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VIA reportedly set to roll out 45nm, dual-core processors by 2009
Nothing seems to be official just yet, but it looks like VIA is set to both adopt an always-desirable 45nm manufacturing process for its processors and roll out its first dual-core processors by the end of 2009, at least if the "sources at the company" DigiTimes has heard from are to be believed. Unfortunately, there's apparently no further details on either of those tantalizing possibilities just yet, but the company has done a bit of bragging about its current CPU shipments, saying that it expects its shipments in the first half of 2008 to equal its total shipments in 2007 -- a number that only seems set to go up if Isiah's benchmarks are any indication.
Intel's Core 2 Duo E8500 Wolfdale gets tested
If you'll recall, we already witnessed a pre-production Wolfdale CPU outpace its competition back in August of last year, but the real deal has finally arrived. Over at Hot Hardware, the folks were able to crack open a retail Core 2 Duo E8500 processor, which comes in at 3.16GHz and features 6MB of L2 cache, a 1,333MHz FSB speed and is built on 45-nanometer technology. When put to the test, reviewers found this luscious piece of silicon to be quite the performer, noting that it was probably a better choice for gamers than a low-end quad-core chip. Still, with an expected price of just under three bills, it wasn't exactly seen as the greatest of values, but if you've got the coin and happen to fit the market, the "Recommended" badge tells you everything you need to know.
Intel rolls out dual-core Celerons, dual-core suddenly less impressive
As expected, Intel has rolled out its first dual-core Celeron processors, bringing the low-end and often-derided processor line up a few notches and quite possibly making quad-core the new dual-core once and for all. The first of those processors to hit hte market is the 1.6GHz E1200 model, which relies on the slightly less-desirable 65-nanometer manufacturing process and boasts 512K bytes of cache and an 800MHz front-side bus. Not exactly the most impressive of processors, but nothing to sneeze at either, especially considering its $53 price tag -- in quantities of 1,000 units, that is. No word on any other dual-core additions to the line, but given Intel's track record of processor offerings, we'd expect this to be only a taste of things to come.
Intel to release dual-core Celerons on January 20th?
If the rumor mill is to be believed, Intel's about to have a pretty busy January -- first delivering Penryn on the sixth, and then shipping the first dual-core Celeron processors alongside those long-rumored Yorkfield and Wolfdale chips on the 20th, according to Digitimes. The new Celeron E1000 will apparently run at 1.2GHz and sit on an 800MHz bus with 512K of cache. The report also lays out specs on the 45nm Yorkfield and Wolfdale chips that are pretty similar to what we'd already heard: quad-core QX9000-series Yorkfields at from 2.5 to 2.83GHZ, and Core 2 Duo E8000-series Wolfdales from 2.66 to 3.16GHz. Hmm, the 20th seems pretty close to a certain keynote, doesn't it?[Via TG Daily]
HP stuffing Penryn chips into xw8600 / xw6600 workstations
Although HP's beastly xw8600 / xw6600 machines don't yet have a definitive ship date, it's looking like the duo will indeed be sporting a couple of Intel's forthcoming Penryn chips. Judging by the specifications list on HP's website, each workstation can be equipped with two of many Xeon 5200 (dual-core) or Xeon 5400 (quad-core) processors ranging from 1.86GHz to 3.33GHz. Additionally, the xw6600 features up to 32GB of DDR2 RAM, an internal DVD burner, a number of PCI / PCIe slots, seven USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, audio in / out, gigabit Ethernet, your choice of NVIDIA Quadro / ATI FireGL graphics cards and a 650-watt power supply to boot. As for the xw8600, it steps things up by supporting as much as 128GB of DDR2 RAM, making room for a few more 3.5- / 5.25-inch drives and PCI cards, and throwing in a more robust PSU. Not surprisingly, there are no pricing details available at the moment, but if we were bent over a barrel and forced to guess when we'd know more, we'd shoot for November 12th.[Via Electronista]Read - HP's xw6600Read - HP's xw8600
AMD casually intros new 45-watt processors
Shortly after (quietly) unveiling the Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition, AMD has used a similar tactic with a half dozen more processors. The new 45-watt offerings span the Athlon X2, Athlon and Sempron lines, and come in like so (with prices reflecting batches of 1,000): the 2.3GHz Athlon X2 BE-2400 ($104), 2.4GHz Athlon LE-1620 ($53), 2.2GHz Athlon LE-1600 ($47), 2.2GHz Sempron LE-1250 ($53), 2.1GHz Sempron LE-1200 ($48) and the 1.9GHz Sempron LE-1100 ($37). No word yet on what OEMs will be integrating these chips into their machines, but we wouldn't be surprised to see 'em filter into smaller, more energy-conscious rigs.[Via ExtremeTech]
AMD keeps it dark with Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition
