Intel for Communication

IBM in talks to buy Sun Microsystems for $6.5 billion Business and Law

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:31:00 +0000

East Fishkill (NY) and Santa Clara (CA) - IBM has Sun Microsystems is in its sights. As a result, Sun is profiting greatly on the news with stock prices up 66% in early trading. It's being reported that IBM may have to pay considerably more than the $6.5 billion deal estimated as of stock price projections. Still, IBM's CEO is adamant about fighting the recession with acquisition and research expansion.

IBM's acquisition of Sun would be the largest in IBM's history, and would help widen IBM's lead over Hewlett-Packard in the server arena. IBM's CEO, Sam Palmisano, said last week he would "go on offense" in the current economic climate by acquiring and investing in research.

Several analysts are predicting Sun will report its third consecutive quarterly loss, making the company ripe for takeover. Sun's CEO, Jonathan Schwartz, has already cut 6,000 jobs and is offering lower-priced products to "weather the storm," as it were. Now, with IBM's interest being made public, stock prices are up $3.26 to $8.23 before markets opened (Symbol: JAVA).

There is also additional interest in Sun's heavy focus on cloud computing. Later this year, Sun planned to introduce its Sun Cloud Compute service, which essentially rents out server space to whomever wants it, providing hardware and software services for a fee. IBM's heavy involvement in cloud computing is also evident, and this may strengthen their interest in Sun as a buyout target.

If IBM bought Sun for $6.5 billion, it would be at an $8.75 per share price, which it is expected to top today. IBM may win up paying a premium for Sun if prices continue north, however, IBM could just as easily walk away.

See Bloomberg.com, The Wall Street Journal and Reuters republished on Yahoo News.

AMD's lawyer claims Intel wants them dead

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:29:00 +0000

Sunnyvale (CA) - Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Intel Corporation are currently in a dispute regarding a potential x86 cross licensing agreement breach. Earlier in the month AMD and its partner Advanced Technology Investment Company established GlobalFoundries, a joint venture which would produce microprocessors for AMD among other chips utilizing equipment and technologies from AMD. Intel feels that the use of the equipment by GlobalFoundries for the production of x86 chips is a breach in a cross-licensing agreement between AMD and Intel.

During the most recent communication between the two companies AMD's lawyer stated Intel would love to see them go out of business.

AMD general counsel, Harry Wolin, said in an interview with Cnet, "I don't agree with the premise that they have to have us and they think they have to have us [as a competing chip-making company]. I think they would absolutely like us dead ... In their perfect world, we wouldn't exist. If they had to deal with the government every now and then, that's fine, and they're still extracting monopoly profits from the industry."

Intel vehemently denies the concept that they would ever want to see AMD put out of business claiming that their only desire is to make sure that their intellectual property is protected and not shared with unauthorized third parties. In addition, in an interview in 2007 when asked how Intel felt about AMD's (then recent) financial woes, Justin Rattner told TG Daily that they were a little concerned over AMD in a way similar to that of losing a close friend or business partner. And this was long before AMD's financial woes had gone on as long as they now have.

A similar sentiment is carried forward today, with Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy stating "It's nice of them to try to speak for us. AMD has been a competitor for almost 40 years in one form or another. This is not about AMD going away. This is about our rights and AMD's rights under the patent cross-license agreement."

With only three companies selling modern x86 microprocessors (AMD, Intel and VIA Technologies), Intel depends on AMD's competition to avoid accusations of antitrust issues. X86 processors power the majority of laptops, desktops and servers in use today. Without VIA as a true competitor, Intel's only competition would be AMD. And even so, VIA's market share and market focus is so small as to only compete with a very small portion of Intel's total business.

AMD releases Windows 7 graphics driver

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:28:00 +0000

Sunnyvale (CA) – AMD said its Catalyst 9.3 graphics driver is the first “unified driver” to support Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 7, including compliance with the Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) 1.1.

As previous releases, the new 9.3 driver package supports the DirectX 10.1 API for Radeon 3000 and 4000 series graphics cards as well as the new Windows 7 Direct2D API to enhance the visualization of text and vector graphics. AMD also promises performance enhancements under Windows 7, improved multimedia playback and better game performance in single- and multi-GPU configurations.

Windows 7 is due for release later this year.

Intel use worldwide

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:27:00 +0000

One billion PCs in use worldwide - Gartner
The number of installed PCs worldwide has surpassed one billion units, according to Gartner. Gartner analysts estimate the worldwide installed base of PCs is growing just under 12% annually. At that pace, it will surpass two billion units by early 2014.

More here at Digitimes.

Recent news

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:47:00 +0000

Headlines for Tuesday Mar 17, 2009

AMD, Intel licensing war threatens Globalfoundries
Advanced Micro Devices said rival Intel has warned it could terminate their 2001 cross-licensing deal due to a disagreement over the creation of AMD's wafer foundry joint venture, Globalfoundries.
MORE...

