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HDMI-equipped Xbox 360 Premiums still carry 90nm chips
Well it appears that despite all of our wishing, hoping, and positive-thinking exercises, Microsoft has failed to deliver on a small dream of ours, namely, 65nm chips for the new HDMI-rocking Xbox 360 Premiums. Despite signs pointing otherwise, new photos show that this batch of systems continue to carry the Zephyr motherboard layout, which uses the older, hotter 90nm chips, though the boys in Redmond have addressed the heat issue a little bit with the addition of a second "daughter" heatsink attached to the CPU by heatpipe. The new 65nm "Falcon" boards -- which chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) confirmed are in production -- are still on their way according to the rumor mill, slated for release sometime this Fall. Interestingly, Microsoft and TSMC have just laid plans to produce the Xbox's graphics-memory subsystem using the chip manufacturer's 90nm embedded DRAM spec. We won't speculate on when we'll start seeing that addition appear, however.
iStat menus v1.1 preview screenshot and details
The iSlayer crew has released a preview screenshot on the company's blog that highlights a few key features coming in v1.1 of iStat menus, their utility for keeping an eye on your Mac's various statistics from the menubar. Specifically new in this upcoming version will be network graphing, monitoring of S.M.A.R.T. hard drive temperatures, a breakdown of every temp sensor on a CPU and what looks like a significantly redesigned calendar. Stat junkies will likely appreciate these new and finely tuned features, though there's no word on when this new version will become available.iStat menus, like every one of iSlayer's mostly statistic-obsessed products, is still provided as freeware.
Intel's Wolfdale processor gets benchmarked
Calm down, you haven't overslept by a couple of months or anything, as the Wolfdale we're talking about here is in fact simply a 2.33GHz engineering sample of the forthcoming dual-core processor. Nevertheless, HKPEC labs was able to pit it against the 2.33GHz E6550, and the results weren't too shabby. In a slew of tests including PC Mark, CineBench, Science Mark, SiSoft Sandra, and individual application trials, the Wolfdale managed to best the E6550 in every single facet. Of course, it didn't exactly blow the current Core 2 Duo out of the water, but increasing performance by nearly 11-percent in Doom 3 and Far Cry, 5.53-percent in PC Mark, and around 8-percent in Office applications isn't anything to sneeze at. Still, we've got quite a ride ahead before seeing a finalized Wolfdale, but feel free to humor yourself with the preliminary benchmarks below.[Via The Inquirer]
Sun looses 'world's fastest chip' -- the 1.4GHz Niagara 2
In a bold and presumably calculated statement, Sun Microsystems has proclaimed that its newfangled Niagara 2 is "the world's fastest multi-core commodity chip." Clocking in at 1.4GHz, this eight-core chip also boasts 64 threads, eight lanes of PCI Express I/O, and four memory controllers, all of which will supposedly boost server performance beyond anything we're currently seeing. Reportedly, the aforementioned claim was based on a "pair of record-setting SPEC benchmark results," but we still think that's a bit dodgy to base such a remark on. Nevertheless, Sun is suggesting that this CPU will "consume less power and do more work per clock tick than its rivals," and isn't shying away from taking on the likes of Intel, IBM, and AMD. Eh, we'll stick with our 8.18GHz Pentium 4.[Via The Register]
Xbox 360 65nm chips out there, 45nm chips in the future
According to reports, contract chipmaker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing has begun work on a 45-nanometer CPU designed specifically for a video game console, and the word on the street is that Microsoft is the company placing the order. The Singapore-based chip company, which produces the current Xbox 360 CPU, is set to begin work on the new design in late 2008 or early 2009. The smaller chip would mean lowered production costs, smaller power requirements, and a cooler operating temperature -- which would address a handful of problems the current Xbox design has. The newer 65nm chip which the company produces for Microsoft went into production over the last two quarters, and Chia Song Hwee, Chartered's president and CEO, said that "you would expect 45nm to come on stream about 18 months from that timeframe." So, expect to pass some time before any major changes beyond the 65nm come... perhaps Halo 3 will make the wait more bearable?[Via Joystiq]