Barely a month after showing off its Athlon 64 X2 6400+ Black Edition, AMD is apparently hoping to rope in a few more followers with a lower-priced CPU in the same family. This processor reportedly hums along at 2.6GHz, is built around 65-nanometer technology, boasts 1MB of L2 cache and will play nice with the firm's "580x or upcoming 700-series chipsets." 'Course, enthusiasts will love the "customizable clock multiplier for tunable performance," and word on the street has these new chips "available to channel partners" for just $136 apiece in groups of 1,000.[Via InformationWeek]
DualCor sues Intel over Dual Core name
DualCor Technologies may be using some Intel hardware in its cPC handheld, but that apparently doesn't mean the two see eye to eye all the time, with the former company now suing the latter over its use of (you guessed it) the "Dual Core" name. According to The Inquirer, DualCor (which changed its name from GCVI in December 2003) says it trademarked "DualCor" in May of 2004, and claims that Intel knew about the name as early as December of 2003. Now, DualCore is saying that by using the "Dual Core" name, Intel is "likely to cause confusion, mistake or deception among consumers as to the source quality and nature of DualCor's goods." As a result, DualCor is looking for more than a million dollars in damages, as well as an injunction to prevent Intel from using the "Dual Core" name any further. No word from Intel just yet, it seems, although we're guessing its lawyers are hard at work on a "we can spell better than them" defense.
Tilera debuts its sixty-four core processor, melts faces
Chipmaker Tilera, clearly bored with the peasant-like core counts of two or four as offered by such pedestrian competition like Intel and AMD, has decided to turn the game up a notch with their latest diabolical creation: the 64-core processor. That's right folks, Tilera's TILE64 is a new RISC CPU aimed at integrated systems like routers, switches, video conferencing, and set-top boxes that can best Intel's finest by a factor of 30, and casually rocks a bandwidth of something like 32TB per second. The new chip circumvents bottleneck problems that can plague CPUs like Intel's multi-core processors by utilizing a unique "mesh" architecture which allows each core to be decentralized and thus able to communicate more freely with any partner in the grid. Tilera believes the technology might open the door to hundreds or even thousands of cores using the new system. Of course, this is a RISC CPU, so clearly the applications in which it will be used differ somewhat from Intel's offerings, but nevertheless, it remains a tantalizing development in the world of multi-core R&D.[Via TG Daily]
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]
Moneual intros sub-$1000 301 HTPC
You may be rather used to hearing from Moneual every few months or so, but the engineering department has apparently been on top of things lately. A mere three days after witnessing the firm's colorful lineup of Inovys, the company's 301 HTPC is being offered up as well, and we must say that the simple, sleek styling is quite attractive. Internally, you'll notice a water-cooled AMD 64 Athlon X2 4400 handling the processing duties, 2GB of RAM, 7.1-channel audio, dual FireWire ports, a 250GB hard drive, dual-layer DVD writer, HDMI / VGA outputs, five USB 2.0 connectors, Ethernet, and a wireless keyboard / remote to keep things tidy. Most impressive, however, is the price, as this decently-spec'd media PC will only run you $995 (sans any TV tuning abilities, of course).[Via eHomeUpgrade]
IBM kicks out energy-efficient 4.7GHz POWER6 processor
Nah, it's no BlueGene L supercomputer, but IBM's latest dual-core microprocessor runs at a cool 4.7GHz while sporting 8MB of total cache per chip. The device reportedly runs "twice as fast" and packs four times the cache as the POWER5, and boasts a processor bandwidth of 300Gbps. Interestingly, the massive power increase doesn't seem to come with a boost in energy requirements, as IBM claims that the 65-nanometer POWER6 somehow ups its game while "using nearly the same amount of electricity" as its predecessor. The company plans on shoving the new darling into the System p570 server, and preliminary testing showed that all four of the "most widely used performance benchmarks for Unix servers" were shattered by its CPU. Unfortunately, there's no word on pricing nor availability just yet, but we're anticipating a bit of sticker shock when it does finally land.[Via LinuxDevices]
Gigabyte intros Churchill mini DTX motherboard
As this year rolled in, AMD introduced a DTX open standard in hopes of boosting the allure of SFF adoption, and sure enough, Gigabyte took the bait. The firm's first mini DTX motherboard, dubbed Churchill, reportedly "serves as a base for AMD's Live! Home Media Server platform," and supports the Socket AM2 Athlon 64 and Sempron single- / dual-core processors. The mobo also features a SiS761GX north and SiS966 south bridge, an integrated Mirage 1 graphics core, a single PCIe slot, one vanilla PCI slot, six SATA ports, a total of eight USB 2.0 connectors scattered about, an built-in audio to boot. No word on pricing just yet, but the wee board should slip in under your nose sometime in July.
