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32nm posts

Intel's 32nm processors show off power efficiency in informal preview

by Vladislav Savov posted Sep 28th 2009 at 10:19AM

Craving for some cutting edge tech to go with your croissant this morning? Intel's Clarkdale and Arrandale -- the 32nm chips that cram the GPU and memory controller inside the CPU package -- have been subjected to the discerning eye of the Hot Hardware investigators, and have shown off some significantly reduced power usage. The entire small form factor system you see above, built around a Clarkdale processor, clocked up an austere 28W when idling, and only went up to around 70W under full load, which you can just about make out on the wattmeter beside it. Limited to two processing cores due to the added complexity inside the chip, these might lack the juice to oust Core i7 rigs, but if the laptop parts reflect similar power savings, it's difficult to imagine a more desirable CPU for your next mobile computer. Hit the read link for some synthetic benchmarks and further impressions.

Eyes-on with Intel's Pine Trail CPU/GPU hybrid and new Gulftown gaming chip (update)

by Nilay Patel posted Sep 22nd 2009 at 2:06PM

See that tiny little thing? That's not just a CPU, it's Intel's next-gen Atom Pine Trail CPU / GPU hybrid, and it's set to pop in all sorts of devices here at IDF. Intel was demoing it in a nettop running 480p video, ~~but they assured us it was capable of 1080p playback~~ ~~-- we'll believe it when we see it, obviously~~. Also on display here at IDF: demo machines running 32nm Arrandale chips, with Intel's Clear HD video playback system, and the next-gen Gulftown gaming chip, which has six cores and will slot right into your X58 mobo to provide more power than you possibly need sometime next year. Check it all in the gallery!

Update: So the first Intel rep we spoke to was a little confused -- Pine Trail only supports 480p playback, although it can apparently do 720p if pushed. Native HD isn't on Intel's roadmap until the next generation of these chips, so If you want HD right now, Intel's pointing manufacturers to the Broadcom Crystal HD video accelerator, which usually ends up costing about $30 extra at retail. So to recap: Intel's integrating graphics into its CPU dies, but in order to play back HD content, you still need a separate video processor to handle the decoding. How very efficient.

Gallery: Intel Pine Trail, Arrandale, and Gulftown

Intel and Micron announce smallest, cheapest NAND flash yet

by Nilay Patel posted Aug 11th 2009 at 7:34PM

Hynix was first out of the gate with triple-level-cell flash memory, but Intel and Micron just pushed the MLC state of the art with their new 34nm three-bits-per-cell NAND, which they say will produce even smaller and cheaper 32Gb chips than those currently on the market. That means we should be seeing some monster storage in some tiny packages later this year when these guys ship -- everyone ready for another round of flash drive purchases?

[Via CNET]

Intel's 32nm Clarkdale CPUs moved up to Q4, a full year ahead of AMD?

by Thomas Ricker posted Jun 29th 2009 at 6:20AM

It's just a rumor, but DigiTimes has pretty decent sources within Taiwan's motherboard industry. So what was a Q1 2010 mass production launch of Clarkdale CPUs is now rumored to be coming in Q4, notable as the first Intel CPU to use its new 32nm process technology with an integrated memory controller and graphics core built on a 45nm process. This jibes with what DailyTECH and others were reporting back in Feburary. DigiTimes adds that Intel expects Clarkdale CPUs to account for 10% of its total desktop CPU shipments in Q4 rising to 20% in Q1 2010. That means we should see the chips well before the holiday shopping season (near the October 22nd launch of Windows 7 makes sense) if true. As for AMD, well, last we heard they're still looking to "ramp up" production in the middle of 2010 with mass production capabilities arriving around Q4. Yeah, we know.

Read -- DigiTimes
Read -- DailyTECH

Nanometer wars heat up, Toshiba and Intel enter unofficial race

by Darren Murph posted Jun 22nd 2009 at 10:12AM

Think the megapixel race is bad? Now we've another to worry about, with both Toshiba and Intel hastily approaching 0.01nm technology in order to make chips faster, more nimble and smaller. According to undisclosed sources at Digitimes, Intel has actually canned production plans for its 45nm Havendale processors, which were originally slated to slip into machines later this year. The cause? It's heading straight to 32nm, reportedly hoping to ship its Clarkdale line in Q1 2010 with entry-level prices ranging from $60 to $190. In related news, Toshiba is joining the likes of IBM, Samsung and Globalfoundries in an effort to dish out chips based on 28nm process technology. Needless to say, the move is being made in an effort to "stay relevant in an area dominated by the likes of Intel Corp and Texas Instruments." Now, if only we could get one of these potent, low-power chips inside of a netbook, we'd be pleased as punch.