360 gets 65nm chips soon, 45nm in 2009
PC Advisor is reporting that the new 65nm chips will be making their way into Xbox 360s soon with even smaller 45nm chips being used in late 2008 or early 2009. Chartered Semiconductor, Microsoft's Xbox 360 chip maker, stated that the design for the 45nm chips have yet to be finalized saying that "65nm just started production in the last two quarters, you would expect 45nm to come on stream about 18 months from that timeframe". So, we get confirmation of our cooler, more efficient 65nm chips making there way into 360s sometime this year with 45nm technology rolling out in a year or so. So we ask; Microsoft, where is the consumer's price cut? Oh wait ... there it is.[Thanks, Iliad Force]
65nm 360 chips in production 'last two quarters' - 45nm on the way
Though we're pretty confident the Xbox 360 price drop is coming sooner than "this Fall" – more like August 12th, if you want to be specific – we've had the entire Fall season marked on our Microsoft Executive Swimsuit calendar with "65nm chips" reminders. Those weary of the dreaded RROD have been looking forward to the smaller, cooler (and cheaper!) chips being included in the new systems, codenamed Falcon, but the extremely paranoid may want to hold off for the 45nm version. "As 65nm just started production in the last two quarters, you would expect 45nm to [begin production] about 18 months from that timeframe," said the President of Microsoft manufacturing partner, Charted Semiconductor. That means production on those new even smaller and even cooler chips won't begin until late 2008, early 2009. If that's too long to hold off, take comfort in knowing that those 65nm chips have been produced for some time, and should be making their way to retail Xbox 360s soon (astronotip: Fall starts on Sept. 23 this year, so mark your various themed calendars).
AMD updates roadmap: Barcelona "nearly here," all-new chips in 2010
AMD had itself a busy day today: not only did the European Commission file antitrust charges against Intel for interfering with AMD's business in Europe, the Sunnyvale company released an updated product roadmap at its annual analyst conference. With the quad-core Barcelona processor on track for an August launch, the company announced its next-gen mobile platform, "Puma," which will feature hybrid graphics support. Looking even farther ahead, AMD also announced some chips we won't see for a while yet: the all-new workstation- and server-oriented "Bulldozer" chip and mobile device "Bobcat" chip are scheduled to arrive sometime in 2010, and represent entirely new chip designs for the company. The hits didn't stop there, however: AMD's also announced its first Fusion integrated CPU / GPU chip, the "Falcon," which will use the Bulldozer core -- no word on what happened to Hawk or when we'll see this ship. Finally, the company answered speculation that it's looking to get out of the manufacturing game by saying that it's aiming for the "right balance" between in-house and outside fabrication, but that it's committed to its current existing mix through 2009. All in all, it looks like AMD has got some pretty ambitious plans for the future -- but will it be enough to hold off scrappy upstart Hynix? Tons more info, including all the slides, at the read link.[Thanks, Ryan]
Revolutionary: Respectable Specs
Every Tuesday, Mike Sylvester brings you REVOLUTIONARY, a look at the wide world of Wii possibilities. Nintendo still hasn't confirmed any of the technical specs of the Wii hardware in detail, and we wouldn't recommend you hold your breath until they do. They don't want people making assumptions of what the system can or can't do based on arbitrary numbers and jargon. We do know that the Wii is much more than "two Gamecubes taped together." In addition to the revolutionary controllers, we get integrated Wi-Fi, 2 USB 2.0 ports, 48 MB more RAM, internal flash storage, an SD card slot, full-sized DVD disc capacity, and a new operating system and GUI that brings us software like Mii Channel, Photo Channel, Forecast Channel, and Internet Channel. Wii Shop and Virtual Console could not have been done on Gamecube, and with support for component output reintegrated, we can enjoy our old and new games in glorious 480p. That's a pretty long list of upgrades over the Gamecube, and it's in a smaller, more attractive package.