Business

Nokia to lay off more employees, tighten cost-control (03/17/2009 9:04 AM EDT)

Nokia set to make even deeper job cuts (03/17/2009 8:49 AM EDT)

Nintendo prevails in joystick IP lawsuit (03/17/2009 5:56 AM EDT)

De Geus touts new products, says ICs will rebound (03/17/2009 12:49 AM EDT)
Products

Tool puts parallelism in embedded code (03/17/2009 1:05 AM EDT)

Headlines for Monday Mar 16, 2009

Business

Spansion appoints chief restructuring officer (03/16/2009 4:36 PM EDT)

Qualcomm says court dismisses Broadcom complaint (03/16/2009 10:53 AM EDT)

Automotive displays see continuous growth (03/16/2009 9:36 AM EDT)

Silistix upgrades network-on-chip EDA software (03/16/2009 9:11 AM EDT)

Legal row threatens NXP's debt swap plans (03/16/2009 8:51 AM EDT)

WiMedia folds, UWB spec goes to Bluetooth, USB groups (03/16/2009 8:39 AM EDT)

Elpida takes control of Taiwanese DRAM joint venture (03/16/2009 8:29 AM EDT)

Gartner sees solar PV poised for long-term growth (03/16/2009 12:01 AM EDT)

Gartner: Silicon wafer demand to fall 35% in '09 (03/16/2009 12:01 AM EDT)

DRAM spot prices down again (03/16/2009 12:01 AM EDT)
Technology

IEEE highlights technologies that will change the world (03/16/2009 6:09 PM EDT)

Samsung looks to print flexible electronics (03/16/2009 1:56 PM EDT)
Products

Cisco seeks bigger slice of data center (03/16/2009 8:44 PM EDT)

ON Semi adds 30 IP blocks to portfolio (03/16/2009 5:05 PM EDT)

Cadence aims to make power-efficient designs more predictable (03/16/2009 2:45 PM EDT)

Altera rolls embedded systems dev kit for Cylone III (03/16/2009 9:00 AM EDT)

Synopsys releases Lynx to manage IC design (03/16/2009 8:00 AM EDT)

Sierra mux/demux targets 100G network apps (03/16/2009 6:22 AM EDT)
Software

Synopsys releases Lynx to manage IC design (03/16/2009 8:00 AM EDT)

Symbian outlines schedule for OS releases (03/16/2009 5:00 AM EDT)

Headlines for Friday Mar 13, 2009

Business

Comment: This too shall pass? (03/13/2009 11:40 PM EDT)

Comment: Cisco clarifies its cloud vision (03/13/2009 8:34 PM EDT)

LSI CEO says worst over for chip makers (03/13/2009 7:29 PM EDT)

Letter to the editor: Chip-making in China (03/13/2009 6:02 PM EDT)

Video: HP Labs chief on the recovery (03/13/2009 5:48 PM EDT)

IT giants lobby for Obama bucks (03/13/2009 3:58 PM EDT)

Microchip increases stake in Supertex (03/13/2009 3:30 PM EDT)

Tessera moves to dismiss ITC action (03/13/2009 1:58 PM EDT)

Bright future seen for OLED lighting (03/13/2009 10:06 AM EDT)

Angry Sony France workers release CEO (03/13/2009 9:14 AM EDT)

Huge falls seen in sales of power semis (03/13/2009 8:30 AM EDT)

Samsung Electronics, LG Display expect difficult year (03/13/2009 1:51 AM EDT)
Technology

Comment: Cisco clarifies its cloud vision (03/13/2009 8:34 PM EDT)

Video: HP Labs chief on the recovery (03/13/2009 5:48 PM EDT)

Nanowires could make fuel cells commercially viable (03/13/2009 10:22 AM EDT)

Daimler bus combines hub motors, fuel cells (03/12/2009 1:47 PM EDT)

Go to Archives

IDF: Intel takes giant steps into communications

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:45:00 +0000

Will Wade
EE Times
(09/01/1999 6:56 PM EDT)

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. -- Intel Corp.'s other shoe dropped Wednesday.

After more than a year of methodical advances into the communications market, the microprocessor king unveiled a networking processor and a new system architecture that are likely to rock everything from comms-design assumptions to system pricing.

At the annual Intel Developer Forum, company executives described the new network processor, the IXP1200, and a new system architecture designed specifically for the wired world, Internet Exchange Architecture. The company also announced the acquisition of NetBoost Corp. during the conference, and confirmed that more acquisitions in the communications segment are in the pipeline.

"Every type of computer, every platform, is a connected device," observed Mark Christensen, vice president and general manager of Intel's network communication group. "Connectivity is key to everything we do. That's why Intel is interested in communications."

While the company's image is inextricably linked with the microprocessor, the network processor will be an increasingly important part of its future.

"Intel used to see networking as a way to increase the sales of PCs and microprocessors," noted Nathan Brookwood, principal analyst for Insight 64 (Saratoga, Calif.). "Now they are realizing they can make a lot of money in this field."

Michael Slater, executive editor of Microprocessor Report, noted that the company's ASPs for x86 microprocessors will only decline in the future and they can't realistically expect to increase their market share in that segment.

"Intel really has to diversify in order to maintain their growth rates," he said. "This is a strategic shift, but it's been going on for a while. Now we are starting to see some tangible evidence of that plan."