Compal readies IFL90, IFL91, IFT00, and ITF01 Santa Rosa laptops
The race to crank out Santa Rosa-equipped lappies has just become a sprint, as even Compal has joined the ranks of Fujitsu, Dell, Asus, and HP (among others) to loose a bevy of new machines on the world. The IFT00 and IFT01 each sport a 14.1-inch display, up to 4GB of DDR2 RAM, an option for an HD DVD player, gigabit Ethernet, an ExpressCard slot, four USB 2.0 ports, FireWire, WiFi, a biometric scanner, and a SATA hard drive to boot. The IFT00, however, ups the ante on its lesser-spec'd sibling by throwing in a 512MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600, while the IFT01sports Intel's integrated GMA X3100 graphics set. The IFL00 and IFL01 maintain most of the same specifications, but offer up a 15.4-inch WXGA+ or WXGA display and the option for a nine-cell battery. All four units should drop in Europe sometime soon, with pricing details to disclosed at a later time.[Via PCLaunches]
AMD Phenom FX, X4, X2 Stars to shine in Q3 / Q4
When it's been nearly six months since we've seen an elusive PowerPoint slide pointing to future AMD processors, it's been far too long, but it looks like the forecasting can begin again thanks to information about AMD's star-packed Q3. According to a roadmap slide charting out the future of AMD's "Stars" family of processors, a number of dual- and quad-core processor options will be headed to the desktop market sometime in the third and fourth quarters, and while the firm's "value" Athlon 64 X2 and Sempron chips will also see minor overhauls headed into Q1 of 2008, the focus seems to be on the Phenoms in the crew. The flagship quad-core Phenom FX (dubbed Agena FX) will clock in from 2.2GHz to 2.6GHz, sport 4 x 512KB of L2 cache, 2MB of L3 cache, and sport bus speeds of 3,200MHz or 3,600MHz. The X4 chips ratchet down in speed a bit, and only handle the AM2+ socket while the top-end FX plays nice with the 1207+. The X2 CPUs go the dual-core route, top out at 2.8GHz, but won't be ready for ordering until Q4 of this year. Be sure to hit the read link for a (larger) peek at the chart -- unless you just completed an order for a current-generation chip, that is.[Via RegHardware]
Everex intros VR2000J and XT500J StepNote laptops
Neither of Everex's latest StepNote laptops are apt to stop the presses, but they do offer Windows Vista and all the basics for those not interested in flashy extras. Up first is the XT5000J, which chooses the 1.6GHz AMD Turion 64 X2 processor to handle the number crunching, and also packs a 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 7600 graphics card, 17-inch WXGA+ display, 1GB of RAM, 120GB SATA hard drive, dual-layer DVD writer, and built-in speakers with an included "subwoofer." Furthermore, you'll find Ethernet, 802.11b/g, a 56k modem, FireWire, PCMCIA, four-in-one flash card reader, a trio of USB 2.0 ports, and a paltry 2.4-hours of battery life. The lesser-spec'd VR2000J rocks a 15.4-inch WXGA display, and opts for an Intel Core Duo T2080 running at 1.73GHz. Moreover, this lappie offers up Intel's GMA950 graphics set and four hours of battery life, but other than that, most everything else mimics its sibling. The 17-incher looks to be priced at ¥129,800 ($1,087), and while the VR2000J doesn't seem to carry a price of its own, you can probably assume that it will run a few hundred less.[Via Electronista]Read - Everex XT5000JRead - Everex VR2000J
Fujitsu's LifeBook S2210 and P7230 laptops reviewed
