Items tagged with socket
Great news for those waiting for the tried-and-true USB connector to follow the path of Apple's thinner, smaller lightning connector... at least in terms of overall size. While mini-USB and micro-USB are certainly tiny by most definitions, they're still a little chunky when seen on some of the world's slimmest phones and tablets. In order to keep progress marching on, the USB 3.0 Promoter Group has announced that a next-generation plug is in development. The USB Type-C connector will be compatible with USB 3.x and 2.x technologies, but the most important part is this: it'll be both smaller than the existing plug, plus it'll be reversible. The reversible bit is probably Lightning's biggest improvement,...
Read more...
One of the major points of AMD's conference call (we apologize for missing it) was news that the company's Llano processor—a hybrid GPU/CPU product meant to clock in over 3GHz in dual-core and quad-core configurations—has been pushed back into the first half of 2011. Company CEO Dirk Meyer delivered the news on Thursday, even as he highlighted the company's positive quarter and improving revenue streams. The news isn't all bad. Even as he informed the press that Llano could ship as much as six months behind schedule, Meyer made a point of noting that the company's next-generation Ontario processor will ship for revenue beginning in Q4 of 2010. Up until now, Ontario wasn't expected...
Read more...
Loyd Case's latest Case In Point column, titled "Navigating The Upgrade Minefield", is live. Here's a snip from the piece... "Whenever I build a system, I always build it with one eye towards the future. I like to think that I’ll upgrade the system over time. Maybe I’ll swap in a new CPU, maybe a new graphics card, upgrade the RAM, etc. But these days, it’s not so easy. I can’t remember a time when the upgrade picture has been so confusing. Just think of the situation as it exists today..." Case In Point: Navigating The Upgrade Minefield...
Read more...
Whenever I build a system, I always build it with one eye towards the future. I like to think that I’ll upgrade the system over time. Maybe I’ll swap in a new CPU, maybe a new graphics card, upgrade the RAM, etc. But these days, it’s not so easy.I can’t remember a time when the upgrade picture has been so confusing. Just think of the situation as it exists today: Intel has three different CPU sockets for desktop systems: LGA775, LGA1156, LGA1366. AMD has a single socket strategy, but the older sockets are still prevalent. You can use newer CPUs in older AM2+ sockets, but you lose some power management features. AMD has DirectX 11 graphics cards. Nvidia doesn’t. Windows...
Read more...
There has been a lot of confusion recently concerning upcoming AMD sockets dubbed AM2+ and AM3. Since AMD hasn’t released anything official, all we really have to go on is speculation.Current speculation has yet to settle on exactly which CPUs will fit into which sockets, with some people/sites claiming any AMx CPU will work in any AM series socket and with other people/sites saying the exact opposite: AM2+ only in AM2+, AM2 only in AM2 and so on. There are also many varying rumors in the middle.Here’s the latest speculation about socket compatibility: “According to our sources, AMD has understood the error of its ways and future processor sockets will be interoperable, at least in the upgrade...
Read more...
It was at this year's Consumer Electronics Show that we were first exposed to an Intel demo machine dubbed the ' V8' . Intel wouldn't label the machine as a direct response to the QuadFX platform by AMD, but they did want to stress the point that enthusiasts could have a dual-socket, eight-core Intel powered machine today if they went with a workstation platform. At the heart of the 'V8' machine were two quad-core Xeon processors, a dual-socket S5000XVN motherboard powered by the Intel 5000X-series chipset, and 4GB of RAM. No doubt a powerful system. But there was only so much Intel could convey in a 'quick and dirty' demo. To assess the true power and capabilities of...
Read more...
The rumors of an AMD based Apple PC have been going around since at least the time of the original Athlon launch, and possibly even earlier. To date that is all they are, rumors. However, with ATI being a long-time Apple supplier, and now part of AMD, anything is possible. Do keep in mind while you're reading this, that Apple has often used rumors of switching CPU to negotiate better prices with existing vendors. Isn't it about time for bulk orders of Santa Rosa? "The tale runs that Apple wants to have a second source for its CPUs, and use a company that will build "platforms" for all. Even humble Nvidia is hot in the running for making...
Read more...
