AMD set to release DDR3-capable chips ahead of schedule

A leaked roadmap suggests the new Phenom II and triple-core processors are coming
By Agam Shah

January 30, 2009 (IDG News Service) Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) will soon introduce processors that are capable of supporting DDR3 memory, earlier than the company had anticipated.

The company in the next few weeks will launch new processors targeted at desktops that will include DDR3-capable memory controllers, said John Taylor, an AMD spokesman.

Taylor declined comment on specific processors being launched, though a leaked road map suggests the launch of new Phenom II and triple-core processors.

The support for DDR3 memory comes earlier than anticipated. Late last year the company said it aimed to add DDR3-capable Phenom II processors by the middle of 2009, but could push that up depending on factors including pricing of the memory.

Compared to current DDR2-capable processors, the new DDR3-capable chips will allow information from the memory to be communicated to a CPU faster, which translates to better PC performance. To run DDR3-capable processors, the company will introduce the AM3 socket for motherboards.

"The people who want the latest and greatest will want to use DDR3 memory," Taylor said.

AMD's decision to switch to DDR3 memory is to make CPUs faster so it can effectively compete with Intel in the high-end PC and server markets, said Dean McCarron, president of Mercury Research, a market analysis firm.

"When we make changes in PC architecture, it is because it's either faster or cheaper," said McCarron. For AMD, the decision was technical rather than financial, but the enhanced competitiveness could yield a financial benefit to AMD in the long run, McCarron said.

Intel's Core i7 processor for gaming systems, launched in November, already supports DDR3 memory. Intel is also adding DDR3 support to chips for portable products like laptops.

However, given AMD's inherent price advantage compared to Intel's products, price-sensitive buyers may initially oppose the high prices of DDR3 memory modules, McCarron said. As of early January, a 1GB DDR3 memory module running at 1333MHz was priced at $35, versus $12 to $14 per unit for a 1GB DDR2 unit.

"This is completely normal for technology. As the volume ramps [DDR3 memory prices] will come down," McCarron said.

Motherboard companies like Asus have already announced AM3-compatible motherboards, setting the stage for AMD to launch its new DDR3-capable processors, which could include new Phenom II processors. The new CPUs will include a DDR2- and DDR3-capable memory controller, allowing it to work with older motherboards with DDR2 memory.

AMD earlier this year launched new quad-core Phenom II processors, which the company called its "highest-performing" CPUs to date. Aimed at high-end desktop PCs, the chips ran at speeds of up to 3GHz and included 8MB of cache.

However, the Phenom II chips are capable of even faster clock speeds under certain circumstances. For example, the processors have been overclocked to run at speeds of up to 6.5GHz on liquid-cooled systems and up to 4GHz on air-cooled systems.

AMD remains on track to transition to DDR3 memory support for servers with the Maranello platform in 2010, Taylor said. The Maranello platform includes the six-core Sao Paulo and 12-core Magny-Cours chips.

source : www.computerworld.com

VIA Nano CPU - Codename Isaiah

VIA Nano CPU - Codename Isaiah

VIA Technologies Inc. started shipping its current family of x86 processors in early 2000. Seven major versions-culminating in the VIA C7 processor-have shipped through the end of 2007. While compatible with the x86 instruction-set architecture, the internal architecture of these processors is very different from other x86 processor designs. This unique internal architecture yields processors that are significantly smaller (lower cost) and use significantly less power than other x86 processors from AMD and Intel.

While the current VIA C7 processors are a perfect fit for many users and applications, a new architecture was needed to keep pace with the rapid introduction of new functions and improved performance from Intel. Accordingly, over the last four years, VIA made a major investment in its U.S.-based processor design subsidiary-Centaur Technology Inc.-to develop a completely new x86 processor architecture. The result is a new architecture, codenamed the VIA Isaiah Architecture, that complements current VIA products by offering significantly more function and performance within the same low-power envelope.

On the 29th of May 2008 VIA announced the Nano CPU, a processor built from Isaiah architecture. Building on the market-leading energy efficiency of their existing VIA C7 processor family, the VIA Nano processor family offers as much as four times the performance within the same power range to extend VIA's performance per watt leadership, while identical pin compatibility with VIA C7 processors will ensure a smooth transition for OEMs and motherboard vendors, and provides them with an easy upgrade path for current system or board designs.

