Sep 07

AMD ships 16-core Bulldozer chips for servers, makes consumers wait their turn

Posted in: AMD, Today's Chili

AMD’s Interlagos, its server-styled Bulldozer chip — Mr. Opteron 6200 to you and me — is being pushed out to retailers and OEMs ready for an October launch. AMD is calling it the first 16-core x86 processor, although as we know from the required reading, it has eight two-core shared modules rather than 16 independent ones. The chips are compatible with Socket G34 motherboards, but most of this first production run will go straight into supercomputer projects. AMD remains mute on progress of the consumer-level Zambezi, but rumors are that the company can’t clock it fast enough to compete with Intel’s Core i7 — the very class that Bulldozer was designed to bury.

[Thanks, Sebastian]

Continue reading AMD ships 16-core Bulldozer chips for servers, makes consumers wait their turn

AMD ships 16-core Bulldozer chips for servers, makes consumers wait their turn originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sep 06

Intel adds 16 CPUs to Sandy Bridge stable, slashes prices on some older silicon

Posted in: CoreI5, CoreI7, intel, processor, processors, sandy bridge, SandyBridge, Today's Chili

It’s been a few months since AMD threw down the gauntlet on Intel with its lower-priced Llano lineup, and now Chipzilla’s responded with some new bargain basement Sandy Bridge silicon. The refresh includes 11 new desktop CPUs: a Core i5 chip, three Core i3s, and a handful of dual-core Pentium and Celeron processors as well. There are also five new mobile chips, including three new quad-core Core i7s (2960XM, 2860QM, and 2760QM), and the dual-core Core i7-2640M and Celeron B840. In a separate nod to these tough economic times, Intel cut the prices on a few of its existing models, too. Granted, it’s only a six-percent discount at the most, but we’re sure you can put those dollars to good use elsewhere in your next DIY rig.

Intel adds 16 CPUs to Sandy Bridge stable, slashes prices on some older silicon originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 14:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink Tom’s Hardware  |  sourceIntel (PDF)  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 28

Acer Aspire 3951 photos leaked, new Ultrabooks to launch in September

Posted in: Ifa2011, intel, laptop, leak, MacbookAir, Today's Chili


We don’t mind eyeballing a few impossibly clean renders when we get wind of a new toy, but there’s nothing like the real McCoy. Today’s bones slipped out of a (now pulled) HDblog hands-on of the Acer Aspire 3951 Ultrabook, possibly leaked ahead of an IFA 2011 embargo. The genuine article looks nearly identical to its rendered counterpart, albeit a bit thicker and more plasticky. The unveiled 13.3-inch MacBook Air competitor reportedly sports a second generation Intel Core processor, boots from sleep in under two seconds, and is only 13mm thick. The price? While there is no official word on this exact model, Acer head-honcho JT Wang mentioned last week that the outfit was prepping to launch a new Ultrabook in September for about $800. Lines up nicely with the Acer 3951’s rumored $770-960 price range, doesn’t it?

Acer Aspire 3951 photos leaked, new Ultrabooks to launch in September originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 28 Aug 2011 19:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 22

Intel talks up next-gen Itanium: 32nm, 8-core Poulson

Posted in: intel, processor, processors, Today's Chili
Intel Itanium Poulson

It’s been a long time since Intel tried to tempt the world with a new Itanium chip. The VLIW 64-bit processor last received a serious update in 2008, with the 2-billion transistor Tukwila. Now Chipzilla is upping the ante — moving to 32nm process, adding up to four more cores, and tacking on more than one billion additional transistors. Poulson also adds a new feature called Intel Instruction Replay Technology, which adds a buffer for more quickly recovering from errors, allowing the chip to pick up from the last known good instruction instead of having to completely flush the pipeline. Those looking to upgrade will also be happy to hear that the upcoming IA-64 CPU is pin compatible with Tukwila, so customers can simply drop the new processor in to existing systems. Check out the full PR after the break.

