Jun 16

ARM promises dual-core Cortex A9-based smartphones next year

Posted in: Apple, arm, dual-core, DualCore, iPhone, palm, pre, processor, Today's Chili

The world’s two most visually engaging smartphones — the iPhone and the Pre — share very similar cores based on ARM’s Cortex A8 architecture, and with the newer, more advanced Cortex A9 in the pipeline, you can’t help but let your mind wander a bit as you envision what twice as much computational power could bring to a handset. The A9 employs more advanced instruction pipelining than its predecessor, but the biggest news has to be the fact that it can pack two or more cores — and ARM fully expects dual-core A9-based phones to hit in 2010. Of course, power consumption is the biggest constraint when it comes to this category of device, and while the company says that peak drain will exceed that on today’s crop of devices, average consumption will actually drop thanks largely to a move from 65nm to 45nm manufacturing processes. Add in 1080p video promised by TI’s next-gen OMAP4 silicon wrapped around an A9 core, and you’ve basically got a home theater in your pocket that’s ready to rock for a few hours on a charge. That and Snoop Dogg, of course.

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ARM promises dual-core Cortex A9-based smartphones next year originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Jun 2009 05:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 11

New AMD Neo Athlon / Turion chips emerge in HP Pavilion dv2z

Posted in: AMD, dual-core, hewlett-packard, HewlettPackard, HP, processor, Today's Chili

Well, well — what have we here? HP‘s newly unveiled Pavilion dv2z just so happens to have a bit of fresh silicon within, as AMD’s latest Neo chips are front and center in the configuration options. The thin-and-light machine can be ordered with single- or dual-core AMD Athlon Neo and Turion Neo dual-core processors, and if you’re looking for specifics, you’ll find the new 1.6GHz Athlon Neo X2 L335 and 1.6GHz Turion Neo X2 L625. Other specs on the 12.1-incher include a LED-backlit WXGA panel, optional Blu-ray drive, discrete ATI Radeon graphics, up to 500GB of HDD space, a built-in webcam, WiFi, optional WWAN (Verizon, Sprint or AT&T) and a 6-cell battery. It’s up for order right now starting at $599.99, but if you’re looking to leave that aged Neo MV-40 behind, you’ll have to pony up a bit more than that. Full release is after the break.

Gallery: New AMD Neo chips emerge in HP Pavilion dv2z

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New AMD Neo Athlon / Turion chips emerge in HP Pavilion dv2z originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Jun 2009 09:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jun 10

HP Releases Dual Core Almost-Netbook

Posted in: AMD, dual-core, HP, netbook, processor, Today's Chili

HP-Pavilion-dv2-Image-HEADERcrop.jpgNeed some serious portable processing power? HP’s not-quite-netbook, the dv2z, is now configurable with dual-core versions of AMD’s not-quite-netbook processors, the Athlon Neo (with 512K of L2 cache) and Turion Neo (with 1 Mb of L2 cache). The super-thin laptop, the single core version of which hardware analyst Cisco Cheng reviewed in April, maintains a claimed 5 hours of battery life despite the dual-core’s battery load.

Other potential options when configuring your machine include an 4 Gb of RAM, an ATI Mobility Radeon HD3410 discrete graphics chipset for moderate 3D gaming and smooth video and a built in 3G modem capable of connecting to multiple cell networks. In HP’s recommended configuration, this travel-worthy notebook will cost you $755.

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Jun 01

AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs

Posted in: AMD, dual-core, DualCore, Today's Chili

If you’re AMD, you’ve got to be feeling pretty good right now. Intel’s busy handling a lawsuit bigger than the left half of Russia, you’re finally free of that dreaded manufacturing business and you’ve got a new pair of mainstream CPUs debuting at Computex. The first of the two is the dual-core 45nm Athlon II X2 250, which features a TDP of 65-watts and can whittle power consumption down to 50 percent when handling just “basic tasks.” Then there’s the first-ever dual-core AMD Phenom II, the X2 550 Black Edition. Built from the ground-up for its ‘Dragon’ platform, this here chip also supports OverDrive 3.0 and should provide some higher-end features on a budget. Unfortunately, details beyond that are inexplicably scant, but we’ll be sure to pass on whatever surfaces at the show. Full release is after the break.

