Items tagged with Haswell
Attempts to mitigate CPU flaws affecting practically every processor released in the past two decades has not been easy. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' solution to this mess, and some of early attempts to patch CPUs against Spectre and Meltdown only caused more problems, like random reboots. Well, good news if you an own an older processor—Intel has released another batch of stable microcode updates, this time for Haswell and Broadwell CPUs. The new microcode updates replace some of the ones Intel briefly doled out in January. Intel ended up pulling those initial patches after customers complained of random reboot issues. To Intel's credit, the company responded quickly and identified...
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The PC industry is still trying to come to grips with the fallout from the revelation of the Meltdown and Spectre chip vulnerabilities. Meltdown only affects Intel processors, while Spectre -- the more serious exploit -- affects processors from Intel, AMD, and ARM. Hardware OEMs and OS manufactures have banded together to release patches to help mitigate the effects of any attacks based on Meltdown or Spectre, although some of those patches have been disastrous. For its part, Microsoft is addressing some of the performance ramifications for installing patches to mitigate the Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities. Windows Chief Terry Myerson describes three exploits (two for Spectre, one for Meltdown)...
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There is a reported flaw present in processors based on Intel's Haswell microarchitecture that could allow attackers to effectively sidestep security roadblocks and install malware onto systems, security researchers warn. The method works on most operating systems, including Windows 10, and unless a fix is issued it could lead to more prominent and potent malware attacks. The researchers who discovered the flaw developed a bypass for Intel's Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) technology present on Haswell processors and demonstrated the technique at the IEEE/ACM International Symposium on Microarchitecture in Taipei, Taiwan, this week.Image Source: Flickr (Jaroslaw Kulik) ASLR is a built-in...
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Dell’s Alienware gaming team impressed us with its Area 51 desktop earlier this year and we’ve been impatiently awaiting the 2015 version of the Alienware 15 mobile gamer ever since. The laptop is finally here, and there’s a twist: Instead of sending a money-is-no-object configuration (like it did with the Area 51), the company sent us a more budget-friendly Alienware 15 – assuming, that is, that your budget is in the $1,500 range.At $1,499.99, the Alienware 15 we checked out is in the middle of the price range for Dell’s 15-inch Alienware gamer laptop series. Gamers with tighter budgets can pick up an less powerful Alienware 15 for $1,199.99; the high end starts at $2,399.99. With the exception...
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Lenovo's Thinkpad 540 is a beast, but you didn't need us to tell you that. This professional-caliber laptop is probably more powerful than your average desktop PC. And if its price doesn't tip you off to the fact that this laptop is sporting some serious hardware—$1,600 for Lenovo's "ready to ship" iteration of the laptop; starting at $1,400 for the customize-it-yourself iteration—then the system's spec sheet will surely give it away. When loaded up with the high-end hardware inside our the system, the Thinkpad 540 inches past $2,500, easily.Yet, for all of this laptop's internal goodness, which includes a speedy Haswell processor and an eye-opening discrete...
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Buried in the details of Microsoft's technical preview for Windows 10 (look for our own discussion in short order), is a bit of a footnote concerning the operating system's requirements. I say footnote because this news -- that Windows 10 will have exactly the same requirements as Windows 8.1, which had the same requirements as Windows 8, which stuck to Windows 7, which was the same as Windows Vista -- is something we take for granted these days. As the years roll by, I can't help wondering what we're actually giving up in exchange for holding the minimum system spec at a single-core 1GHz, 32-bit chip with just 1GB of RAM. Back when Windows Vista was in development, those specifications made...
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If there's a company that knows how to build a pint sized PC, it's Zotac, makers of a about a million different ZBOX models (we rounded up a bit). Zotac's newest creation is the ZBOX Nano XS. It's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, yet packs an Intel Core i3 4030U dual-core processor based on Haswell inside. That's not all. There are two DDR3L-1600 SO-DIMM slots that support up to 16GB of RAM, an mSATA port, HDMI and mini-DisplayPort output options, 3-in-1 memory card reader, GbE LAN, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, two USB 2.0 ports (front), two USB 3.0 ports (back), 3.5mm input and outputs, and Intel HD Graphics 4400. "Zotac is a pioneer when it comes to packing as much performance...