The IXP1200 chip features six RISC micro engines to process data packets at wire speed, all of which are managed by a standard StrongARM SA1 core, which does not operate at real-time. The micro engines all utilize multi-threading technology and can execute four instructions at once. Produced at the 0.28-micron level, the chip delivers total processing power of 1,000 MIPS, and runs on less than five watts. Each chip can provide up to 50 Gbits-per-second of bandwidth, and up to 16 of the devices can be plugged into a single system for a total aggregate bandwidth closing in on a terabit-per-second. Future versions of the chip will use a StrongARM SA2 core, and will almost certainly see design shrinks.

"The IXP1200 is designed specifically to manipulate, massage and transport data traffic," said Tony Stelliga, vice president of Level One Communications, one of Intel's recent acquisitions, and now a business unit within Christensen's networking group. He stressed that general-purpose microprocessors do not deliver the power to control the increasing traffic on today's networks, and ASICs are too expensive. "This chip is designed to replace upwards of a dozen ASICs in today's routers."

It is also priced to push ASICs out of the router space, with a single-chip price of $200, and volume-discounts making them even more affordable for large OEMs. "We are pricing these to replace ASICs," said Christensen. He estimated the potential market for network processors could grow to several hundred million dollars over the next few years.

Analyst Brookwood concurred, saying there is likely a demand for up to 2 million units of the $200 chips, and that demand will almost certainly increase over time.

"In the evolution of processors, we have seen several products emerge to address specific market needs, and that is what we are seeing here with the network processor," said Slater. "This is a concept that makes sense because networking systems have some very stringent performance requirements, but their needs are very focused."

Besides the IXP1200, Intel will roll out another dozen complementary chips in the next several months, including components to support Fast Ethernet LANs and WANs, exchange formatting engines, ATM framers, PHYs, and a pair of components for digital subscriber line modems. Christensen said the IXP1200 and several of the other components are sampling now, and about 10 parts in the family should ramp into volume production before the end of the year. The remaining parts will ramp in the first quarter of next year.

All of these chips will fit into the Internet Exchange Architecture (IXA), which Intel announced as an open format for the entire communications industry. "It's clear that there is an insatiable demand for bandwidth," said Christensen. "But the Internet was built for transportation, and the new demand is for different classes of service."

Comparing the Internet economy to an airplane, he said that all traffic today is delivered via cargo class, but emerging needs such as voice and video traffic will require higher priority and must be upgraded to first class. IXA and the IXP1200, with its six processing engines, are designed to allow service providers to move data in different manners.

It also allows them to monitor which traffic moves in which class, and charge higher rates for better service. "The carriers want to find ways to extract more revenue, and we are going to provide that capability," said Stelliga. "They can now offer different tiers of network service."

With its acquisition of NetBoost Corp., Intel Corp. has acquired a key layer of technology for its Internet Exchange Architecture (IXA).

Founded two years ago by seven people who had worked together at Sun Microsystems, NetBoost has developed an application programming interface (API) that Intel will adopt for its networking silicon. Pradip Shankar, vice president of engineering at NetBoost Corp. (Mountain View, Calif.) said the company set out to develop an API that could be used for more complex applications, such as provisioning, virtual private networks (VPNs), firewall creation, and other performance-critical apps.

"We wanted to target the more complex applications, which would require an API-based infrastructure. The idea is that the API would allow a hardening of those function, so the customers would get the speed they needed without the hassles of dealing with low-level hardware. The same software, the core services, can be mapped to different pieces of silicon," said Shankar.

That strategy caused Intel to first make a second-round investment in NetBoost last year, and to acquire the company outright in a deal signed at midnight Tuesday (Aug. 31) for an undisclosed amount. Mark Christensen, vice president of Intel's Network Communications Group (NCG), said the addition of NetBoost's API "will allow the ISAs (independent software developers) to write to our architectures," including Pentium processors, and the IXA 1200 processor introduced last week at the Intel Developer Forum here.

Shankar said NetBoost created a Network Classification Language which allows programmers to describe, in a media independent manner, the nature of various packets of information.

"The NCL allows the application to understand if this is, for example, an FTP packet, and then to figure out how to discriminate, manipulate, encrypt, and perform other actions, all of which have a classification paradigm," he said.

Since January, NetBoost also has been selling a co-processor designed to speed up network processing. Called the PE2110, the policy engine sells as a PCI card for about $3,000. The combination of hardware and software are used by network managers to monitor and control the network traffic.

Starting this year, NetBoost has started to derive revenues. With fewer than 100 employees, NetBoost will become an Intel subsidiary, and CEO Len Rand will report directly to Christensen.

Intel Press Room

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:39:00 +0000

Intel Notifies AMD of Cross-License Breach ›

SANTA CLARA, Calif. March 16, 2009 – Intel Corporation today disclosed that the company has notified Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) that it believes AMD has breached a 2001 patent cross-license agreement with Intel.
Intel Science Talent Search 2009 Winners Announced ›

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 10, 2009 – Honoring the next generation of American innovators, Intel Corporation today announced the winners of America's oldest and most prestigious pre-college science competition, the Intel Science Talent Search, a program of Society for Science & the Public.
Nation's Top High School Innovators Met with President Obama to Discuss the Importance of Math and Science ›

WASHINGTON, D.C., March 9, 2009 – The nation's top high school scientists met with President Barack Obama today to discuss their views on the role of math and science education in solving some of today's most important global challenges as part of the 2009 Intel Science Talent Search, a program of Society for Science and the Public.
Intel Chairman: Educational Technology Projects 'Changing the Shape of Serbia's Future' ›