Read - Intel cans Havendale in move to 32nm
Read - Toshiba speeds to 28nm

JMicron NAND flash controller could lead to significantly lower SSD prices

by Darren Murph posted May 31st 2009 at 8:22AM

Truth be told, SSD prices have been declining at a noticeable tick since way back in 2007, but the reality is that the average consumer still can't afford one -- or, at least they aren't willing to pay the lofty premium for the decent increase in speed. If a bold claim from JMicron is to be believed, all that could change in the run-up to CES 2010. A new report has it that the aforesaid company will be demonstrating its new NAND flash controller next week at Computex, with the JMF612 aimed specifically at a "new generation of NAND flash chips built using smaller process geometries that will be entering the market soon." If all goes well, the cheap single-chip controller could lead to SSD prices falling by around 50 percent by Christmas, but after years of waiting for these things to really get priced for Joe Sixpack and his gaggle of siblings, we're still cautiously skeptical. Not that we wouldn't love to be proven wrong or anything.

[Image courtesy of HotHardware]

Intel presentation promises Medfield-based smartphones by 2011

by Donald Melanson posted May 17th 2009 at 7:21PM

We've been hearing about Intel's Medfield processor for some time now, but much of the talk so far has been about it being an Atom-replacement for netbooks and MIDs. A seemingly recent Intel presentation obtained by the folks at UMPC Portal is now shedding a bit more light on the matter, however, and it's looking like smartphones could actually be at the heart of Intel's long-term plans. As you can see above, and in the complete presentation at the link below, Intel sees its base of devices getting larger and larger as its processors get smaller and more power-efficient, and it looks like "mainstream smartphones" could become a reality as soon as 2011. That's due largely to the 32nm manufacturing process used for the smaller Medfield processor, which also makes uses a smaller board size that leaves more room for keypads, batteries and whatnot. Of course, we are still talking about Intel predicting the state of devices two years out, so who knows how things will shake out in the interim.

Toshiba to ship 32nm process NAND flash memory

by Darren Murph posted Apr 27th 2009 at 11:35AM

Man, talk about a lightning quick turnaround. Just over two months ago, Toshiba was caught showing off 32 nanometer NAND flash chips, and now the firm's gloating about being the world's first to hit the "ship" button. Er, it will be should everything continue as planned. As the story goes, Tosh will start mass production of 32Gb NAND flash memories in July 2009, while 16Gb products will begin to ship in Q3 of this year. The point to this madness? To get more memory into smaller devices, which ought to make future smartphone / MID / UMPC buyers quite jovial.

[Image courtesy of Tech-On]

IBM, Samsung, Globalfoundries, and more looking to beat Intel to 28nm market

by Ross Miller posted Apr 17th 2009 at 5:42AM

Sure, Intel's one-upping AMD in the 32nm department, but IBM and its merry band of Technology Alliance members -- including Samsung, STMicroelectronics, and AMD chipmakers Globalfoundries -- are looking to ramp up the competition and develop even smaller, low power 28nm processors before Intel gets a chance to size down. The group additionally promises migration plans for companies who've got 32nm on their roadmap and want to maybe shrink a few of the later, already planned models. Early risk production for the 28nm chips are planned for second half 2010, which means it's very unlikely we'll be seeing them in consumer gadgets until at least 2011.

Intel to officially refresh laptop chips next week?

by Darren Murph posted Mar 27th 2009 at 9:51PM

We had a hunch this refresh was coming, and according to information gathered by CNET, it's all going down on Monday. The 2.53GHz SP9600, complete with its 6MB of cache memory and $316 sticker, will reportedly be revealed alongside the 1.6GHz SU9600, which will be pegged at $289. Furthermore, we should see a single-core 1.4GHz SU3500 ($262) with a thermal envelope of only 5.5 watts, which will obviously cater to those really, really low-power applications where horsepower isn't a concern. Interestingly, these newfangled pieces of silicon won't be those rumored CULV chips we heard about in January, as those won't be good and ready 'til summertime. There's also a slight chance that we'll hear a bit more on Intel's reemergence in the GPU field, but we're not holding our breath quite so much on that. Dig in below for lots more, or just be patience and wait for the 30th. Totally your call.

