If you're shopping a new system, the launch of Intel's Ivy Bridge platform can't come soon enough. In anticipation of the launch, Hewlett-Packard is getting its ducks in a row, which includes quietly revealing three new notebooks built around Intel's upcoming platform, as well as a fourth sporting Sandy Bridge hardware inside. The first is...Read more...
A few of you might already be familiar with AMD's A4-3420 Accelerated Processing Unit (APU), a part that OEMs have had access to for several months now. According to reports, AMD plans to make the chip available to retail sometime in the second quarter, giving budget buyers another compelling low cost Llano chip to choose from. In case you...Read more...
Intel dominates on the desktop, but in mobile spaces like tablets and smartphones, ARM flexes the most muscle, at least in terms of market share penetration. It's no secret Intel wants to make a big push into mobile, a point the chip maker's new Chief Operating Officer, Brian Krzanich, made abundantly clear in recent comments. "We will start...Read more...
The world's most energy-efficient processor from ARM? Yep, it's here, and it's the Cortex-M0+, aimed at low-cost MCU, sensor and control markets but destined to shake up way more than that. The company is calling it the "world's most energy-efficient microprocessor." In other words, it has been optimized to deliver...Read more...
The latest round of leaked slides suggest that come hell or high water, Intel will release its Ivy Bridge platform at the end of April. That's a little over a month and a half from now, or just a little further than right around the corner depending on how you want to look at it, but if you're feeling particularly...Read more...
We've been looking forward to Windows 8's Consumer Preview for months. This, after all, is Microsoft's big chance to show what they've been working on and unveiling bit by bit for the past year; a chance to evaluate the sum total of changes and advancements baked into the next-generation operating system. We'll discuss some of the features...Read more...
We've been looking forward to Windows 8's Consumer Preview for months. This, after all, is Microsoft's big chance to show what they've been working on and unveiling bit by bit for the past year; a chance to evaluate the sum total of changes and advancements baked into the next-generation operating system. We'll discuss some of the features...Read more...
To celebrate its third anniversary as a chip manufacturing foundry, Globalfoundries over the weekend announced an agreement with Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) to buy out all remaining shares to achieve full independence. Under the amended agreement, AMD will continue to be one of Globalfoundries' "primary and strategic...Read more...
There's been a lot of talk about Intel's Ivy Bridge platform lately, and specifically whether or not the Santa Clara chip maker's new CPUs are being delayed until summer. Conflicting reports abound, but one thing we do know is that Ivy Bridge is right around the corner. Thanks to a leaked slide that's made its way to the Web, we're also privy...Read more...
Looks like the Ivy Bridge won't be completed as early as construction workers thought. DOT jokes aside, Intel's next-gen microprocessor range will reportedly be pushed back "eight to ten weeks later than planned," according to Sean Maloney, executive vice-president of Intel and chairman of Intel China. The news comes courtesy of the Financial...Read more...
Intel launched its Medfield platform only six weeks ago, but the company is moving ahead with plans for additional processors based on the 32nm SoC. At Mobile World Congress today, Santa Clara announced plans for two additional system on a chip (SoC) designs to flesh out its product roadmap. The current Z2460 that we covered in January will...Read more...
Intel launched its Medfield platform only six weeks ago, but the company is moving ahead with plans for additional processors based on the 32nm SoC. At Mobile World Congress today, Santa Clara announced plans for two additional system on a chip (SoC) designs to flesh out its product roadmap. The current Z2460 that we covered in January...Read more...
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) plans to use resonant clock mesh technology developed by Cyclos Semiconductor to push its Piledriver processor line to 4GHz and beyond, the company announced at the International Solid State Circuits Conferences (ISSCC) in San Francisco. Cyclos is the only supplier of resonant clock mesh...Read more...
Small chips can mean big things, you know? VIA's one of the kings of small chips, and the company is this week introducing their COMe-8X90 module, featuring a 1.2GHz VIA Nano X2 E-Series dual core processor and the VIA VX900H media system processor (MSP). The ruggedized VIA COMe-8X90 module targets industrial PC and...Read more...
The hard drive shortage, Oracle's assault on Itanium, and highly competitive scenarios in its ink-and-printer business combined to kneecap HP's earnings this last quarter. The company's net revenue fell seven percent, to $30 billion, while overall margins dropped to just 6.8 percent -- a decline of 3.7 percentage points. The steep decline...Read more...
There's a rumor going around that Intel's initial Ivy Bridge launch will end up stunted by small volume shipments in early April, with mass shipments being delayed until sometime after June. News of the delay was reported by DigiTimes last week after it claimed to have heard from sources in the notebook industry that Intel made the decision...Read more...
Intel's presentations at the International Solid State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) this year are focused on one of the biggest problems facing modern CPU designers—how to improve power efficiency without sacrificing compute performance. Intel isn't just tackling this problem through conventional process shrinks and smaller dies, however;...Read more...
We've heard rumors that AMD will release CPUs based on its Piledriver architecture sometime in the third quarter of this year, around the same time Trinity makes its debut, but before that happens, it looks as though the Sunnyvale chip maker will flesh out its Bulldozer line. Word on the Web is that AMD is getting...Read more...
It's been a long time since we saw much innovation in thermal interface materials. Back ten years ago, when OEMs tended to use pads made from camel hair, companies like Arctic Silver burst on the scene with compounds that offered significantly improved performance compared to stock solutions. As CPU TDPs increased and...Read more...
AMD has confirmed that Eric Demers, AMD's graphics Chief Technology Officer and head of the graphics business unit, has left the company to "pursue other opportunities." His job will be taken over by Mark Papermaster until a replacement is found. AMD notes in a prepared statement that it "remains fully committed to our critical graphics IP...Read more...
AMD apparently isn't finished attaching its Athlon II moniker to Llano parts, as evidenced by a couple of new Athlon II X4 processors the chip maker quietly introduced this week. Specifically, AMD added the Athlon II X4 638 and 641 to its official product price list. Both of these are based on AMD's Llano architecture and ship without an integrated...Read more...
With all the recent discussions of future consoles from Sony and Microsoft, we've decided to tackle one of the most significant questions--should future consoles be upgradeable? Historically, console add-ons that boosted the performance of the primary unit haven't done well. Sega's Mega-CD and 32x additions to the original Genesis both failed;...Read more...