Gallery: AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs

Read – HotHardware review
Read – AMDZone review
Read – OverclockersClub review
Read – PC Perspective review
Read – LostCircuits review
Read – BenchmarkReviews review
Read – TechSpot review
Read – X-bit Labs review
Read – Legion Hardware review

Continue reading AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs

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AMD debuts Athlon II X2 250 and Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition CPUs originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 27

Averatec debuts 12-inch $699 N2700 ultraportable

Posted in: dual-core, DualCore, laptop, Today's Chili, ultraportable

If it’s fancy you’re scouting, you needn’t look here. If you’re fine with a classic design, a relatively low price and plenty of oomph to handle everyday tasks, you’ve got your eyes right where they need to be. Averatec‘s latest rig is a 12-inch ultraportable that gets powered by a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T6400 processor, a WXGA panel, 4GB of DDR2-800 RAM, a 250GB SATA hard drive, 8x SuperMulti dual-layer DVD writer, WiFi, gigabit Ethernet, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, FireWire and audio in / out. Furthermore, you’ll find a VGA output, 4-in-1 card reader, GMA X4500HD graphics set, 1.3 megapixel camera and Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. This four pound lappie will set you back $699, and if you’re already sold, we’re happy to inform you that it’s shipping right now.

Gallery: Averatec debuts 12-inch $699 N2700 ultraportable

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Averatec debuts 12-inch $699 N2700 ultraportable originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Apr 17

Shuttle intros Atom 330, SUSE Linux-packin’ X270V nettop

Posted in: desktop, dual-core, DualCore, intel, Linux, nettop, open source, opensource, operating system, OperatingSystem, os, Today's Chili

Go ‘head, Shuttle — break on out of that shell! The company notorious for pumping out the same barebone rectangle with a different model name and a few extra ports has finally seen fit to do something a touch different, and what we’re dealt is the X270V. This so-called Mini-PC relies on Intel’s 1.6GHz Atom 330 to push the computations, while up to 2GB of DDR2 RAM keeps things in order. There’s also gigabit Ethernet, 6-channel audio, a PS/2 connector for the retro folks, six USB sockets and VGA / DVI outputs. Shuttle also claims this bugger is energy efficient, though it doesn’t go into great detail about just how much it’ll save you each month. Oh, and it also comes loaded with openSUSE 11 (a Linux flavor, for those unaware). Interested? Move to Europe and plop down at least €299 ($390).

[Via Slashgear]

Gallery: Shuttle intros Atom 330, SUSE Linux-packin’ X270V nettop

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Shuttle intros Atom 330, SUSE Linux-packin’ X270V nettop originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Apr 2009 18:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 06

VIA’s dual-core Nano still on track, but it’s not the Nano 3000

Posted in: dual-core, nano, netbook, processor, Today's Chili

We know, we can’t imagine how this naming convention could be confusing at all, but VIA’s vice president of corporate marketing Richard Brown has stepped forward to clarify things a bit. In short, that Nano 3000 we heard about a few days back will not be dual-core, but the firm is still lining up a dual-core version of its Nano processor in order to totally slay Intel’s Atom in the future. According to Mr. Brown: “The Nano 3000 isn’t dual-core. It’s a different version of the Nano that’s based on a more advanced manufacturing process.” So, the take-home here is that VIA actually has a couple of new chips in the pipeline worth keeping an eye on, and we’re even told that the Q4 release date for the still-elusive dual-core CPU remains solid. CES 2010 sure seems like a swell launching pad, no?

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VIA’s dual-core Nano still on track, but it’s not the Nano 3000 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Jan 02

VIA’s low-power Nano 3000 rumored to rival Intel’s Atom

Posted in: dual-core, nano, netbook, processor, Today's Chili

Not that we didn’t already have a hunch that VIA was working up a dual-core Nano, but it seems that details are beginning to firm up just a bit. According to a new report over at China-based HKEPC, the dual-core Atom-killer will be dubbed the Nano 3000, and while it will still rely on a 65-nanometer manufacturing process, the power consumption should be much lower than existing Nano chips. Furthermore, it’ll reportedly boast SSE4 instruction support, integer / floating point enhancements and improved internal cache performance. The writeup has it that samples could begin shipping out as early as this quarter, with mass production expected to get going in Q3. So, is it safe to say this whole “netbook” thing has grown some legs, or is the Tamagotchi-like crash just around the bend?

[Via CNET]

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VIA’s low-power Nano 3000 rumored to rival Intel’s Atom originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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