According to a rumor on the Internet, Facebook may be rolling out a new data center filled with servers using ARM CPUs rather than the more traditional chips from Intel and AMD. ARM chips are less complex than x86 systems, and ARM is ubiquitous in mobile computing environments. The simplicity of the architecture makes the systems far more energy efficient, which is a pretty serious concern when… → Read More
Oh boy, Monday can’t come soon enough. That’s when Intel’s expected to announce its N470 Atom CPU, according to CNET. → Read More
VIA has introduced its updated line of Nano processors, built for netbooks and all-in-one computers. The 3000 series promises a 20% performance boost over existing Nano CPUs while managing to reduce overall power consumption by 20% as well. → Read More
Great Neptune’s trousers!
ARM has just announced the development of a dual core mobile processor capable of breaking the 2GHz barrier. The 40nm Cortex-A9 CPU will use conventional silicon chips and each CPU core will consume less than 0.25 watts of power. → Read More
A veritable cornucopia of ultra-thin laptops is expected from the likes of Asus, Acer, and MSI in the near future. The computers will use Intel’s forthcoming low and ultra-low voltage Penryn CPUs, the Celeron 743 and the SU2300. → Read More
Looks like Intel is about to break into the mobile phone arena in a big way. According to Bloomberg, Intel and Nokia have struck a deal to include Intel CPUs in future Nokia handsets. → Read More
Intel just held a teleconference outlining some information on its next Atom platform, code-named “Pine Trail” and introduced a new beta version of its “Moblin” user interface for upcoming Atom-based netbooks, nettops, MIDs, embedded systems, and in-vehicle entertainment systems. Here are some notes from the call… → Read More
AMD gained 4.6 percent of the CPU market this past quarter, making it the first time in five quarters that AMD’s made up some ground against Intel. It’s now got 22.3 percent to Intel’s 77.3 percent, according to analysts at IDC. → Read More
Next month may bring a new and improved Atom chip from Intel in the 2GHz Z550. The CPU features low 2.4-watt power consumption, 512KB of level-2 cache, and a 533MHz frontside bus. It’s expected to be pretty close to the currently-available 1.86GHz Z540, with the added bump in gigahertz. → Read More
By this time next year, the line between netbooks, UMPCs, handhelds, palmtops, netblets, MIDs, and whichever other portable internet doodads you can think of might get all the more blurry with Intel’s 32-nanometer “Medfield” Atom chip. The current “Diamondville” chip is 45 nanometers, which is already pretty small. The Medfield chip is thought to be aimed more at the handheld market than… → Read More
The fine people over at APC Mag got their hands on Intel’s Core i7 Nehalem processor (codenamed Bloomfield) and have bestowed upon us the following information: Intel has moved the memory controller onto the chip itself, which has made the chip larger, which means we’ll be getting a new socket size (socket LGA1366). So you’ll need a new motherboard, basically. The front side bus (FSB) has… → Read More
The always excellent IEEE Spectrum has a great article right now that is both a primer for current chip manufacturing techniques and a look at what the challenges are that chipmakers are facing. As we’ve talked about before, Moore’s law has continued to apply only through the utmost efforts and desperate “cheats” by the engineers who design the chips and the process to… → Read More
These little netbooks that we hear about day in and day out are about to get a little zippier, thanks to Intel’s dual-core Atom chip – the 330 – shipping out to vendors. The September launch seems to coincide with what we’d heard earlier, so that’s good. The 45-nanometer Atom 330 chip will feature the same 1.6GHz bus speed as the single core model, will have 1MB of level 2 cache, and… → Read More
Intel’s got a dual-core Atom chip on the way, likely in September to dovetail with the release of a new motherboard that’s compatible with the CPU. The processor is called the 330 and, although the clock speed hasn’t yet been revealed, it does have a 533MHz frontside bus. The motherboard is called the D945GCLF2 and is a mini-ITX 945GC-based system with Intel’s integrated 950 graphics. The… → Read More
Advanced Micro Devices is apparently getting set to split up into two companies, according to TG Daily. There are two fluffy, happy, candy-cane strategies currently in place, one called Asset Light and one called Asset Smart. It looks like each may become more than just a strategy, though, as they’re expected to split into two distinct companies in a matter of weeks. The two companies are… → Read More
I can be a chip-head sometimes when it suits me, but most of this discussion is way over my level of expertise. You can read the 16-page writeup over at Anandtech if you want, but you better be ready to deal with terms like “16-wide Vector ALU” and “cache coherency.” See what I mean? From what I understand, Intel is looking into creating a sort of chameleon CPU with a ton… → Read More