VIA's 'nano' association also extends to VIA's signature silicon and platform design characteristics of power efficiency and form factor size reduction, as demonstrated by VIA's ultra compact Nano-ITX boards and the nanoBGA2 processor packaging used for the current VIA C7 processor family and the first generation of VIA Nano processors.

source : benchmarkreviews.com

NVIDIA Tegra 650 Mobile Processor

NVIDIA Tegra Processor

NVIDIA has done very well for itself over the past decade. While most of the world can recognize the chip-maker for its popular GeForce product line, very few might realize that this green-machine also has focus outside of the graphics card industry. Like any company that has mastered its craft, NVIDIA set out to develop a competitive processor design that would change the face of mobile computing. Earlier this year NVIDIA announced that they were ready to product the APX 2500 application processor for a new line of handheld mobile Internet devices, but then very little actually materialized. Back with what might be considered a re-launch, NVIDIA launches the Tegra 650 and 600 mobile processors.

A few weeks ago at the NVIDIA Editors Day 2008, Benchmark Reviews was fortunate enough to meet with NVIDIA's mobile products staff and witness the Tegra processor in action. Using the APX 2500 processor in a mobile Internet device, we were able to see how a Smart Phone or portable media player could not only display full 720p content on its screen (or external display via HDMI interface), but is could also encode the very same media.

"Creating Tegra was a massive challenge. Our vision was to create a platform that will enable the 2nd personal computer revolution - which will be mobile centric, with devices that last days on a single charge, and yet has the web, high definition media, and computing experiences we've come to expect from our PC," said Jen-Hsun Huang, president and CEO at NVIDIA. "Shrinking down a 50 watt PC architecture will not create the discontinuity this industry needs. The culmination of nearly 1,000 man years of engineering, Tegra is a completely ground-up computer-on-a-chip architecture that consumes 100 times less power. Mobile internet and computing devices built with Tegra are going to be magical."

NVIDIA is building their mobile product offerings around the Windows Mobile 7 Operating System, which can offer a host of mobile compute applications to take full advantage of the Tegra 650 Mobile Processor. While the Tegra Processor is capable, you won't find any 3D video games running on a Tegra handheld device, which might disturb the ultra-conservative 2 Watts of power consumption.

source : benchmarkreviews.com

Intel Core i7 CPU & DX58SO X58 Platform

Intel Core i7 CPU

For the last several months the hottest topic on just about every venue for computer product information has been the forthcoming release of the new Intel Core i7, the first series of processors in the new Nehalem product line. There's not been a day out of that time frame that some prognosticator has not forecasted when we would see this product on the store shelves. Why so much fervor and hype? Well that's very simple, the Core i7 processors are reputed to literally smoke the current Core 2 Quad 45nm processors which literally rule high-end computing. Talk about getting an enthusiast's adrenaline flowing!

Fast forward to Sunday, November 2, 2008, which by the way happens to be today and also very special date in time both for all computer enthusiasts and also for us at Benchmark Reviews. At 9:00 PM PST we're finally able to put all the hype, myths and rumors to rest as the embargo on product information on the forthcoming release of the Intel Core i7 processor series has officially been lifted. Notice I used that word again, "forthcoming" and not that doesn't mean tomorrow this product will be available on the shelves of your favorite distributor on Monday morning. What it does mean is that because is that the sheer magnitude of launching an entirely new product line of this scope is a daunting task to the very least. Intel and their partners have chosen to phase in the launch meaning you should see it available for purchase sometime later in November.

Rather than allowing consumers to continue speculating about just what this new product line has to offer Intel has chosen to take the high road and has sent pre-release samples of the entire Core i7 system to selected review sites. It was then the job of these sites to garner as much information regarding this product line as possible in a relatively short time span and pass it on to our readers.

DX58SO Smackover X58 Platform

We at Benchmark Reviews consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have been chosen by Intel as one of those review sites to showcase the Core i7 prior to its official launch. Once chosen our dilemma was how to best convey the myriad of information we ascertained to our readers. Obviously the best plan would be to release one all encompassing review of the entire product line. Because of time constraints this plan was impossible. After much deliberation we decided our best recourse was to present a series of reviews on this product line. In today's segment we will cover an overview of the technological aspects of the Core i7 processor series and the X58 motherboard that supports it. We'll test all three of the processors using a succinct series of benchmarks run a stock processor speeds and draw the necessary conclusions from their results. What else is left you might ask? Believe me when I say that's only scratching the surface. In future reviews we'll concentrate on individual product components and expound in much greater detail on that product's performance capabilities including overclocking.

source : benchmarkreviews.com

Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition Processor

Intel Core i7-965XE CPU

On November 3, Benchmark Reviews had the pleasure of publishing our first in a series of articles and reviews covering Intel's newest processor series, the Core i7. As we alluded to in that article the time frame from receiving our review kit to publishing the finished product was only a matter of days, so something had to give. We opted to stick with the basics and present a general overview of the entire product. As a result we had to omit many of the extras we would have normally included in a feature article of this type. Since the release of that article we have had a number of our readers request future articles in our series that deal more with with the specifics of each processor. The same group was somewhat adamant that we showcase both performance tuning and the overclocking capabilities of each product.