It'd probably be tough to find anyone eying an ultralight laptop that hasn't given either the S2210 or P7230 (pictured after the jump) at least a glance, but just in case you're only moments away from pulling the trigger on either, you might want to reconsider. Unfortunately, it sounds like both of Fujitsu's latest LifeBooks underperformed in the areas that mattered most, and as PCMag put it, shoving a full-fledged PC (with an integrated optical drive, no less) into a three- to four-pound frame requires quite a few tradeoffs. Reviewers found the choice of processors somewhat necessary considering the tight spaces, but the sluggish performance within Vista was irritating to say the least. Additionally, upgraded machines tended not to be good values, as boosting the RAM, hard drive capacity, and optical drive drove the price "beyond the reach" of most business laptop customers. Still, the highly portable nature of both machines is impossible to knock, so if you're willing to be a tad more patient whilst working, and don't mind unusually small keyboards, both machines should handle whatever you throw at it -- albeit at its own lethargic pace.Read - Fujitsu's LifeBook S2210 ReviewRead - Fujitsu's LifeBook P7230 Review
AMD's laptop-ready M690 chipset unveiled
While AMD's 690 chipset has already been put through its respective paces, it looks like the marketing team took the easy route when labeling its apparent mobile counterpart, but the M690 is here regardless. The firm's latest laptop chipset touts the same snazzy integrated graphics technology as its desktop-based sibling, as an ATI Radeon X1200 series graphics processor is built right in for your convenience. Additionally, it'll support the dual-core AMD Turion 64 X2 processors, and you'll also find an "innovative memory technology known as Display Cache," which reportedly allows the CPU to function in low-power mode without accessing system memory. Of course, the built-in ATI Avivo compatibility ensures both HDMI and DVI support for the media-centric set, and while it will supposedly end up in Asus and Fujitsu offerings in the future, you can test it out right away in HP Compaq's 6515b and 6715b.[Via Laptoping]
Velocity Micro's latest HTPCs add Vista and ATI Digital Cable tuner
Looks like Okoro Media Systems isn't the only HTPC builder on the block cramming Microsoft's latest OS into its systems and upping the specs, as Velocity Micro has taken a break from its NoteMagix series to amp up a few media PCs. Both boxes come with Windows Vista Premium pre-installed, ATI's TV Wonder Digital Cable tuner, and options for HD DVD and Blu-ray playback. The CineMagix Pro Cinema rocks a fairly average black chassis, 500-watt power supply, AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800+ processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, HDCP-compliant ATI Radeon X1950 Pro, onboard 7.1 audio, 8-in-1 flash card reader, up to 1.5TB of hard drive space, dual gigabit Ethernet adapter, 802.11b/g, a pair of FireWire connectors, six USB 2.0 ports, and a wireless keyboard / mouse combo. The Intel-powered CineMagix Grand Theater swaps in your choice of CPU, including options for both the Core 2 Extreme X6800 or QX6700, up to 4GB of RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS, up to 2.25TB of HDD space, but otherwise mimics its AMD-packin' sibling. Both units are fully customizable if you've got the cash to burn, and while the CineMagix Pro Cinema starts at $1,695, the Grand Theater rings up between $2,195 and near-five digits.[Via 64-Bit-Computers]
Intel sez Penryn's done, lookout for 45nm Wolfdale / Yorkfield
If you're desperate for some positive Intel news after hearing those less-than-inspiring margin forecasts earlier today, the chipmaker is once again keeping itself on track in regard to pumping out its forthcoming 45-nanometer processors. While we were briefed on the dual-core Wolfdale and quad-core Yorkfield just a few weeks back, Intel is now claiming that its Penryn-based chips are "complete" and will play nice with Windows Vista, Mac OS X, and Linux operating systems when they hit the shelves. Both chips are (still) slated to hit production during the second half of this year, with manufacturing to hit full stride during 2008. Penryn is supposed to "extend the Core 2 architecture" by playing host to the next set of Intel's Streaming SIMD Extensions (SSE), and will also lend a hand in the future development of Montevina, and just in case you're the (way) forward-looking type, you can expect Penryn's successor -- dubbed Nehalem -- to roll out in late '08.