BELGRADE, Serbia, March 6, 2009 - Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett said his company will strengthen its efforts with the Serbian government to spur economic development by enhancing education and computer literacy in the country.
Intel Makes Investment in French Academic Research Effort Expected to Benefit Europe ›

PARIS, March 5, 2009 – Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett announced that his company is investing in a new academic research facility dedicated to high-performance computing (HPC) in France.
Intel Strengthens Commitment to Education in Romania ›

BUCHAREST, Romania, March 4, 2009 – Intel Corporation Chairman Craig Barrett today made an impassioned speech on education to Romanian university students, telling them that education and technology are key to creating an innovation economy.
Intel Honors 26 Companies with Preferred Quality Supplier Award ›

SANTA CLARA, Calif., March 4, 2009 -- Intel Corporation today announced the 26 companies receiving Intel's Preferred Quality Supplier (PQS) award for commitment to quality and performance excellence in 2008.
Read all news releases ›

Buy a New Computer with Intel Inside

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:38:00 +0000

Featured Notebooks

Lenovo ThinkPad X300 6478

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

Starting at $1849

Apple MacBook Air Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz

featuring the
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featuring the
Core 2 Duo

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ASUS Eee PC 900

featuring the
Celeron M

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Featured Desktops

Acer Veriton L460

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

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Velocity Micro Edge Z15

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

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Featured Internet Devices

Lenovo ThinkPad X300 6478

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

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Apple MacBook Air Core 2 Duo 1.8 GHz

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Featured Reviews

Toshiba Portege R500(U7600)

With its ultralight design and stunning silhouette, the feather light 1.72 pound Port?g? R500 Series is the transcendent expression of executive mobility and style. The Port?g? R500 Series represents an uncompromising synthesis of portability and productivity that's meticulously engineered for the demands of executive computing.

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Velocity Micro Edge Z15 (E6750)

Designed to be the very fastest gaming computer, Velocity Micro cuts the fat and left the leanest, meanest system a true gamer could dream of. Built with the ideals of maximum performance and a real world price, this system even ships faster, too.

Learn More >

Product Index for business

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Product Index

Processors

Motherboards

Chipsets

Consumer electronics

Technical books

Software products

Storage and I/O

Health

Intel® Health Guide

Dell recommends Windows Vista® Home Premium.

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:54:00 +0000

My Components
SYSTEM COLOR	Jet Black	edit
PROCESSOR	Intel® Pentium® Dual Core T4200 (2.0GHz/800Mhz FSB/1MB cache)	edit
OPERATING SYSTEM	Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Edition SP1	edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE	Microsoft Works	edit
WARRANTY AND SERVICE	1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis	edit
HD DISPLAY	Glossy, widescreen 15.6 inch display (1366x768)	edit
MEMORY	3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 800MHz	edit
HARD DRIVE	250GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)	edit
VIDEO CARD	Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD	edit
INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE	8X CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-R Drive)	edit
WIRELESS CARDS	Dell Wireless 1397 802.11g Half Mini-Card	edit
INTEGRATED WEBCAM	No Webcam Option	edit
BATTERY OPTIONS	6-cell battery	edit
SOUND OPTIONS	High Definition Audio 2.0	edit
My Accessories
SECURITY SOFTWARE	McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days	edit
My Software & Accessories
ENTERTAINMENT AND EDITING SOFTWARE	WildTangent Games	edit
My Service
REMOTE ACCESS	Dell Remote Access, free basic service	edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP	Dell Online Backup 2GB for 1 year	edit
ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Adobe Software	Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 9.0
Network	Integrated 10/100 Network Card
PROCESSOR LABELS	Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor
OS LABELS	Windows Vista™ Basic
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS	No ISP requested

ESSENTIAL ADD-ONS

Area-51 m15x – 15.4-inch Widescreen

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:51:00 +0000

Area-51 m15x – 15.4-inch Widescreen

First 15.4-inch notebook with Intel® Core™2 Extreme
First 15.4-inch notebook with NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8800M GTX
Up to 4GB of 667MHz DDR2 Memory

Alienware engineered the Area-51® m15x notebook from the ground up for both performance and portability. Expert design, performance and innovative software are only the beginning.

Alienware M17 – 17-inch LCD notebook

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 06:49:00 +0000

Alienware M17 – 17-inch LCD notebook

With an available Intel® Core™2 Quad Q9100 or Intel® Core™2 Extreme QX9300
The Alienware M17 notebook is powered by the world's first-ever quad core mobile CPU. The Intel® Core™2 Quad delivers unrivaled power to the M17, supplying ample horsepower to the system so you can enjoy expanded multitasking abilities and faster speeds when taking on resource-intensive tasks such as playing next-generation games, video editing and more.

TSMC deal offers glimpse of Intel future

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 17:43:00 +0000

TSMC deal offers glimpse of Intel future

by Brooke Crothers
ntel is making a bid to become a force in smartphones. This will test its ability to compete in arguably the most important chip market outside of PCs.

The deal struck this week with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. will put the Intel architecture into the same factories that churn out chips for companies like Qualcomm and Texas Instruments, which use an alternative architecture called ARM--the choice for many small devices, cell phones, and most smartphones, including the Apple iPhone, BlackBerry Storm, and Google-based Android phones.