Fear not my enthusiast brethren, in our second publication we will be covering all that you asked for and more as we review the Intel Core i7-965 Extreme Edition (XE). We have now had sufficient time to spend with Core i7 series and our knowledge base on these processors and their supporting components has grown exponentially. This review is pretty much strictly Intel, meaning the motherboard, and the vast majority of the rest of the components we used in our testing are Intel's own. The BIOS on the motherboard is still considered a pre-release version. What I'm getting at here is don't hold the results we present today as being the "Holy Grail" of this processor's capability. It usually holds true with any new product release of this magnitude that it will take two to three months of BIOS and driver maturity after the release to get a complete picture of product's complete performance profile.

In our first article, Intel Core i7 CPU & DX58SO X58 Platform we covered most of the available information regarding both the Nehalem Technology and the architecture used with the Intel Core i7 Processor family. We will therefore not repeat that discussion, instead; our goal today is to spend most of our energy concentrating on those features and performance aspects of the Intel Core i7-965XE model BX80601965 that have led it and its other i7 kin to be dubbed "The Fastest Processor on the Planet" by Intel.

source : benchmarkreviews.com

Intel Core i7-920 Processor BX80601920

Intel Core i7-920

On November 3, Benchmark Reviews had the pleasure of publishing our first in a series of articles and reviews covering Intel's newest processor series, the Core i7. As we alluded to in that article the time frame from receiving our review kit to publishing the finished product was only a matter of days, so something had to give. We opted to stick with the basics and present a general overview of the entire product. As a result we had to omit many of the extras we would have normally included in a feature article of this type. Since the release of that article we have had a number of our readers request future articles in our series that deal more with with the specifics of each processor. The same group was somewhat adamant that we showcase both performance tuning and the overclocking capabilities of each product.

Today we are releasing the third review in our Core i7 series which focuses on the features and performance of the Intel Core i7-920. The Core i7-920 is considered to be the processor for the mainstream consumer primarily because of its price to performance ratio. The i7-920 doesn't have the unlocked multipliers that its more mature sibling does, but it is still a quite capable chip with its 2.66 GHz factory clock. We intend to share all of our findings and hope after reading this review you will have a much better understanding of the Core i7 family in general and the i7-920 in specific. We also plan to go into as complete of a discussion as possible on everything you can do to enhance capabilities this processor brings to the table. Unfortunately we don't have a QX9770, Intel's previous "King of the Hill", to compare the i7-920 to; but we should note that in all the test results we've seen the i7-920 outperforms the QX9770 in all processor dependant tasks. So the only true competition for the i7-920 are the other members of the Core i7 family which we will be testing for comparison purposes.

In our first article, Intel Core i7 CPU & DX58SO X58 Platform we covered most of the available information regarding both the Nehalem Technology and the architecture used with the Intel Core i7 Processor family. We will therefore not repeat that discussion, instead; our goal today is to spend most of our energy concentrating on those features and performance aspects of the Intel Core i7-920 (model BX80601920) that have led it and its other i7 kin to be dubbed "The Fastest Processor on the Planet" by Intel.

source : benchmarkreviews.com

Intel Launches the Core i7 Processor in Dubai

Published 19 November 2008

Intel Corporation introduced its most advanced desktop processor ever, the Intel® Core™ i7 processor. The Core i7 processor is the first member of a new family of Intel’s next generation microarchitecture processor designs and is the most sophisticated ever built, with new technologies that boost performance on demand and maximize data throughput. The Core i7 processor speeds video editing, immersive games and other popular Internet and computer activities by up to 40 percent without increasing power consumption.

Broadly heralded by the computing industry as a technical marvel, the Intel® Core™ i7 processor holds a new world record of 117 for the SPECint_base_rate2006* benchmark test that measures the performance of a processor. This is the first time ever for any single processor to exceed a score of 100 points.

At the launch event in Dubai, Samir Al-Schamma, Intel general manager for the GCC said: “Today’s launch coincides with the global launch of the Core i7 processor, one of Intel’s most anticipated products. Intel has delivered the fastest desktop processor on Earth to the most demanding users on Earth, the ones who are using their PCs for video, gaming and music.”

