AMD gets Guinness World Record for fastest CPU with overclocked octa-core FX processor

Speed. It’s of paramount importance in evaluating any computer system, and the engine that gives your PC its get up and go is its CPU. The folks at AMD wanted to show off just how awesome (and fast) their new Bulldozer-based FX chips can be, and set a Guinness World Record for the “Highest Frequency of a Computer Processor” while they were at it. To get the record, a team of “elite overclocking specialists” cranked up the juice on an 8-core desktop CPU until hitting a speed of 8.429GHz — handily surpassing the previous mark of 8.308GHz. So, AMD’s got the fastest silicon in the west and it’s chipping away at Intel’s processor predominance. What say you, Chipzilla?

Continue reading AMD gets Guinness World Record for fastest CPU with overclocked octa-core FX processor

AMD gets Guinness World Record for fastest CPU with overclocked octa-core FX processor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 13 Sep 2011 09:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD A4-3300 and A4-3400 APUs ready to ship, take on Intel for your budget PC dollar

AMD Llano APU

That’s right folks, AMD’s A4 APUs are here and ready to take on Intel in a battle for the bottom end of the mainstream desktop market. These dual-core desktop parts pack integrated graphics courtesy of the company’s Radeon line. Both also boast a 65W TDP and 1MB of L2 cache. The only difference here is speed and price: the 3300 clocks in at 2.5GHz with a 440MHz GPU for $70, while the 3400 moves on up to 2.7GHz and a 600MHz GPU for only $5 more. They’re not exactly speed demons, but should be able to hold their own against similarly priced Pentiums — especially if you don’t plan on buying a discrete graphics card. You can pick one up now at Amazon and other select retailers but, before you go, check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading AMD A4-3300 and A4-3400 APUs ready to ship, take on Intel for your budget PC dollar

AMD A4-3300 and A4-3400 APUs ready to ship, take on Intel for your budget PC dollar originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 21:59:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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

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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MSI X370 with AMD E-450 upgrade arrives stateside

Strip out the old E-350 Zacate APU from MSI’s thin-and-light X370, replace it with a brand new 1.65GHz E-450 Llano engine with around 20 percent higher CPU and graphics benchmarks, and what do you get? The X370-205US, that’s what, or equally the 206US white variant. The 13-incher just popped up at Amazon and Newegg with exactly the same $579 price tag as its vanquished predecessor, the same 1366×768 resolution, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, up to ten hours’ stamina and an easy-going 3.11 pound weight that will only hurt your chiropractor.

MSI X370 with AMD E-450 upgrade arrives stateside originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 07 Sep 2011 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU

Zotac ZBOX nano AD10

The box looks more like Zotac’s VIA-powered mini-PC, but inside the AD10 falls right in line with rest of the AD series, packing an AMD E-350 APU alongside a Radeon HD 6310 chip. You’re also looking at integrated 802.11n WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and a pair of USB 3.0 ports — not bad for something that’s (just barely) palm-sized. The AD10 Plus model comes pre-stocked with a 320GB hard drive and 2GB of DDR3 RAM for only $276. The barebones model doesn’t seem to have been priced yet, but we wouldn’t expect it to be too much less considering how cheap memory and hard disks are these days. Check out the gallery below and the PR after the break.

Continue reading Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU

Zotac unveils palm-sized ZBOX nano AD10, packing AMD Brazos APU originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 03 Sep 2011 07:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD taps Lenovo’s Rory Read to be President and CEO

AMD has finally found itself a permanent CEO. The company today named Rory P. Read to the post, also announcing that he’ll serve as President and as a member of the board of directors. Read most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer of Lenovo, and spent 23 years serving in a variety of roles at IBM prior to that. He replaces AMD CFO Thomas Seifert (now returning to his original role), who had been serving as interim CEO since the departure of Dirk Meyer — who himself only became CEO in 2008 when Hector Ruiz stepped down. For his part, Read says that he’s “very pleased to be joining AMD at this important time in its history,” and that “AMD is a true innovator and is uniquely positioned to lead the industry forward, delivering the next big thing both within the PC ecosystem and beyond.” The company’s full press release is after the break.