ARM has always been a thorn in Intel's side. So much so that Intel acquired the StrongARM architecture in 1997, turned into Intel XScale, and aimed it at handhelds (most prominently iPaq handhelds sold by Compaq and then Hewlett-Packard). Before that, StrongARM had been used in the Apple Newton (a primitive precursor to the iPhone) and other small devices.

But Intel sold the money-losing XScale business to Marvell in 2006. And so ended Intel's attempt to compete ARM to ARM in the small device space.

What happened? The small consumer device and communications chip business is not the PC business and, consequently, not an area where Intel has historically been competitive. But that doesn't mean Intel can afford to ignore this space. Handheld personal computing has arrived (if you hadn't noticed). The iPhone, Blackberry, and Android phones are virtually handheld PCs--with Intel processors nowhere to be seen.

So this time instead of coming up with an ARM chip, Intel is trying to shoehorn its successful x86 architecture into the ARM universe of smart phones, consumer electronics, and the amorphous, though typically profitable, "embedded" market. TSMC excels in building chips for all of these markets. The world's largest contract chip manufacturer operates successfully on gross margins much lower than Intel's enviable x86 PC margins, typically north of 50 percent (as this CNET Blog Network piece points out).

And one market where Intel would like to succeed (and some would say must succeed) is smartphones because of its sheer size and because "that's where the PC functionality is moving toward," said Doug Freedman at Broadpoint AmTech. Though markets for hardware that goes into, for example, industrial or medical hardware, will be important, it's the smartphone market that will test Intel's ability to compete profitably in a consumer space outside of PCs.

Just how big is the overall cell phone market? On a unit basis, it is about five times the size of the PC market. There were about 1.22 billion handsets shipped in 2008, while the PC market is forecast at 257 million units in 2009, according to Gartner.

But Intel cannot operate the way it does in the PC world--where its credo almost seems to be: if we build it, they (HP, Dell, Acer) will come. This won't work in the cell phone industry. Service providers and handset makers are center stage, hardware is at best a side show. So, hooking up with TSMC is a way for Intel to make itself more palatable to cell phone companies, which are not used to dealing with the 800-pound PC chip gorilla. "By going through a TSMC, it is perceived less as an Intel move and more as, hey, I'm just another source for you the handset maker because you're already used to buying stuff from TSMC," said Ian Lao, an analyst at In-Stat. "It's insulating the gorilla thing."

And it's none too early. Qualcomm is now pushing the performance envelope with its Snapdragon platform, Nvidia is hawking its graphics-intensive Tegra technology, and Texas Instruments is revving up its OMAP chips to achieve better performance per watt.

In other words, while these chip companies are not wavering from their longstanding strong suit of power frugality--an imperative in the cell phone world--they are also beginning to ratchet up chip speeds to 1GHz and above and add more processing cores. And that's Intel's strong suit.

"For ARM developers, multi-core implementations will address much of the performance differential," said In-Stat's Lao. Look no further than Qualcomm. The future Qualcomm QSD8672 chip will be a dual-core Snapdragon that features two CPU computing cores capable of 1.5GHz performance, 1080p high-definition video, Wi-Fi, mobile TV, and GPS. The graphics core is based on Advanced Micro Devices' ATI unit's technology.

Hmm...Dual-core processor, ATI graphics, high-definition video? Sounds a lot like a PC. Indeed one of the burning questions is whether PC makers will begin running Microsoft's operating systems on ARM-based devices, according to Lao.

"The next 9 to 18 months will be quite interesting to watch," he said. "Can Intel get down to the cost and power levels needed? Will they be able to get the carrier and handset makers aboard? There will definitely be a market shakeup."

Intel launches sixteen new 45nm processors

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:36:00 +0000

As of today, Intel's 45nm "Penryn" architecture has truly arrived. With 16 new processors spanning mobile, desktops, and servers, Intel is keeping the pressure on rivals (AMD) and the goods flowing to partners (Apple).

By Jon Stokes | Last updated January 7, 2008 9:00
Intel CEO Paul Otellini took the stage at CES today to unveil 16 new 45nm processors: five dual-core parts for the mobile space, seven desktop parts (four Duos and three Quads), and four Xeon processors. Leaked roadmaps and prior announcements meant that the launch lineup didn't carry any surprises, but it's worth recapping what Intel has announced because we may see some of these same processors featured at next week's Macworld show.

Mobile is where the action was in 2007, and 2008's full 45nm ramp-up will only throw gasoline on the mobile fire. Intel knows where the action is, so the CES spotlight was firmly fixed on the five new mobile parts: a quartet of Core 2 Duo processors at speeds from 2.1GHz to 2.6GHz, topped off by a 2.8GHz Core 2 Extreme part, the X9000.

All of these parts will plug right into laptops based on Intel's Santa Rosa platform, and they should be available this month. There's pretty much no technical reason why Apple couldn't announce Macbook Pro and iMac bumps based on these new parts next week, but seeing as how the lowly Macintosh doesn't really have the pizazz of the iPhone or the AppleTV or movie rentals, I'm expecting a post-MWSF stealth update. No need to waste precious stage time on a computer. (I kid, I kid. I'm just bitter about the previous Macworld.)