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Earlier this year we detailed the launch of new 15-core Ivy Bridge-based server processors from Intel, as part of the Xeon E7 refresh cycle. Today, Intel is pushing the Xeon E5 family forward -- except in this case, the new Xeon E5 v3 chips are leaping to higher core counts, the more advanced Haswell-EP architecture, and DDR4. The result? The highest-performing Intel server we've seen to date. Collectively, this is a huge leap forward for the entire Xeon E5 series. The Xeon E5 V2 chips, which were based on Ivy Bridge, topped out at 12 cores per socket. The new Xeon E5 v3 cores, in contrast, are going to push as high as 18 cores per socket -- a 50% improvement... Intel 18-Core Haswell-EP Xeon...
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Earlier this year we detailed the launch of new 15-core Ivy Bridge-based server processors from Intel, as part of the Xeon E7 refresh cycle. Today, Intel is pushing the Xeon E5 family forward -- except in this case, the new Xeon E5 v3 chips are leaping to higher core counts, the more advanced Haswell-EP architecture, and DDR4. The result? The highest-performing Intel server we've seen to date. First, the chips and platform: Collectively, this is a huge leap forward for the entire Xeon E5 series. The Xeon E5 v2 chips, which were based on Ivy Bridge, topped out at 12 cores per socket. The new Xeon E5 v3 cores, in contrast, are going to push as high as 18 cores per socket -- a 50% improvement. The...
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Intel's next-generation Broadwell Y (now known as the Core M processor) is set to ship on schedule for the end of the year. The company, occasionally flagged with criticism of its repeated delays and with its IDF show ramping up next week, is sharing more detail on the upcoming hardware, features and performance characteristics of its new 14nm mobile platform. We've previously offered up a 14nm deep-dive on how Broadwell Y came to be from a design, process and manufacturing standpoint. Today, we'll look more closely at how the new Core M processor's feature list, how it will be productized and some high level performance expectations as well. The Core M is a dual-core processor with...
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Intel's next-generation Broadwell Y (now known as the Core M processor) is set to ship on schedule for the end of the year. The company, occasionally flagged with criticism of its repeated delays and with its IDF show ramping up next week, is sharing more detail on the upcoming hardware, features and performance characteristics of its new 14nm mobile platform. We've previously offered up a 14nm deep-dive on how Broadwell Y came to be from a design, process and manufacturing standpoint. Today, we'll look more closely at how the new Core M processor's feature list, how it will be productized and some high level performance expectations as well... Intel Core M Broadwell Speeds, Feeds And Performance...
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Intel's attempt to flip the script on integrated graphics began when the chip maker introduced its Iris (HD Graphics 5100) and Iris Pro (HD Graphics 5200) GPUs infused on certain 4th Generation Core (read: Haswell) processors. We've seen some promising results out of these parts, and with a major driver update now available, Intel says you can expect "stunning performance improvements." According to Intel, the driver update gives Iris and Iris Pro a significant boost in gaming performance with Intel's anti-aliasing feature CMAA (Conservative Morphological Anti-Aliasing) while at the same time boosting battery life through newer power conservation techniques like Adaptive Rendering Control. Intel's...
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Here's hoping you didn't burn through all of your upgrade cash last month, as Gigabyte has a new series of motherboards that any Intel-centric gamer is going to want. The company's new X99 Series Mobos support Intel's latest Core i7 Extreme Edition (LGA 2011-v3 socket) processors as well as DDR4 memory. The company says that these boards use an all-digital CPU power design from International Rectifier, which includes both digital 4th Generation digital PWM Controller and industry-leading 3rd Generation PowIRstage controllers. Moreover, there's a unique PCI Express design that utilizes 100% of all 40 lanes from the CPU when in a 4-Way or 3-Way graphics configuration. Standard designs limit all...
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We have been eagerly anticipating the release of processors based on Intel’s Haswell-E microarchitecture for quite some time. After about three years of incremental performance improvements at the ultra-high end, as Sandy Bridge-E was eventually replaced by similarly clocked Ivy Bridge-E based processors, the rumored specs of Haswell-E were enticing. Unlike Sandy Bridge-E and Ivy Bridge-E, which maxed out at 6 cores (12 threads) with desktops variants, Haswell-E would be an 8-core machine (16 threads), featuring execution units based on Intel’s latest microarchitecture. Assuming similar clocks, the speculation was that the additional cores and newer microarchitecture would translate...
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