Continue reading Intel talks up next-gen Itanium: 32nm, 8-core Poulson

Intel talks up next-gen Itanium: 32nm, 8-core Poulson originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 20:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 22

Cedar Trail may be delayed, new Atoms gone ’til November

Posted in: delay, intel, intel atom, IntelAtom, laptop, Laptops, netbook, netbooks, notebook, Notebooks, processor, processors, Today's Chili

Intel AtomIf you’ve been waiting to catch a whiff of some Cedar Trail freshness, looks like you’re just gonna hold your breath a little bit longer. DigiTimes is reporting that the next-gen Atom chip has been pushed back from its anticipated September launch to November. Apparently Chipzilla is having issues with the graphics drivers and has been unable to pass Windows 7 certification. The new low-power CPUs should still be ready in time for the holiday season though, and will likely find their way into plenty of netbooks that almost nobody will buy.

Cedar Trail may be delayed, new Atoms gone ’til November originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 03:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AnandTech  |  sourceDigiTimes  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 18

IBM’s cognitive computing chip functions like a human brain, heralds our demise (video)

Posted in: memory, power, processor, prototype, research, Today's Chili, video
After having created a supercomputer capable of hanging with Jeopardy’s finest, IBM has now taken another step toward human-like artificial intelligence, with an experimental chip designed to function like a real brain. Developed as part of a DARPA project called SyNAPSE (Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics), IBM’s so-called “neurosynaptic computing chip” features a silicon core capable of digitally replicating the brain’s neurons, synapses and axons. To achieve this, researchers took a dramatic departure from the conventional von Neumann computer architecture, which links internal memory and a processor with a single data channel. This structure allows for data to be transmitted at high, but limited rates, and isn’t especially power efficient — especially for more sophisticated, scaled-up systems. Instead, IBM integrated memory directly within its processors, wedding hardware with software in a design that more closely resembles the brain’s cognitive structure. This severely limits data transfer speeds, but allows the system to execute multiple processes in parallel (much like humans do), while minimizing power usage. IBM’s two prototypes have already demonstrated the ability to navigate, recognize patterns and classify objects, though the long-term goal is to create a smaller, low-power chip that can analyze more complex data and, yes, learn. Scurry past the break for some videos from IBM’s researchers, along with the full press release.

Continue reading IBM’s cognitive computing chip functions like a human brain, heralds our demise (video)

IBM’s cognitive computing chip functions like a human brain, heralds our demise (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 18 Aug 2011 10:06:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink VentureBeat  |  sourceIBM Research  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 15

Will Intel’s Core i7 Sandy Bridge E CPUs ship without fans or heatsinks?

Posted in: CoreI7, desktop, intel, processor, processors, rumor, rumors, sandy bridge, SandyBridge, speculation, Today's Chili

Over the past few months, we’ve peeked Intel’s roadmap more than once, but all told we’ve been treated to scant few details about its high-end desktop line, Sandy Bridge E (that’s “E” for enthusiasts). Today, though, VR-Zone is reporting that the next generation of these CPUs will ship without fans or heatsinks — a tacit acknowledgment, perhaps, that Intel’s home-brewed cooling system will be inadequate in the eyes of hobbyists anyway. We reached out to Intel for comment, and while the company stayed mum on the topic of cooling, it did go out of its way to clarify another point the folks at VR-Zone made in their report. The outlet had said that the forthcoming 3820, 3930K and 3960X CPUs will be rated at 130 watts, but will consume closer to 180W and draw up to 23 amps from the 12V2 supply rail — all without overclocking, mind you. An Intel rep writes: “TDP expectations for the 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor family for socket LGA-2011 are in line with previous generations of high end desktop products.” In other words, built-in cooling system or no, the TDP should be in line with what we’ve seen from other Extreme-branded processors. As for the cooling, it’s unclear when, exactly, we’ll get the full spill — the CPUs are rumored to launch before the end of the year, with the quad-core 3820 arriving after the six-core 3930K and 3960X.