The phrase 'next-generation' seems to be in the news daily as of late and today is no exception as NVIDIA announces its upcoming new chipset for AMD's socket AM2, and AM2+. The new chipset named MCP72 is planned to be the successor of the nForce 500 line as well as AMD's MCP68. The MCP72 will be jam packed full of new features such as HypterTransport 3.0 capabilities and PCIe 2.0 support. This will be NVIDIA's first HyperTransport 3.0, or HT3, compatible chipset and a successor to the current nForce 500-series MCP and the upcoming AMD MCP68 chipsets. MCP72 will support AMD's socket AM2 and HT3 enabled AM2+. Socket AM2+ will house AMD's upcoming Athlon 64 Agena and Opteron Budapest quad-core...
Read more...
If you don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to spend updating your new rig with one of AMD's socket AM2 CPUs, Thermalright is doing its best to keep your old AMD K8 CPUs running cool with their Thermalright SLK-948U until upgrading your processor isn't life threatening to you're wallet. "The Thermalright SLK-948U is an oldie but a goodie. This 635 gram chunk of copper is still a relevant heatsink however, resembling something akin to a metallic Toblerone with copper fins. It's this design which keeps the SLK-948U alive and kicking, and as you'll see in a moment more than capable for any K8 processor. The heatsink ships in a very plain cardboard box with a small...
Read more...
Industry sources have informed DigiTimes that AMD will be delaying the launch of the company's AM3 processors until mid 2008. With the first quad-core K8L processors slated to launch in the third quarter of 2007, the change to mid 2008 is a rather significant delay. To avoid the situation where Intel is the only quad-core processor on the market for the period of time until AM3 is ready, AMD will introduce a new AM2+ socket. This variant of the current AM2 socket will differ mainly in the support of HyperTransport 3.0 standard versus the current use of the HyperTransport 1.0 specification. Shipments of this new socket should begin in the third quarter of 2007....
Read more...
AMD ANNOUNCES SOCKET COMPATIBILITY PLANS TO DRIVE INDUSTRY COLLABORATION Sunnyvale, Calif. - Sept. 21, 2006 - AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced that its Torrenza Initiative is serving as a collaborative force toward achieving future processor socket compatibility in the server industry. By leveraging the advantages of AMD64 with Direct Connect Architecture and HyperTransport(tm) technology, OEMs will be able to standardize on a Torrenza Innovation Socket for many of their current and future server platforms. This game-changing approach to server design will enable OEMs to consolidate server offerings for multiple processors to potentially a single platform, reducing datacenter disruption...
Read more...
AS PCstats.com reports, $75 can certainly buy a decent Socket AM2 motherboard. Though Nvidia's nForce 590 SLI has more features, VIA's K8T890 is able to keep up performance wise, which makes it a viable gaming solution. "In this review of the ASrock AM2V890-VSTA motherboard we'll be looking at how the VIA K8T890 handles itself around the socket AM2 Athlon64 FX-62 processor. The ASRock AM2V890-VSTA Socket AM2 motherboard is the first motherboard to cross PCSTATS' test bench based on the VIA K8T890 chipset. This compact ATX motherboard has four 240 pin DDR2 memory slots which accommodate up to 8GB of DDR-2 memory. The AM2V890-VSTA...
Read more...
By now you all know that Intel's Core 2 Duo "Conroe" processors are on the horizon, and that they've been performing very well. According to The Inquirer AMD has incorporated some new technology in their AM2 platform that will give them a big boost in performance in some circumstances. "THE LAUNCH OF Intel Conroe is scheduled to go on July 23rd, when partners will start rolling out the new products. The NDA for reviews is scheduled to expire around July 28th. However, AMD has a counter-attack weapon hidden in its Socket AM2 infrastructure. It seems that all AM2 CPUs were outfitted with a support for Reverse-HyperThreading,...
Read more...
Motherboards featuring AMD's new Socket AM2 are starting to pop up, and Hardware Zone has one from ECS on hand. The ECS KA3 MVP uses ATI's Xpress 3200 chipset, is CrossFire ready of course, and unfortunately seems to have a few issues with it. "The successor to ECS' excellent KA1 MVP is here. Sporting ATI's top CrossFire chipset, the KA3 MVP not only arrives for the Socket AM2, but features the new SB600 Southbridge in a killer combo. ECS as usual plays their price card, but the KA3 MVP has its fair share of issues too." ...