Continue reading AMD taps Lenovo’s Rory Read to be President and CEO

AMD taps Lenovo’s Rory Read to be President and CEO originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 12:34:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD 990FX motherboards from Asus, ASRock and Gigabyte get rounded up and ranked

HotHardware just herded up a trio of new mainboards equipped with AMD’s 990FX chipset, which will support those famed 8-core Bulldozer-based processors when they finally arrive, as well as being compatible with existing Phenom II and Athlon II chips. All the boards had similarly high performance, good connectivity and plenty of overclocking and tweaking potential. However, the $229 Asus CrossHair V Formula inched its way to overall victory thanks to its reliability, attractive build and smart layout. The ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Professional placed second despite being cheaper at $200 and having richer connectivity, including FireWire and a front-mountable USB 3.0 panel. Finally, the Gigabyte 990FXA-UD7 lagged behind due to its excessive $250 price tag, a lack of color coding to help guide less experienced builders, plus an ugly and outdated BIOS utility. So, there you have it: if you want to gear up for your next Bulldozer-ready AMD build, the Asus and ASRock 990FX boards are ripe for picking. Check out the source link for the full comparisons and benchmarks.

AMD 990FX motherboards from Asus, ASRock and Gigabyte get rounded up and ranked originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 25 Aug 2011 11:02:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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More details emerge on AMDs Bulldozer for high-end desktops

AMDs Bulldozer is the company’s anticipated high-power rival to Intel’s Core i7 and the company just released a slew of new information about its internals. Now, pay attention 007 — the “Zambezi for Socket AM3+” chips will include four modules, each with two cores and 2MB of L2 cache. Operating above these is a single Northbridge with 8MB of L3 cache to direct data between two 72-bit DDR3 channels and 4 x 16-bit receive / transmit HyperTransport links. Finally, the “Turbo Core” increases the whole chip’s click speed when taxed or kills power to idle cores when it’s not. Hustle on down to the source link to see the slides yourself.

[Thanks, Bertrandsbox]

More details emerge on AMDs Bulldozer for high-end desktops originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 23 Aug 2011 21:28:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD refreshes E and C-Series Fusion APUs, adds DDR3-1333 support, better battery life

Looks like AMD is finally ready to spill the (official) beans on that 1.65GHz E-450 Fusion APU we heard about at Computex, today announcing refreshed chips for its Fusion E and C-series APUs. The updated “Zacate” and “Ontario” APUs sport DDR3-1333 and HDMI 1.4a support, snaring bragging rights to faster memory and 3D output for 3D-enabled televisions. The new chips also promise an increased resting battery life — up to 10.5 hours for the E-Series, and a staggering 12 hours on the C-Series. Although it didn’t name any specific manufacturers, AMD says that machines rocking the new APUs are available starting today. Hit the break for the full PR.

Continue reading AMD refreshes E and C-Series Fusion APUs, adds DDR3-1333 support, better battery life

AMD refreshes E and C-Series Fusion APUs, adds DDR3-1333 support, better battery life originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Aug 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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AMD intros Radeon-branded RAM, gives gamers that coordinated component look

Have an inexplicable lust for all things AMD? Better sit down for this one folks, as your favorite chip company is back, this time peddling Radeon-branded RAM in exchange for your hard earned dough. Tested to the “highest industry” standards, the DDR3 modules will be available in three SKUs: the entry-level “Entertainment” sticks (clocked at 1333MHz), followed by speedier “Ultra Pro Gaming” (1600MHz) and an “Enterprise” RAM of an unknown speed. Akiba PC Online! spotted 2GB modules of the lowest tier chilling in Japan for a cool ¥1570 (around $20 stateside), as-well as a US product page (which we’ve kindly linked below). Small price to pay for memory to match your graphics card — brand loyalty’s a beautiful thing, right guys?

AMD intros Radeon-branded RAM, gives gamers that coordinated component look originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 09 Aug 2011 06:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink AnandTech  |  sourceAMD, Akiba PC Hotline! (translated)  | Email this | Comments