x86 Processor Endgame: September 2009 Archives

Intel readies Atom-based Linux attack on digital TV

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 28, 2009 5:02 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Intel has made clear its intentions to develop Atom processor-based system-on-chip devices for digital TVs and set-top boxes, writes Richard Wilson.

"The Atom processor CE4100 SoC, formerly codenamed Sodaville, is Intel's first 'consumer' chip fabbed on a 45nm process.

"Traditionally the domain of PowerPC, MIPS and embedded processors from Japanese suppliers such as Renesas, Toshiba, NEC and Sony, the digital TV is now a target application for Intel.

Continue reading Intel readies Atom-based Linux attack on digital TV.

Intel unveils Tangent Bay multi-screen concept laptop

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 28, 2009 1:55 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

File under "Multi-touch, Multi-Screen Intel Concept Laptop 2009"

Intel's mobility innovation team unveiled "Tangent Bay" at IDF. It describes it as "the first multi-touch, multi-screen concept laptop based on research and feedback from people who multi-task with work, media creation, entertainment and social networking."

Continue reading Intel unveils Tangent Bay multi-screen concept laptop.

The Intel Atom Processor Developer Program

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 25, 2009 8:18 AM | 1 Comment | No TrackBacks

One more for posterity, really - just marking the development in case it really takes off...

With the start of IDF, Intel has announced its plans for a new ISV and developer programme for the mobile platform. Check out the intel press release - Intel Atom Processor Developer Program for Mobile Devices to Spur New Wave of Applications.

"We want to fuel the growth of Intel Atom-based products designed for the mobile lifestyle," declares Renee James, general manager, Intel Software and Services Group.

Continue reading The Intel Atom Processor Developer Program.

Intel Core i7 mobile processors

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 24, 2009 2:59 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

"Bringing the power of a desktop to a laptop" is how Intel describes its new fastest laptop chips. File the quad-core 45nm chips under "Clarksfield" - they bring the underlying Nehalem microarchitecture to the mobile market.

The new Intel Core i7 mobile processors include two-channel DDR3 1333 MHz memory support and full 1 x16 or 2 x8 PCI Express 2.0 graphics. They feature Turbo Boost and Hyper-Threading across each core. They work with the new Intel PM55 Express Chipset.

Continue reading Intel Core i7 mobile processors.

IDF - September 22 - 24, San Francisco

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 24, 2009 10:48 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

One for those not able to enjoy the delights of San Francisco during Intel's IDF. It's a handy reference for the wealth of material being covered at the event.

Here is a "session catalogue", enabling you to search presentations by keywords for topic, presenter, company name...

Alternatively, see the main IDF event page.

AMD Opteron chipsets

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 22, 2009 10:39 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

AMD has announced - at the Embedded Systems Conference - what it describes as a "new enterprise-class embedded platform". A platform can be a very vague concept, at the best of times, and AMD has not elaborated very well.

"Seven AMD Opteron processors in three power bands, in conjunction with the new low-power chipset, allow high-end embedded vendors to enable increased performance-per-watt for edge-of-network systems such as telecom/datacom, storage, and security servers, and routers and switches," it's announcement declares.

Continue reading AMD Opteron chipsets.

LG introducing the Ion-based XPION X30 nettop

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 21, 2009 1:25 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

This one caught my eye over the weekend - LG apparently introducing the Ion-based XPION X30 nettop unit. I like the options for stand-alone or back-mounting on an LCD display.

According to Engadget, it features an Atom N230 cpu, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, and ships with Windows Vista. It's also LG's first nettop to feature Nvidia's Ion graphics system.

Continue reading LG introducing the Ion-based XPION X30 nettop.

ARM hard Cortex A9 targets PCs, games machines, digital TV

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 17, 2009 11:35 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

ARM has produced a hard macro version of its Cortex-A9 processor which has been sold as soft IP since 2007. The idea is to give users of Cortex A9 a high performance version of the macro which can be implemented in designs relatively quickly, writes David Manners.

More importantly for ARM, it allows A9 to address other markets than the cellphone market.

Continue reading ARM hard Cortex A9 targets PCs, games machines, digital TV.

AMD boasts first sub-$100 quad-core CPU

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 16, 2009 5:04 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

AMD is boasting the first sub-$100 Quad-Core CPU with the release of the Athlon II X4 (dubbed a "budget Phenom II X4" by one reviewer).

To be precise, it is the X4 620, with a 2.6GHz core clock speed, and a X4 630, running at 2.8GHz, will appear later. The chip has 2MB of L2 cache, a 4000MHz HyperTransport bus, and uses the AM3 socket. Based on 1,000 unit quantities, it is priced at $99.

Continue reading AMD boasts first sub-$100 quad-core CPU.

Know your Westmere from your Nehalem from your Penryn...

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 16, 2009 8:46 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Reading a bit more about Intel's Westmere developments I came across this handy slide for reference, showing how the various microarchitecture codenames stack up.

Intel microarchitecture codenames.jpg

It's from 32nm Westmere Family of Processors by Stephen L. Smith Vice President, Director of Group Operations, Intel Digital Enterprise Group.

Continue reading Know your Westmere from your Nehalem from your Penryn....

Intel market domination reaches four-year high, says iSuppli

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 15, 2009 11:18 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

US analysts iSuppli have released a report on the state of microprocessor market.