“When you couple what is Intel’s biggest leap in chip design with other incredible innovations like Intel’s solid state drives, the Core i7 processor has redefined the computer of tomorrow.” Added Al-Schamma.

Tech Web sites have been extremely positive in their product reviews. Anandtech states that “Core i7 continues to fuel Intel’s beacon of performance.” “The Core i7 is everything they promised it would be,” says PC Perspective. The Tech Report calls it “one of the most consequential shifts in the industry.”
Intel’s unique Turbo Boost Technology accelerates performance to match a computer user’s needs and workloads. Through a sophisticated on-die power control unit and using new “power gate” transistors based on Intel’s advanced 45 nanometer, high-k metal gate manufacturing process, Turbo Boost automatically adjusts the clock speed of one or more of the four individual processing cores for single- and multi-threaded applications to boost performance, without increasing power consumption. The Core i7 also has the latest Intel power-saving technologies, allowing desktops to go into sleep states formerly reserved for Intel-based notebooks.

The Core i7 processor more than doubles the memory bandwidth of previous Intel “Extreme” platforms, speeding the transfer of computer bits and bites in and out of the processor with Intel® Quickpath Technology. Designed with Intel’s Hyper-Threading Technology, the processor also allows multiple computing threads to run simultaneously, effectively enabling it to do two things at once. As a result, the Core i7 quad-core processor delivers 8-threaded performance.

The Intel Core i7 processor also offers unrivaled performance for immersive 3-D games – over 40 percent faster than previous Intel high-performance processors on both the 3DMark Vantage CPU* physics and AI tests, popular industry computer benchmarks that measure gaming performance. The Extreme Edition uses 8 threads to run games with advanced artificial intelligence and physics to make games act and feel real.

The Intel® Core™ i7 processors and Intel® X58 Express Chipset-based Intel® Desktop Board DX58SO Extreme Series are for sale immediately from several computer manufacturers online and in retail stores, as well as a boxed retail product via channel online sales.

The Core i7 processor is the first member of the Intel Nehalem microarchitecture family; server and mobile product versions will be in production later. Each Core i7 processor features an 8 MB level 3 cache and three channels of DDR3 1066 memory to deliver the best memory performance of any desktop platform. Intel’s top performance processor, the Intel® Core™ i7 Extreme Edition, also removes overspeed protection, allowing Intel’s knowledgeable customers or hobbyists to further increase the chip’s speed.

Product Information and Pricing:

Intel® Core™ i7-965 Extreme Edition - 3.20GHz, US$999 (about AED 3,670)
Intel® Core™ i7- 940 - 2.93GHz, US$ 652 (about AED 2,395)
Intel® Core™ i7- 920 - 2.66GHz, US$ 284 (about AED 1,045)

source : www.tbreak.com

Report: Via readying dual-core Atom rival

Posted by Brooke Crothers
December 30, 2008 10:30 PM PST

Dual-core Intel Atom rivals are in the works.
Via Technologies is planning a very low-power, dual-core Nano 3000 processor, according to Chinese-language Web site HKEPC.

Intel currently offers the dual-core Atom 330 that is targeted at Nettops--small desktop computers.

Advanced Micro Devices will target its low-power dual-core "Conesus" at the laptop market segment above Atom's Netbook-centric space.

Meanwhile, Freescale Semiconductor has indicated that it will bring out a very-low-power ARM chip that features a dual-core graphics engine targeted at Netbook-like laptops.

All of these developments indicate that the market for ultra-small devices and laptops and should heat up in 2009.

The dual-core version of the Via Nano 3000--due in late 2009 or 2010--may use a Fujitsu 45-nanometer or TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company) 40-nanometer manufacturing process, according to HKEPC. The Intel Atom is based on 45-nanometer process technology.

The Via chip may also include SSE4 instruction support, HKEPC said. Generally, SSE4 (Streaming SIMD Extensions 4) instructions speed up multimedia applications.

Via is also slated to bring out other improved Nano processors in 2009, according to the report.

