days. And, from what we...
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It is fairly safe to say that Intel has far and away been the dominant player in the mobile processor market for what seems like forever. Though AMD's Turion 64 is a solid alternative to Intel solutions, clearly AMD's market share of 13% or so is an obvious sign that the company just hasn't been able to penetrate...
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Energy efficiency and power consumption are major concerns for modern computing architectures, whether you're an Enthusiast, an IT Manager in a Data Center, or simply an ecologically minded individual. Let's face it, the modern high end computer is like a small space heater for all intents and purposes, and where there's...
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Rumors have been circulating for weeks, but yesterday the two companies involved made it official. AMD and ATI announced that the two companies planned to merge in a deal worth approximately $5.4 billion dollars. The quote below from the initial press release reveals some of the combined entity's vision of...
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For the past few years, Intel's desktop processors have been playing second fiddle to AMD's Athlon 64 in a number of ways. Both single and dual-core variants of the Athlon 64 have been at the top of most benchmark charts essentially since their introduction, and AMD's processors have been more energy...
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Earlier this month we gave you a taste of what AMD has to offer in their next generation AM2 platform launch for the Athlon 64. While AMD's new DDR2-based platform seems to offer smallish incremental performance gains, and increased memory bandwidth, it is widely agreed that it is high-time that Intel responds to AMD's consistent...
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Market share is the name of the game in the Computing industry and AMD has been slowly chipping away at Intel's market share over the past few years, with the release of faster Desktop processor cores with significantly better performance per watt, clock-cycle and dollar. AMD's performance advantage also...
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Asus has been more cautious compared to most motherboard makers when it comes to using Intel's mobile processors in a desktop environment. In late 2004, when the first Pentium-M desktop motherboards started hitting the market, Asus took a back seat and did not put out a product for this rapidly expanding market, whereas smaller motherboard...
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About three months ago, we took a look at the Pentium Extreme Edition 955, which was Intel's first Extreme Edition processor built using the company's then brand-new 65nm manufacturing process. Each of the 955XE chip's two cores hummed along at a lofty 3.46GHz, and we found its performance to be quite good when compared to Intel's previous...
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Fresh from the show floor of Intel's March 2006 Developer's Conference, and after spending some time behind closed doors with Intel, we have a sneak peek at Conroe performance for you today. The following is a run down of benchmark numbers we recorded with hands-on testing of an early 2.66GHz Conroe-based dual-core system, versus...
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Intel's launch of their next generation Pentium Extreme Edition 955 dual-core processor last month, marked a solid improvement in overall performance for what is to be the last core iteration utilizing the Pentium 4 Netburst architecture. While this Intel dual-core kicker, essentially beefing up a pair or Prescott dies in a single...
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Intel has been relatively quiet over the last eight months or so, since the initial release of the dual-core Pentium Extreme Edition 840 processor back in early April of this year. The company has released an entire line of dual-core 'Pentium D' processors since then, and have also introduced a number of new core...
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About a month after Intel officially unveiled their flagship Pentium Extreme Edition 840 processor, the crown jewel of their initial dual-core Pentium D processor line-up, AMD revealed their inaugural assortment of dual-core Athlon 64 X2 processors, which included the current flagship Athlon 64 X2 4800+. After assessing the Athlon 64 X2 4800+...
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For years, AMD has been a growing thorn in Intel's side. Early on, AMD had a much smaller market share than the elder silicon giant, but as the years progressed, AMD's foothold grew. By continually introducing new products that compete directly with Intel's product line, AMD has grown to be a formidable foe for the incumbent chip...
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AMD's Athlon 64 X2 series Dual Core launch back in May, along with Intel's Pentium 840 launch in April, underscored an industry-wide move toward a completely new Desktop Processor architecture, one that affects virtually all facets of Personal Computing from code-base, applications and software, to the platforms and technology that support...
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In recent months, the race between the two major industry playersto bring dual-core processing to the masses has heated up. On April 4th, Intel delivered its first dual-core Pentium offering in the form of the Intel Pentium Extreme Edition 840. AMD was soon to follow, on May 9th, releasing its dual-core Athlon 64 X2 4800+. ...
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Though clock speed is no longer a true measure of processor performance, it's hard to argue with a few hundred more MHz no matter which CPU architecture you'd consider. Regardless, it's clear the industry as a whole, as well as the world's largest chip manufacturer, Intel, has now embarked on an effort to provide more computing...
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The personal computer industry is about to undergo a major metamorphosis, due in large part to the recent efforts of Intel and AMD. For the last few decades, mainstream desktop processor manufacturers have focused on increasing the performance of their CPUs by raising their clock speeds, augmenting the base architectures with specialized instruction...
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Although desktop dual-core processors from AMD are on the horizon, engineers there are still hard at work refining their single-core processor designs. The latest revision to the Athlon 64 core, internally code named "Venice", recently made it way onto the mass market, carrying a "Rev. E" moniker. With the...
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In July of 2004, AMD released their latest economy class processors in the form of the Sempron line. The initial release was predominantly Socket A-centric, with only one Socket 754 solution being offered. Since that day, the Socket A Sempron family has grown to incorporate 7 flavors, yet the socket 754 Sempron line only recently...
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Today, we're bringing you a Dual-Core Pentium quick take, on short notice from the folks at Intel. With only a few hours of testing at our disposal, we're attempting to make time with some level of meaningful analysis for you and hit Intel's NDA embargo lift time this morning. Would we have liked to spend more quality lab time on such...
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It's no secret that Intel has occassionally been playing a bit of catchup this year in the desktop and workstation processor arena. AMD's Athlon 64 releases have recently positioned the company in the lead from a general performance standpoint. Additionally, the Athlon 64 was the first processor to...
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