Intel cuts prices on quad-core chips
Intel is giving a lot of cheap speed-freaks cause for celebration today, as the company has just announced some deep price cuts to its line of quad-core CPUs (and a few other price snips here and there). The chipmaker has knocked down the price of the 2.93GHz Core 2 Quad QZ6800 with a 1066MHz FSB to $999, the 2.66 GHz Q6700 to $530, and the 2.4GHz Q6600 to $300 (shaving off almost half of its price). With these new drops, the Q6600 has become the cheapest quad-core chip on the market, thus making chumps of the people who bought it a month ago, but those who've been waiting for the cuts will be glad they did. Additionally, Intel has reduced the cost of some of its Core 2 Duo processors, taking around $20 off of the cost of the 2.2GHz E4500 and the 2GHz E4400. Be sure to check out InformationWeek's complex breakdown of the cuts, and where to find the best deals.[Via The Inquirer, thanks Tech L]
Intel roadmaps Penryn for mobiles
A recent leak from Intel has revealed the chip-maker's plans for its Penryn mobile processor line, detailing all the sweet news in a roadmap which has made its way into the waiting public's hands. On the sheet are the details of four new Core 2 Duo chips and one new Core 2 Extreme that Intel will be shepherding into the market in the near future (or so we hope). All of the chips feature the Santa Rosa-standard 800MHz frontside bus, with the C2Ds clocking in at 2.5GHZ and 2.6GHz with a 6MB cache, or alternately 2.1GHz and 2.4GHz with a 3MB cache -- the C2E delivers 2.8GHz with a 6MB cache. No word on pricing or availability, but you'll know as soon as we do.[Via Reg Hardware]
The 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850: Intel's fastest consumer CPU benchmarked
Get ready for a taste of Xeon power without the premium price kids, Intel just released their 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6850 quad core processor for standard Intel Socket T (LGA775) boards. Better yet, the performance scores are already in after detailed reviews posted by Hot Hardware and PC Perspective. The latter calls the QX6850's performance "absolutely amazing" for a consumer level processor thanks to the Kentsfield XE class (65-nm) processor's 8MB (2x 4MB) L2 Cache and 1,333MHz front side bus. In fact, you can expect performance gains on the order of 2 to 13-percent (depending upon application tested) when compared to Intel's former consumer speed champ, the 2.93GHz Core 2 Extreme QX6800 with 1066MHz FSB. Look for the QX6850 to pop on-line for $999 over the next few weeks where it's expected to hold the performance title until the year is out.Read -- Hot HardwareRead -- PC Perspective
iPhone CPU up close and personal
We've seen a bevy of pics featuring the iPhone's internals, but this set goes a step further and gets us into the action microscope-style. The gents at μblog sliced and diced some poor specimen and discovered that the chip contains both CPU and RAM, and while both have serial numbers, no brand markings can be made out. These pics are rather beautiful in some ethereal, deep-sea way, though aside from blowing them up and draping them on a wall, we're not too sure what else can be done with them. A reader pointed out that the images look like Legend of Zelda maps, though we're convinced they are definitely more Gauntlet-esque. Thoughts?[Via Hacked Gadgets]
AMD's low-power Phenom X2 GE-series CPUs seen in latest roadmap
AMD's high-powered Phenom lineup should still be residing in the forefront of your memory, but the company has now loosed details on a series of processors that cater to the more energy-conscience crowd. The Phenom X2 GE-series CPUs currently consist of a trio of units, each reportedly scheduled to land sometime in the first quarter of 2008. The chips all sport thermal design power (TDP) ratings of 45-watts, and while the GE-6400 will clock in at 1.9GHz, the GE-6500 adds 200MHz but lags behind the flagship 2.3GHz GE-6600. The whole lot touts 2 x 512KB of L2 cache, 2MB of L3 cache, and an (estimated) 3,200MHz HT3 bus, so go on and start pinching those pennies for the moment these land in a Socket AM2+ motherboard near you.
iPhone processor found: 620MHz ARM CPU
Looks like today's morning's firmware leak turned up some well hidden details about the iPhone's hardware engine -- and also confirming some reports we'd previously received. From what we can tell, it looks like the iPhone's got a 620MHz ARM chip running under the hood. Specifics: ARM1176JZF chip with TrustZone (enables trusted computing environment for media, apps, network, OS, etc. -- very bad for hackers) Can vary in clock speed up to 700MHz or more, depending on implementation (thanks, Nigma) ARM Intelligent Energy Manager (claimed to reduce power consumption 25-50% in portables) 16K / 16K cache Features vector floating point coprocessor ("for embedded 3D-graphics") ARM Jazelle enabled for embedded Java execution (hmm...) SIMD, high perf integer CPU (8-stage pipeline, 675 Dhrystone, 2.1 MIPS) 0.45 mW/MHz power draw (with cache) Whatever it is Apple's got that thing doing, they're doing it right. Thus far our iPhone battery life tests have far exceeded expectations (more on that soon).Update: Sascha at Gear Log seems to think given the recently discovered Samsung chip in the iPhone, perhaps the processor in question is a Samsung S3C6400, a recently-produced 667MHz ARM1176JZF-based CPU that seems to fit the bill.