The new Penryn parts should add a little bit of oomph to Apple's portable and all-in-one desktop lineup even at the same clockspeed, while shaving a few watts off of the power budget. (Just because these new Penryn mobiles launch at the same 35W TDP as the Meroms that they'll replace doesn't mean that they're not more power-efficient. It just means that we don't know how much more efficient they are, and under what conditions.)

Processor	Speed	L2 cache	FSB Speed
Core 2 Extreme X9000	2.8GHz	6MB	800MHz
Core 2 Duo T9500	2.6GHz	6MB	800MHz
Core 2 Duo T9300	2.5GHz	6MB	800MHz
Core 2 Duo T8300	2.4GHz	3MB	800MHz
Core 2 Duo T8100	2.1GHz	3MB	800MHz

New laptop processors are great, but Intel is really hoping to stoke mobile mania this year with their forthcoming Menlow platform. Otellini narrowed down the timeframe slightly for the launch of Menlow's components—the Silverthorne CPU and the Poulsbo chipset—to "later in Q1," with the first Menlow-based devices from ASUS, Lenovo, Toshiba, BenQ, Quanta, and others appearing in the second quarter of this year. At that point, we're going to find out whether the "ultramobile PC" (UMPC) is a viable form factor or an awkward, in-between product that's too big to be a phone and too cramped to replace a laptop.

Core 2 Quad debuts versus Phenom on the desktop

Moving on to the world of desktop PCs and to the Intel vs. AMD horse race that still dominates that scene, Otellini took aim at Sunnyvale with seven long-awaited new Core 2 parts: four Duos and three Quads. Even with its new Core 2 Quad parts delayed until sometime later in the first quarter of this year, Intel's dual-core offerings are still poised to hammer AMD clear through the first quarter. The E8500 is Intel's premium chip in the consumer market, with a price of $266. The next chip in line, the E8400, is just $183 for a 3GHz part with 6MB of L2 cache. That's a 35 percent price cut compared to Intel's current 3GHz E6850 and $6 cheaper than the 2.66GHz E6750. Prices (and price/performance ratios) like this are going to put even more pressure on AMD's K8 at a time when Phenom is incapable of picking up the slack.

Processor	Speed	L2 cache	FSB Speed
Core 2 Quad Q9550	2.83GHz	12MB	1333MHz
Core 2 Quad Q9450	2.66GHz	12MB	1333MHz
Core 2 Quad Q9300	2.50GHz	6MB	1333MHz
Core 2 Duo E8500	3.16GHz	6MB	1333MHz
Core 2 Duo E8400	3GHz	6MB	1333MHz
Core 2 Duo E8200	2.66GHz	6MB	1333MHz
Core 2 Duo E8190	2.66GHz	6MB	1333MHz

Phenom's low price will probably give it some traction against Intel's upcoming 2.5GHz 9300 and 2.66GHz 9450, and a slower quad-core can theoretically outperform even a significantly faster dual-core provided that the software in question is properly threaded. Given the relative paucity of of consumer-level software capable of using this level of threading, however, Phenom doesn't have much ground to stand on when compared with Intel's current and upcoming dual-core products. Making matters worse, the CPU isn't set to hit 3GHz until late in the second quarter of 2008.

Until AMD demonstrates a newfound ability to ramp Barcelona, respins the core for greater IPC efficiency, or manages to ship its upcoming 45nm Shanghai parts in volume and at competitive speeds, the game is Intel's to lose. Moving into 2008, Santa Clara's 45nm dual-core prices are excellent. If Conroe was good, Penryn looks better across the board.

More Xeons shrink to 45nm

On the server side, Intel filled out the low end of its Xeon—the 3000 sequence—with three quad-core parts plus a dual-core part. As with the desktop parts, the dual-core part is available this month, while the quads are delayed until later in the quarter.

Processor	Speed	L2 cache	FSB Speed
Quad-core Xeon X3360	2.83GHz	12MB	1333MHz
Quad-core Xeon X3350	2.66GHz	12MB	1333MHz
Quad-core Xeon X3320	2.5GHz	6MB	1333MHz
Dual-core Xeon E3110	3GHz	6MB	1333MHz

In terms of performance, the new Xeon parts should further strengthen Intel's position versus AMD's Barcelona (which is still MIA in the wider retail channel). The power picture remains largely unchanged, as the FB-DIMMs are still the main culprit in keeping Intel's server platform's wattage numbers up there.

Joel Hruska contributed to this report.

Intel Plans 32-Core Processor by 2009/2010

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:33:00 +0000

It might be time to change our way of thinking about processor speed. Now Intel is hinting at processors with 32 cores available by the end of this decade. Sure, the company predicted 20GHz chips by 2010 a few years ago, but now instead of higher gigahertz numbers, they're talking multiple cores that will result in a processor that will be 15 times faster than today's quickest chips.

Intel has assigned the pet name "Keifer" to the many-core processor project in general and "Gulftown" specifically to its 32-core processor that will be manufactured using a 32nm process, and it will include eight processing nodes, each with four cores. The jaw-dropper is that each one of these cores will be running at a paltry 2GHz, but since there are 32 of them, they'll leave today's processors in the dust. That is, unless Intel thinks of something else between now and then, which wouldn't be all that unusual. – Charlie White

Intel GMA

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:23:00 +0000

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

GMA X3000 on Intel DG965WHMKR motherboard

The Intel Graphics Media Accelerator, or GMA, is Intel's current line of graphics processors (GPUs) built into various motherboard chipsets.