Read more...
Hardware Zone gives 4 out of 5 stars to Shuttle's new SFF PC. The Shuttle XPC SN27P2 uses AMD's new Socket AM2, and puts up some good benchmark numbers, though it's not much of an overclocker. "Officially launched at Computex recently, the Shuttle XPC SN27P2 is one of the first, if not the only SFF for AM2 in the market now. Besides supporting the new platform, the chassis has also undergone a minor facelift and some internal modifications. Read on as we assess if the world's leading SFF manufacturer still has the mojo." ...
Read more...
The folks over at X-Bit labs have put the microscope to Nvidia and ATI's new chipset technology. Though ATI has made some steady improvements with their chipset, X-Bit labs finds Nvidia's nForce 590 SLI the more attractive solution at the moment, especially since boards using the chipset are currently available. "The contemporary chipset market has become very much different from what we remember. There are much fewer active players left, and those who are still there offer their solution without any real alternatives to consider. Take for instance, Athlon 64 platform. Thanks to the implementation of integrated memory controller in these AMD processors, the role of chipsets in today's...
Read more...
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 has allowed the company to further expand market share in the Enterprise Server arena, as was recently ear-marked by Dell's announcement of an Opteron-based product line during their recent earnings call. Not to mention Sun's successes in the same market space with their Opteron-based Workstations and Servers. AMD has seemingly pulled off the impossible and has...
Read more...
The title speaks volumes and it's a lengthy one indeed. AMD's new DDR2 infused platform is here, in concert with new chipset offerings from NVIDIA and ATI. Swing on by for a look... And Digg on it here please to spread the word to others. ...
Read more...
If you just can't seem to quench your thirst for more info on AMD's Socket AM2, Phoronix has another article of interest. Click here to get in the know on chipset support, motherboard offerings, and linux compatibility. "When it comes to the whole server and workstation topic of Socket AM2 support, NVIDIA is currently working on a replacement for its nForce Professional 2050/2200 Chipset. This new NVIDIA nForce PRO 3000 core-logic is still under NDA with its vendors. We would anticipate that the new NVIDIA nForce Professional Chipsets would arrive in July to coincide with the AMD LGA-1207 DDR2 Socket F launch, while the PRO Chipsets...
Read more...
DigiTimes reports that motherboard vendors have confirmed a May 17 launch date for AMD's Turion64 X2 and Socket AM2 products. This is in contrast to previous reports where AMD would be delaying the launch due to a lack of sufficient volume. With a number of new mobile designs wins for AMD and their Turion64 processor, it will be interesting to see how many more will use this upcoming dual-core version. Certainly, the new SLI notebooks from Alienware which feature the Turion64 would be blistering fast with one of AMD's latest and greatest CPU's under the head. AMD will launch the Turion 64 X2 mobile platform on...
Read more...
The Inquirer reports this morning that AMD has decided to keep the same clock frequencies for both Socket 939 and Socket AM2 variants of the same cores. The Socket AM2 platform will be introduced with a new Athlon 64 FX-62 as the flagship part. Armed with a new memory controller to support DDR-II and a healthy additional 200MHz compared with the FX-60, we should be seeing some strong performance numbers from the boys in green. With a launch date not far from now, we will soon be able to see first hand how how smooth AMD's transition to the new socket will be and how prepared they are for Intel's new Core 2 architecture. The Socket AM2 offerings come from top to bottom, starting...
Read more...
Anand has just posted a performance preview of AMD's upcoming Socket AM2 platform for your viewing pleasure. Beyond the obvious physical socket change, AMD is making the move away from DDR and switching over to DDR2 memory. Although AMD had an exceptionally efficient DDR memory controller in its architecture, there have been rumors of issues regarding DDR2's higher latencies that could inhibit the platform's performance. With Intel's Conroe architecture coming in the near future, AMD fans are hoping for a miracle before the planned architecture update in 2007. Why would you move to Socket-AM2? If you're well invested...
Read more...