AMD readies quad-core Barcelona for August shipment
Those eager to lay down for the "industry's first" native x86 quad-core processor have but a few months left to wait, as AMD just announced that its quad-core Opteron's would begin shipping in August. Codenamed Barcelona, these CPUs will be launching in both "standard and low power versions," hit frequencies of up to 2GHz, and should provide performance increases of up to "70-percent" over existing Opterons in select applications. Additionally, those who can hold off a bit can look forward to even speedier chips in Q4 of this year, and an elusive "Special Edition" version should also be just around the bend. Per usual, no hints on what kind of premium you'll pay for this wee piece of silicon come August, but AMD did note that the processors wouldn't hit mainstream systems until September.
AMD getting out of fabrication?
What do you do when you're always playing catch-up to Intel, watching your workstation market share slip, and piling up something like $2 billion in debt? Well if you're AMD, you seriously consider dropping your fabrication business. According to reports, the company is currently investigating its options for outsourcing more (or all) of its manufacturing to third-party firms in deals similar to the ones it has with Chartered Semiconductor and Taiwan Semiconductor. There are drawbacks, of course, including the possibility of longer development times due to the separation of design and manufacturing (the last thing AMD wants, considering recent Barcelona delay rumors). Regardless of what its final decision will be, it's clear that the news has already hurt the struggling chipmaker in the short-term by causing several market analysts to downgrade the company's stock.[Via Techmeme]
NVIDIA launches Tesla: GPUs are the new CPUs
We've seen a couple cautious attempts at leveraging the raw floating-point capabilities of modern high-powered graphics cards, but NVIDIA is taking the gloves off with the launch of Tesla, its new general-purpose computing platform built on the 8-series graphics cards we all know and love. According to NVIDIA, the only way to skirt the inevitable collapse of Moore's Law is to join the GPU and CPU together, so two of the three Tesla configs are in the form of workstation upgrades -- a $1,499 single GPU PCI Express card and a $7,500 dual-GPU "deskside supercomputer" that plugs into a custom PCI controller. The truly crazy can pony up a full $12,000 for NVIDIA's first rack units, the four-GPU Tesla S870, which has a peak performance of 2 Teraflops. We're hearing the card and deskside unit will be available in August and that the servers will start shipping in November or December -- perfect for the Engadget Folding@Home holiday rush.
Intel Core 2 Extreme laptops in July?
According to what appears to be a leaked product roadmap, it's beginning to look like a hot summer if you're a laptop gamer, on-the-go video editor, or need to crunch some seriously large numbers while traveling. From the looks of the roadmap it appears Intel is planning updates and price cuts for laptop CPUs through September 2nd, including the introduction of a couple Core 2 Extreme chips (2.8GHz X7900 and 2.6GHz X7800, featuring 800MHz FSB/4MB L2 cache) as previously reported. All told, the processor overlords will apparently debut nine new chips and cut the price on four, with slight changes in pretty much every category. Of note is the addition of the budget Celeron M540 and M550, which according to "sources" are designed for the much-loved Santa Rosa chipset. Stay tuned, as we'll be bringing you more laptop-obsoleting news on this next round of chips as soon as we get it.[Via laptoping]
Intel CEO compares Silverthorne criticality with original Pentium
Intel's been throwing so many mobile processor codenames around in the past 12 months or so that we've resorted to hiring droids to constantly update pivot tables as chips are named and nixed from its ever-evolving roadmap. But being the weekend and all, it looks like we're stuck telling you about yet another presumably vital processor that's likely destined to hit cellphones, UMPCs, and other handheld computing platforms sometime in the not too distant future. According to an interview by Germany's FAZ, Intel's CEO compared the chip "to the original Pentium" in terms of importance to the company, and while Mr. Otellini didn't go into too much detail beyond that (can't blame him for keeping us curious), he did note that the firm hopes the 45nm CPU can infiltrate "10 to 20-percent of the mobile phone market."[Via TGDaily]
