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AMD's efficient Ryzen 9 CPUs target Intel's gaming laptop crown
While AMD is winning over the workstation market, Intel still dominates laptop gaming. However, AMD aims to change that in a hurry with the Ryzen 9 4900HS and 4900H Zen 2 mobile processors, launching soon on laptops like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14. They pack eight cores and 16 threads, along with up to 8 cores of integrated Vega graphics, and run at overclocked speeds up to 4.4 GHz. Best of all, the 7-nanometer 4900HS chip consumes just 35 watts of power, boosting battery life for gaming and entertainment apps.
Reuters: White House finds no evidence of spying by Huawei, feels unsafe anyway (update: White House denies)
Just last week, a Congress committee associated Huawei with "credible allegations" of "bribery, corruption, discriminatory behavior and copyright infringement." The report, of course, was part of the Legislative branch's ongoing concern of the company's alleged threat to national security. Today Huawei may have finally caught a break from the US government, albeit a somewhat backhanded one: according to Reuters, a White House ordered review says that there is no evidence of spying on the Chinese company's part. The other side of the hand lands when the report cites exploitable vulnerabilities in Huawei hardware -- one person familiar with the White House review said it found the company's equipment "riddled with holes," and susceptible to hacking. Security complaints aside, the government's old spying concerns are still there. "China has the means, opportunity and motive to use telecommunications companies for malicious purposes," said the House Intelligence Committee's Dutch Ruppersberger, explaining to Reuters that both Huawei and ZTE has pinned their limited cooperation on restrictions from the local government. Even if Huawei hasn't been caught spying, it's still something it could do -- and that's reason enough, it seems, for the US government to avoid doing business with the firm. Update: White House spokesperson Caitlin Hayden told The Hill that no such investigation has been made, stating: "The White House has not conducted any classified inquiry that resulted in clearing any telecom equipment buyer as reported in Reuters," recalling the US government's exclusion of Huawei in the planning for America's interoperable wireless emergency network.
Huawei and ZTE cry foul at US Congress' accusations, say the report was rigged
Chinese telecoms giants Huawei and ZTE have responded to Congress' claims that neither company could be trusted to sell hardware to the US. Both feel that they've been victimized, with ZTE pointing out that since no Chinese company is "free from state influence," the report should have included every tech business based there. Huawei, on the other hand, took a more resigned (albeit snarky) tone, saying that the committee was "committed to a predetermined outcome," and that the business is no different from any Silicon Valley start-up. With the ball firmly in Congress' court, it remains to be seen what action the government will take, but we suspect this one's got the capacity to run and run.
Four Atom chips sneak out of Intel, soon to appear in netbooks and nettops
Rarely do you hear of new chips sneaking out of Intel, Escape from Alcatraz-style. But that's (figuratively) happened today, with a quartet of processors appearing with little fanfare from Chipzilla. Two of these you might recognize as members of the delayed Cedar Trail series, the D2500 and D2700. The former clocks at 1.86GHz and 2.13GHz, with the latter upping that to 2.13GHz and 2.4Ghz; both have a thermal design power of less than 10W. The other two chips sip power even more judiciously: the N2600 has a TDP of less than 3.5W at 1.6GHz or 1.86GHz; the N2800 has a 6.5W TDP, running at 1.86GHz or 2.13GHz. All include GPUs, with the N2000 series destined for netbooks, while the D2000 series should end up in nettops. To dig deeper into the specs, see Intel's datasheet at the source link below.
Will Intel's Core i7 Sandy Bridge E CPUs ship without fans or heatsinks?
Over the past few months, we've peeked Intel's roadmap more than once, but all told we've been treated to scant few details about its high-end desktop line, Sandy Bridge E (that's "E" for enthusiasts). Today, though, VR-Zone is reporting that the next generation of these CPUs will ship without fans or heatsinks -- a tacit acknowledgment, perhaps, that Intel's home-brewed cooling system will be inadequate in the eyes of hobbyists anyway. We reached out to Intel for comment, and while the company stayed mum on the topic of cooling, it did go out of its way to clarify another point the folks at VR-Zone made in their report. The outlet had said that the forthcoming 3820, 3930K and 3960X CPUs will be rated at 130 watts, but will consume closer to 180W and draw up to 23 amps from the 12V2 supply rail -- all without overclocking, mind you. An Intel rep writes: "TDP expectations for the 2nd Generation Intel Core i7 processor family for socket LGA-2011 are in line with previous generations of high end desktop products." In other words, built-in cooling system or no, the TDP should be in line with what we've seen from other Extreme-branded processors. As for the cooling, it's unclear when, exactly, we'll get the full spill -- the CPUs are rumored to launch before the end of the year, with the quad-core 3820 arriving after the six-core 3930K and 3960X.
AMD announces new, more energy efficient Embedded G-Series APUs
AMD has just rolled out two new additions to its line of Embedded G-Series APUs, combining Fusion-based processing with reduced power consumption. Both the T40E and T40R rock the same 64-bit x86 Bobcat CPU cores and DirectX 11-capable GPUs we've already seen in previous G-Series incarnations, but AMD says the pair can operate using thirty-nine percent less power than its cousins. The single core T40R boasts a thermal design power (TDP) rating of just 5.5 watts, while the dual core T40E offers a TDP of 6.4 watts. The two applications are designed for compact fanless systems, including kiosks and mobile industrial devices, though Axiomtek is apparently planning on incorporating the new APUs in a new Pico-ITX consumer PC, as well. Full PR after the break.
VIA QuadCore processor combines low-cost and low-power with 'adaptive overclocking'
Computex is coming up fast and with it we're expecting a slew of new gear. The event will also mark the first public showing of VIA's new x86 quad-core processors aptly named, QuadCore (pictured above center next to a Nano X2). The new procs are manufactured using 40nm processes and combine four Isaiah cores on two dies resulting in a Thermal Design Power of 27.5 watts. That low TDP allows VIA to make the nebulous claim that its first QuadCore L4700 processor is 21 percent more energy efficient than its nearest competitor while offering "awesome" multitasking and multimedia playback performance. Initially available at 1.2+GHz, the 64-bit native processor features adaptive overclocking (think Intel Turbo Boost) for dynamic clock adjustments up to 1.46GHz, a 4MB L2 cache, and 1333MHz front-side bus. Oh, and the QuadCores will be pin-to-pin compatible with VIA Eden, C7, Nano E-Series, and Eden X2 processors when they begin shipping in bulk in Q3. We'll bring you more on these supposed low-cost procs when we see them demoed first hand in Taipei starting May 31st. Until then, click through for the full press release or hit up the more coverage links below for an in-depth preview.
AMD names second Bobcat APU Zacate, shows off Ontario die size
AMD might still have no actual Fusion product to sell us, but it's added a fresh new codename to the stable of future CPU/GPU hybrids. The Zacate Accelerated Processing Unit is a Bobcat derivative, much like the Ontario, but it operates at a higher TDP of 18W and is intended for ultrathin and mainstream laptops along with power-sipping desktops and all-in-ones. Both it and the Ontario APU will offer two Bobcat cores allied to Radeon graphics capable of performing DirectX 11 instructions, though the Ontario dips all the way down to 9W with the stated aim of punching up netbook and small form factor pc performance. Just for reference, that'll have to compete against Intel's own dual-core solution, the 1.5GHz Atom N550, which scrapes by on just an 8.5W TDP... though, of course, it doesn't integrate the same graphics processing prowess that Ontario promises. The two chips, Ontario and Zacate, will ride AMD's Brazos platform when they finally debut early next year. Until then, enjoy the technicolor die shot after the break.