According to the company, in Q209 Intel accounted for 80.6% of global microprocessor revenue, up from 79.1% during the same period in 2008, and a 1.5 point rise from the first quarter of 2009. This apparently represents the largest share of global microprocessor revenue since Intel claimed 82.4 percent of revenue in Q30505.

"Intel benefited as the global PC market took a first small step toward recovery in the second quarter, with global shipments rising by 1 percent from the first quarter," said Matthew Wilkins, principal analyst of compute platforms research for iSuppli.

Continue reading Intel market domination reaches four-year high, says iSuppli.

Intel puts 32nm "Westmere" chips in IDF spotlight

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 14, 2009 11:14 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

The 45nm Lynnfield chips are out of the door, but with September's IDF looming, Intel is turning the spotlight on its 32nm offerings, codenamed "Westmere" (that's "Nehalem" migrated to 32nm process).

The video below features Sanjay Natarajan, Intel's director of logic technology development. Described as a "rock star engineer", by Intel's Ken Kaplan on the IDF Connected blog, he talks about the first microprocessors built with 32 nanometer process.

Continue reading Intel puts 32nm "Westmere" chips in IDF spotlight.

AMD's VISION for badging computer specs

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 10, 2009 11:08 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

What do people (think) they want when they look at a computer's spec? On this topic, I've just read Nigel Dessau's AMD blog - A New Way to Buy PCs

Basically, after observing that "the truth is that little has changed in the way x86 processors are marketed" (factor in that he is chief marketing officer at AMD), he flags a new AMD approach to badging systems.

For a simple guide, see this website www.amd.com/whichvision.

Continue reading AMD's VISION for badging computer specs.

Video: Intel - Designing for the Intel Atom processor Z5xx series

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 9, 2009 12:14 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Check out this update to the site: John Moore, Application Manager of Intel's Embedded Sales Group gives a presentation at Electronics Weekly Live on the Intel Atom processor Z5xx series.

View the video >>

* He takes a look at the fundamental driver behind Atom-related technologies, such as the need for efficient computing power...

* He then covers a roadmap of silicon level technologies, showing some of the techniques being used and developed to continue the ability to build smaller transistors, while at the same time be more efficient.

Continue reading Video: Intel - Designing for the Intel Atom processor Z5xx series.

Intel processor pricing update

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 9, 2009 10:53 AM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Just a quick one, for the record. With the release of the "Lynnfield" chips, Intel has updated its processor pricing schedule to include the new Core i7 and Core i5 chips.

View the new pricing regime.

As mentioned yesterday, the Core i7-870 comes in at $562, the i7-860 at $284, and the Core i5-750 at $196. The 45nm chips run at 2.93, 2.8, and 2.66GHz respectively, and all have 8MB of L3 cache. All prices are based on OEM-style, 1,000-unit orders.

Nehalem goes mainstream with "Lynnfield" chips

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 8, 2009 3:59 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

Bringing its 45nm Hi-k Nehalem microarchitecture to mainstream desktops and entry-level servers, Intel's new set of processors comprises: two Core i7 chips, a Core i5, and six Xeon 3400 series.

For 'high-performance desktops', read suitability for gaming, media processing and the more demanding apps.

All the processors are lead- and halogen-free, states Intel, and feature its Turbo Boost Technology (which enables a core to run faster than the base operating frequency if it's operating below power, current, and temperature specification limits). The top-of-the-line Core i7 processors also support Intel's Hyper-Threading Technology (thread-level parallelism on each processor).

Continue reading Nehalem goes mainstream with "Lynnfield" chips.

Samsung first to bring an Nvidia Ion netbook to Europe

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 7, 2009 2:11 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

An IFA story. The Samsung N510 features Nvidia's Ion graphics processor, reports the Register (also pointing out that the machine has been available to buy in Europe for a week or so).

The N510 also sports an 11.6in, 1366 x 768 display, which will surely appeal to folk who find the netbook-standard 1024 x 600 too cramped.

Nvidia's Ion chipset pairs with Intel's Atom processor - in the N510's case the 1.67GHz N280. The mini-laptop also features Bluetooth, 802.11n Wi-Fi, a 160GB Sata hard drive and 1GB of DDR 2 memory.

Read the full article >>

AMD updates processor pricing

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 2, 2009 3:20 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

AMD updated its processor pricing schedule at the end of August. For the record, here is a link to a snapshot of the prices.

I'll be making best efforts to track changes from this point.

(For any purposes of comparison, Intel processor pricing can be found here.)

Six-core AMD Opteron EE processor targets cloud computing

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 2, 2009 2:37 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

AMD has introduced its six-core Opeteron offering, an EE processor - see Six-core AMD Opteron EE processor targets cloud computing

"Delivering up to 31% higher performance-per-watt over standard Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors, the Six-Core AMD Opteron EE processor is tailored to meet the demands of customers who need strong performance, but must trim out every watt possible in a server system and reduce the datacenter's power draw."

Continue reading Six-core AMD Opteron EE processor targets cloud computing.

Intel offers free trial of its C++ Compiler

By Alun Williams - Electronics Weekly.com on September 1, 2009 3:39 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks

One for the software developers out there. "If you are developing apps for Intel Atom processor-based devices, don't miss this opportunity," writes Intel on its Software Network blog.

Note, you will have to enroll in the "Intel Software Partner Program". More info on the specially-optimised Intel compilers.

September 2009 Archives