These integrated graphics products allow a computer to be built without a separate graphics card, which can reduce cost and power consumption. They are commonly found on low-priced notebook and desktop computers as well as business computers, which do not need high levels of graphics capability. 90% of all PCs sold have integrated graphics.^[1] They rely on the computer's main memory for storage, which imposes a performance penalty as both the CPU and GPU have to access memory over the same bus.

History

The GMA line of GPUs replaces the earlier “Extreme Graphics”, Intel’s first series of integrated graphics chips, and Intel740 line, which were discrete units in the form of AGP cards.

The original architecture of GMA systems supported only a few functions in hardware, and relied on the host CPU to handle at least some of the graphics pipeline, further decreasing performance. However, with the introduction of Intel’s 4th generation of GMA architecture (GMA X3000) in 2006, many of the functions are now built into the hardware, providing an increase in performance. The 4th generation of GMA combines fixed function capabilities with a threaded array of programmable executions units, providing advantages to both graphics and video performance. Many of the advantages of the new GMA architecture come from the ability to flexibly switch as needed between executing graphics-related tasks or video-related tasks. While GMA performance has been widely criticized in the past as being too slow for computer games, the latest GMA generation should ease many of those concerns for the casual gamer.

Despite similarities, Intel's main series of GMA IGPs is not based on the PowerVR technology Intel licensed from Imagination Technologies. Intel used the low-power PowerVR MBX designs in chipsets supporting their XScale platform, and since the sale of XScale in 2006 has licensed the PowerVR SGX and used it in the GMA 500 IGP for use with their Atom platform.

Intel has begun working on a new series of discrete (non-integrated) graphics hardware products, under the codename Larrabee

Intel Core i7 Memory Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 13:10:00 +0000

Introduction

Core i7 has come out and it’s a hard hitting product. Not only is it a new platform based around the Core micro architecture, its native quad core design really packs a punch, too. With this, Intel has finally moved away from the slow Northbridge based memory controller and followed suit with AMD in placing an integrated Northbridge chip on the CPU. This houses the memory controller, allowing for a much faster access path to the memory. Intel has also increased the amount of memory and data paths that the Core i7 can access.

Looking back on the history of system memory and more directly at Intel’s implementations, triple channel is simply no big surprise. But is it something we need now, or is it just hype?
Rambus was Intel’s big bet back in the late 90’s; while it sprouted impressive speeds along with theoretical bandwidth beyond SDRAM or even DDR which hadn’t seen the light of day, Intel’s reliance in this technology became their downfall and their attempts to push it on the general PC users caused a huge uproar.

DDR was Intel’s only reprieve, well after its introduction due to Rambus agreements. However, since that time Intel has not only used DDR, but improved on it. Now that we have seen Intel’s pattern with memory we see that not only are they banking a huge amount on their DDR3 technology, but also increasing the bus from 128-bit or dual channel to 192-bit or tri channel memory.

Today’s question we pose; does Core i7 really need three channels of memory or can it perform happily on two channels without severely impacting the performance of the system?

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 12:26:00 +0000

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor The best desktop processors on the planet¹

Brilliantly fast

With faster, intelligent, multi-core technology that applies processing power where it's needed most, new Intel® Core™ i7 processors deliver an incredible breakthrough in PC performance. They are the best desktop processors on the planet.¹

You'll multitask applications faster and unleash incredible digital media creation. And you'll experience maximum performance for everything you do, thanks to the combination of Intel® Turbo Boost technology² and Intel® Hyper-Threading technology (Intel® HT technology)³, which maximizes performance to match your workload.

Product information

2.93 GHz and 2.66 GHz core speed
8 processing threads with Intel® HT technology
8 MB of Intel® Smart Cache
3 Channels of DDR3 1066 MHz memory

An introduction to the processors made by AMD and Intel

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:59:00 +0000

Another name for a computer's processor is central processing unit (CPU). Installed in a printed circuit board (PCB) called a motherboard (also known as a mainboard), the processor processes the programmed software instructions of applications and utilities, such as MS Word, and Norton AntiVirus, according to the programmed instructions provided by the computer's operating system, which is usually a version of Windows or Linux or Apple's Mac OS X.

There are only two major manufacturers of desktop PC and laptop PC processors - AMD and Intel. However, there are many major manufacturers of the motherboards that these processors run on. You cannot run an Intel processor on an AMD-based motherboard and vice versa. Visit the Motherboards, PC Cases and Power Supplies pages on this site for more information on them. Use your browser's Back button to return to this page.

With the arrival of its Core 2 processor technology, Intel named both its desktop PC and laptop PC processors Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad (four cores). The laptop processor start with a T, such as T7100. Desktop processors start with an E, such as E8500, and X for the extreme (extremely fast and expensive) version, a Q for quad-core, such as Q6700, and QX for the extreme version, such as QX9770.

November 18, 2008. - Intel has released three of its new Socket LGA1366 quad-core Core i7 processors. Here is a good review:

Intel Core i7 - http://www.pcpro.co.uk/reviews/233892/intel-core-i7.html

And here is the information on the new processors on Intel's website:

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor -

http://www.intel.com/products/processor/corei7/...