Will Intel’s Core i7 Sandy Bridge E CPUs ship without fans or heatsinks? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:27:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink ExtremeTech  |  sourceVR-Zone  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 09

IBM and NCSA end their Blue Waters affair, go back to just being supercomputing friends

Posted in: processor, Today's Chili

It seems that IBM and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois have hit a snag in their once fruitful relationship. After nearly four years of partnering for the Blue Waters petascale supercomputer, the NCSA’s recently released a joint statement explaining that IBM’s “terminated” its involvement with the project. If you’ll recall, IBM was supplying its latest Power7 rigs to get all that data flowing, but the company’s now decided that Ol’ Blue will require more resources than initially anticipated. Apparently, there were talks to try and keep the spark alive, but since those fell through both have decided to return each others CDs and hoodies assets involved with the project (per contract terms): IBM gives back the money, while the NCSA returns any hardware supplied. The two plan on remaining in touch for future endeavours, and the NCSA doesn’t appear to be too down either as it’ll be consulting with the National Science Foundation to keep Blue Waters afloat. You’ll find the official statement in the source link below, but we’ve included a video rendition of how we’d like to imagine it past the break.

Continue reading IBM and NCSA end their Blue Waters affair, go back to just being supercomputing friends

IBM and NCSA end their Blue Waters affair, go back to just being supercomputing friends originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 12:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Aug 09

Acer’s Aspire 3951 leaks with MacBook Air-like specs, available in October?

Posted in: bluetooth, intel, laptop, leak, macbook, macbook air, MacbookAir, processor, rumor, SSD, Today's Chili
It looks like Acer may be dropping down to the lightweight laptop division, now that images of its so-called Aspire 3951 have leaked out of Vietnam. An ostensible rival to the recently refreshed MacBook Air, the 13.3-inch 3951 reportedly boasts a similarly slim design, measuring 13mm thick and weighing less than 1.4 kilograms (about three pounds). According to Sohoa, the aluminum-cased device is powered by a second generation Intel Core processor, features an optional 160GB SSD, and offers more than six hours of battery life, along with Bluetooth 4.0 support. Much like the Air, this Aspire can purportedly boot up pretty fast, as well, rousing from sleep mode in just 1.7 seconds. It’s rumored that Acer will release this new line in October within the curiously affordable price range between $770 and $960, but we’ll have to wait and see whether that actually comes to fruition. In the meantime, you can check out an extra image of the Aspire 3951 below, or hit the source link for the full collection.

[Thanks, @tranquochuyvn]

Update: Oddly enough, it appears that we’ve caught a glimpse of this exact same laptop before, except it was portrayed by M.I.C. Gadget as a Thunderbolt MacBook Air leak. Perhaps the folks received some bad intel, be it intentional or not.

Continue reading Acer’s Aspire 3951 leaks with MacBook Air-like specs, available in October?

Acer’s Aspire 3951 leaks with MacBook Air-like specs, available in October? originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 07:29:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  sourceSohoa (Translated)  | Email this | Comments

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Aug 03

Qualcomm overhauls complex naming scheme, introduces simpler Snapdragon levels

Posted in: advertising, marketing, processor, qualcomm, snapdragon, Today's Chili, video

Say it with us now: “Huzzah!” For years, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon brand has been held back from general understanding by one thing: befuddling model numbers. Hearing about an MSM 8255 doesn’t really stick with the average consumer, and even for members of the press (and folks neck-deep in the supply channel), it wasn’t exactly easy to keep track of. In a bid to put on a more consumer-facing suit, Qually has announced its intentions to move away from complex processor names and move towards a simpler “series” model. For now, you’ll find S1, S2, S3 and S4, with “1′ being a mass market device and “4” being the product you actually want. The slide just after the break explains where the cutoffs are for each level, but curiously enough, it sounds as if more of these will be added as technologies improve, speeds increase and capabilities soar. In other words, we hope your great-grandson is eager to get his hands on a Snapdragon S498. Wait, wasn’t this suppose to reduce complexities?

Continue reading Qualcomm overhauls complex naming scheme, introduces simpler Snapdragon levels

Qualcomm overhauls complex naming scheme, introduces simpler Snapdragon levels originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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