Hewlett-Packard uses Via's C7-M ULV (ultra low voltage) processor in its 2133 Mini-Note Netbook.

source : news.cnet.com

Intel Core 2 Extreme QX9770

Author: Ben Sun · 06-26-2008
The Personal Computer has been kicking it for many years now, with the first IBM PC launched in 1981 with a 4.77MHz CPU and 64KB of RAM. That was almost 27 years ago, a long time in computer history. One of the problems with the modern computer is that they are too powerful for their own good with most programs running perfectly fine on any CPU from the last three or four years. Add to that the fact that PC gaming is mostly a dying breed; this means that the modern computer has issues with finding a killer app.
Intel dominates the CPU market with their CPUs. At the moment, their quad core CPUs outshine their competition from AMD by wide margins, with AMD forced to compete on price/performance instead of strict performance as the fastest AMD CPU, the Phenom X4 9850 doesn’t come close to the performance of the fastest Intel CPU, the QX9770 which I’m reviewing today. The Intel QX9770 is their first 1600MHz FSB CPU and is geared for the ultra high end crowd and those not meek with their cash flow.
-1600MHz FSB (400MHz Quad Pumped)
-Yorkdale architecture
-45 nanometer process
-12MB L2 Cache split into 6MB for each of 2 cores
-3.2 GHz clock speed
-Intel Virtualization Technology
-Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology
-Intel Execute Disable Bit
-Intel 64 architecture
-Quad Core Processing
-Chipset support: Intel X48, NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI official many others
compatible with overclocking
-Intel Wide Dynamic Execution
-Intel Smart Memory Access
-Intel Advanced Smart Cache
-Intel HD Boost
The QX9770 is based upon Intel’s Yorkdale architecture. The Yorkdale is Intel’s first 1600MHz FSB series of CPUs. Intel uses a QuadPumped architecture meaning that the FSB is running at 400MHz which is multiplied by 4 to get the final FSB of 1600MHz. The Yorkdale CPUs with a 1600MHz FSB include the QX9770 being reviewed here and the QX9775 found in the Intel SkullTrail high-end platform.
Intel calls their Core 2 Extreme QX9770 CPU a “Quad Core” CPU since it has four processor cores on a single die. The QX9770 like other Intel Core 2 Quad CPUs consists of two Core 2 Duo CPUs on the same die, each with two processor cores on them. AMD calls their Phenom CPUs the first true “Quad Core” CPU as they have four processor cores on the same packaging. It’s a matter of semantics as either way you get four processor cores.
Yorkdale and Wolfdale CPUs have large amounts of L2 cache, much more than previous Intel CPUs. The QX9770 has 12MB of L2 Cache with each pair of Intel cores on the die sharing a 6MB L2 cache. Yorkdale, like the earlier Intel CPUs based upon the Penryn core. The Socket that the new CPU uses is the same LGA-775 Socket in use since 2004 with the launch of the Prescott CPUs and the 925X chipset but this CPU is only officially supported by the X48 and nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipsets at the moment.
The clock speed of the QX9770 is 3.2GHz, which is the multiplier 2x 1600MHz for the FSB. The QX9770 is based upon Intel’s 45 nanometer process, while AMD is still stuck on the 65 nanometer process. The QX9770 has a die size of 214mm squared with 820 million transistors. The die of the QX9770 is really two Core 2 CPUs side by side accounting for the die size and transistor count as the Core 2 Duo has ½ the cache and die size.
Viruses are programs that replicate themselves into the memory and operating system of the computer infected. One issue with modern computers is the inability to stop executable programs from automatically executing. Intel’s QX9770 has their Execute Disable Bit (NX Bit) technology to help prevent virus attacks against the computer. Windows XP SP2 introduced this feature for CPUs that support NX Bit.
The QX9770 has the following instruction sets available to it: MMX, SSE1, SSE2, SSE3, SSE4, Intel 64 instructions. The introduction of Penryn included the SSE4 instruction set which adds 47 new instructions to the CPU instruction set. Intel’s Penryn architecture can run four instructions in a single clock cycle compared to two instructions on earlier architectures.
Virtualization technology allows different operating systems to be run on the same system to run as virtual machines. Each operating system is done on a partition and operates independently. VT requires support of the CPU, BIOS, chipset and memory. For example VT can be used to run Windows Vista, Windows XP, several distributions of Linux without a sweat. Each operating system has its own partition. Currently, the only Intel chipset that officially supports the QX9770 is the X48 chipset that was launched a month or two ago. The other chipset that officially supports the QX9770 and its FSB 1600MHz brothers is the NVIDIA nForce 790i Ultra SLI chipset. Unofficially, the CPU has been shown to work with NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI and Intel X38 chipsets with a bit of overclocking of the FSB. I would suggest a supported chipset as they offer the latest features and if you’re buying a $1000+ CPU, buying a cheap motherboard is not the wisest of choices.