We’re all hearing a lot about Intel’s Atom range of processors these days, likely because of the tiny laptop revolution (or whatever you want to call it). While VIA’s Nano is not competing directly with Atom as, say, GeForce does with Radeon, they are in the same ballpark and when it comes to low-power, general-purpose setups for things like tiny laptops or tablets, people are… → Read More
Quad-core mobile chips are coming from Intel next month. Still no word on when we’ll actually see enough applications that take advantage of all four cores at once, but that’s a different story for a different time. The chips will fall into the Core 2 Extreme family and are expected to fetch a pretty penny. IDG News Service reports that one Australian notebook manufacturer is already offering… → Read More
About a month ago, we reported that Intel would begin production on a dual-core Atom chip in July. I said “Might as well just wait for the quad-core Atoms to come out in August, huh?” Nobody laughed at the joke and we all moved on. Now DigiTimes is reporting that production on these dual-core Atoms has been pushed back to September due to shortages of the single-core Atom chips. “Finally… → Read More
Not content to let Intel steal all the glory with its new low-power Atom chip, AMD appears to be developing a similar chip of its own. It’s currently only known as “BGA” but will hopefully get a much cooler-sounding name when it’s ready to go. AMD’s current low-power Geode processor has served as the company’s netbook CPU of choice, but it tops out at 500MHz and has been around for… → Read More
NZXT just released the Reeks Khaos gaming chassis with curved plates, two 120 mm fans, and a thick aluminium frame. It will be available in June for $399. It includes 11 5.25″ inch bays for maximum expansion and looks like it could kill us all. → Read More
AMD has officially taken the plastic-wrap off of its new high-performance notebook platform, formerly known as “Puma”. The platform consists of the new AMD Turion X2 Ultra Dual-Core Mobile Processor and graphics powered by ATI Radeon HD 3000 Series chips, along with 802.11n and 3G wireless connections. We’ll see notebooks outfitted with the new platform from Acer, Asus, Fujitsu… → Read More
VIA’s 64-bit “Isaiah” processor, which we’ve reported here and here, has now been made official, taking on the “Nano” moniker. The chip uses a 65-nanometer process, measures 21mm x 21mm, and uses the same socket as existing VIA C7 processors, which should make things easier on OEMs. It’s being pitched for more mainstream desktop and laptop platforms… → Read More
DigiTimes is reporting that “Intel is planning to start the mass production of dual-core versions of its Atom processors in the second week of July, according to sources at PC makers.” The current Atom platform will be able to support the new chips via a simple BIOS upgrade, too, which is good news for manufacturers. Bad news for manufacturers, though, is that few people are going to… → Read More
Look out Intel and AMD, there’s a new kid on the block. He comes from the wrong side of the tracks, kicked out of his former school for staying out at recess long after the bell rang. His name’s Isaiah and he’s gunning for the both of you. Something like that, anyway. The Isaiah chip by VIA will be here later this month and will be aimed at regular notebooks and desktops. → Read More
If you’re going to be building super popular phones and digital media players, why not use all your own parts, right? That’s Apple’s thinking, apparently, as Forbes has uncovered a recent deal to purchase a fabless semiconductor company called P.A. Semi to the tune of some $278 million, according to sources inside Apple. The decision to center the iPhone design around a chip that… → Read More
I don’t know what I’d ever do with six cores but the option will be available to you, me, and everyone else by the end of the year. I actually think a six-core chip would be cool but there’s not much run-of-the-mill software out there that’d take advantage of all that simultaneous processing, unless I want to switch careers and become a CAD designer or work on Shrek 6 or… → Read More
How many cores does a processor need before it’s officially overkill? Not eight, according to Intel. Here comes the “Skulltrail” platform, “for those who crave more performance than what four processing cores and a single graphics card can deliver today…” Skulltrail was actually the codename for the new platform, which has now taken on the much more intimidating… → Read More
Here’s some more information about the made-for-Apple Intel Core 2 Duo chip that’s found in the new MacBook Air. Anand Lal Shimpi over at AnandTech dug into the available data and found that the chipset is actually based on the Penryn Montevina SFF Centrino platform that’s due out later this year but with a different voltage. It seems Apple convinced Intel to release the… → Read More
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