Read - Intel CPU details
Read - Intel GPU details

AMD looking to ship 32nm chips in 2010

by Darren Murph posted Feb 28th 2009 at 11:57AM

Or, you know, maybe the headline should read: "AMD looking to ship 32nm chips behind Intel. Rather than staying one step ahead of its fiercest rival, it sounds like Advanced Micro Devices is perfectly content with being a few months behind. Based on words from CEO Dirk Meyer, the company is hoping to "ramp up" production of 32 nanometer processors -- which Intel has already demonstrated -- in the middle of next year, with volume production hopefully starting in Q4. Of course, these chips will be among the first not actually built by AMD; instead, they'll be fabricated by the newly spun Foundry Company, so we suppose the lag is little easier to understand. Oh, and there's also the fact that "AMD isn't in a race with Intel on all technologies," though the business bone inside of us thinks it should be.

Toshiba shows off 32nm NAND flash chips, promises to go smaller

by Donald Melanson posted Feb 25th 2009 at 1:02PM

32nm NAND flash memory may not seem like a huge leap over some of the current 34nm chips out there, but Toshiba seems to be able to appreciate the little things in life, and it's certainly found plenty to boast about with its latest chips here. Perhaps most notably, the company apparently didn't make any major changes from its previous 43nm chips in terms of device structure, with the exception of one "major improvement" to the circuit that was made to overcome the "extremely small" write margin. The new 32nm chips also pack the same 32-gigabit (or 4GB) capacity as those aforementioned 34nm chips, which should let folks cram a bit more storage into the same small space. Better still, Toshiba says volume production of the chips should begin as soon as September of this year, and it's apparently already aiming to mass produce some chips in the 20 to 30nm range by late 2010 or 2011.

[Via Electronista]

Intel demos first-ever 32nm processors

by Nilay Patel posted Feb 10th 2009 at 3:22PM

Intel had a little roadmap event today to shed some light on its massive $7b fab investment, and the focus was mostly on the upcoming transition to 32nm processors -- highlighted by the first-ever demo of a working 32nm Nehalem-based Westmere chip. It was just a demo, so there aren't any hard benchmarks available, but eventually the tech will show up in the Calpella platform's dual-core Clarkdale laptop processors that integrate two processor cores, a graphics core, and a memory controller all in a chip the size of one 45nm quad-core Clarksfield chip. (Yes, the codenames are confusing as hell.) Intel wouldn't lock down the schedule for any of this stuff, but when we asked them about the rumored Calpella delays we heard about this morning we were told that parts of the platform will definitely go into production sometime in 2009. Video, slides, and the full press release after the break.

Continue reading Intel demos first-ever 32nm processors

Intel invests $7 billion in Stateside 32nm manufacturing

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Feb 10th 2009 at 12:23PM

You might not be getting you hands on that Calpella any time soon, but that isn't a sign that Intel is backing down -- if anything, the company has big things in store, including a newly announced $7 billion plan to upgrade four of its Stateside facilities so they can start rolling out those new-fangled 32nm chips we've been hearing so much about. This is good news for the struggling American manufacturing sector, and great news for fans of smaller, faster gadgets -- but not particularly great news for AMD, who entered the new year with a $1.4 billion loss and an eroding share of the x86 processor market.

[Via Forbes]

Intel's 32nm chips ready for MIDs and netbooks in 2009

by Thomas Ricker posted Dec 10th 2008 at 2:08AM

In 2005 Intel revealed its 65-nm manufacturing process, then 45-nm in 2007. Today, in keeping with its "tick-tock" strategy, Intel is announcing a further shrinkage to its manufacturing process as it ends the development phase for 32-nm chip circuitry. That puts the chips on a production schedule for Q4 2009 -- interesting as Intel's rumored 32-nm Medfield chip wasn't expected until the first half of 2010. According to Intel, the new chips incorporate second-generation high-k + metal gate technology with transistors that switch 22% faster than its current 45-nm Penryn chips. Why should you care? Well, the smaller chips are cheaper to manufacture which should translate to consumer savings. They also require less power than Intel's notoriously power-friendly Atom-class chips. As an interesting side note, the Wall Street Journal is reporting that Intel has also disclosed a variant of its 45-nm process (the Lincroft-based Pineview we presume) "that is tailored to create chips for portable computing devices that require low power consumption." Uh, those wouldn't be targeting ARM by any chance would they Intel? Wink wink, nudge nudge.

[Via Wall Street Journal]