The major motherboard manufacturers have brought out motherboards that support the new Intel desktop PC processors.

Asus - http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=3&l2=179

MSI - http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php...

Gigabyte - http://www.gigabyte.com.tw/Products/Motherboard/...

User manuals are available from all three of those manufacturers, so you can download copies and have a look at what is on offer.

If you are thinking of buying a desktop PC which has a particular make and model of processor, you can visit the following two pages to view tables containing all of the technical specifications (clock speed, supported instruction sets, cache, etc.) and other information, such as the dates of release, of all of the processors made by AMD and Intel up to the present. The further down the list a processor appears, the more recent it is.

Desktop CPU Comparison Guide - AMD processors -

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=337&pgno=0

Desktop CPU Comparison Guide - Intel processors -

http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx?artno=337&pgno=4

This page provides a comparison of laptop/notebook PC processors:

Comparison of Mobile Processors -

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Mobile-Processors-Benchmarklist.2436.0.html

If any of the above links don't work, try entering a suitable search using the relevant keywords in the Google search box at the top of this page (with its Web radio button enabled).

The Tom's Hardware Guide processor charts can give you a good idea how different processors compare with each other.

Updated CPU Charts 2008: AMD Versus Intel -

"The new CPU charts for 2008 from Tom’s Hardware have, at long last, arrived. There are 18 entries from AMD and 36 processors from Intel, which were put to the test using a fresh gauntlet of benchmarks. For more meaningful comparisons and the most consistent benchmark results, our testing platforms were fully re-equipped. The graphics card used was a powerful MSI N280GTX-T2D1G-OC based on the Nvidia GeForce GTX 280." -

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/amd-intel-pc-processor,review-31355.html

Mobile [laptop/notebook] CPU Charts -

"Tom's Interactive Mobile CPU Charts focus on popular mobile processors, which are used in laptops and notebooks because of their increased energy efficiency." -

http://www.tomshardware.co.uk/charts/processors/3d-studio-max-9,463.html

If your desktop PC has an Intel-based motherboard, you can use:

Intel Processors and Boards Compatibility Tool -

Find the Intel processors that will work with your PC's Intel-based motherboard. Find motherboards boards that will work with your PC's processor. Check the compatibility of a motherboard and processor.

http://processormatch.intel.com/COMPDB/Default.aspx

The images at the top of this page show an AMD Athlon 64 processor (right) and the packaging that the retail product comes in (left). A heatsink and fan cooling unit is included in the package. If you want to use thermal paste to improve the transfer of heat from the processor to the heatsink, you'll have to buy some, because none is included in the package. The array of pins that fit into the motherboard's processor socket are on the reverse side of the processor. The processor in the image is for advertising purposes only, it is not what it looks like in reality. Images of the top and bottom of the real thing are shown further down this page.

AMD Athlon 64 processors are fitted into and run from Socket 939 and Socket AM2/AM2+ motherboards. Visit the Annotated images of ATX Socket LGA775, Socket A and Socket 939 motherboards page on this site to see annotated images of those three socket-type motherboards.

The following online video shows a desktop PC being built with an Asus P5E64 WS Professional motherboard and an Intel Core 2 Quad QX9770 quad-core processor. It shows you where the motherboard is installed in the case and where the processor is installed in the motherboard in a desktop PC.

Video: How To Build An Intel QX9770 QuadCore PC -

http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2008/02/...

Intel for Communicaton

noreply@blogger.com (chowdhury) — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 05:54:00 +0000

Breaking new ground in wireless communications and enterprise networks

The Communications Technology Lab (CTL) is driving Intel communications and networking technology leadership worldwide. Key projects include groundbreaking work in wireless radio communications, public airwaves regulatory reform, performance networking for enterprise environments, and more.

CTL's specific charter includes:


	Conducting world-class research

	Delivering key technologies from concept to product adoption

	Collaborating with industry via standards, alliances and evangelism

	Engaging worldwide for the best research and technology

Read on for more about CTL's pioneering work.

Intel for Communication

IBM in talks to buy Sun Microsystems for $6.5 billion Business and Law

AMD's lawyer claims Intel wants them dead

AMD releases Windows 7 graphics driver

Intel use worldwide

Recent news

IDF: Intel takes giant steps into communications

Intel Press Room

Buy a New Computer with Intel Inside

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Dell recommends Windows Vista® Home Premium.

Area-51 m15x – 15.4-inch Widescreen

Area-51 m15x – 15.4-inch Widescreen

Alienware M17 – 17-inch LCD notebook

Alienware M17 – 17-inch LCD notebook

TSMC deal offers glimpse of Intel future

TSMC deal offers glimpse of Intel future

Intel launches sixteen new 45nm processors

Core 2 Quad debuts versus Phenom on the desktop

More Xeons shrink to 45nm

Intel Plans 32-Core Processor by 2009/2010

Intel GMA

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

History

Intel Core i7 Memory Analysis

Intel® Core™ i7 Processor

Brilliantly fast

Product information

An introduction to the processors made by AMD and Intel

Intel for Communicaton

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

featuring the
Celeron M

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

featuring the
Core 2 Duo

featuring the
Core 2 Duo