CPU, APU & Chipsets - Page 179

All the latest CPU and chipset news, with everything related to Intel, AMD, ARM, and Qualcomm processors & plenty more - Page 179.

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AMD's next-gen APU could feature 16 CPU cores, HBM memory and more

Anthony Garreffa | Apr 4, 2015 6:43 PM CDT

It looks like AMD has some interesting things coming in 2016, with the current rumor is that its next-gen APU would arrive as a 16-core processor based on its Zen architecture, as well as a "Greenland" GPU with HBM memory.

The new APU will replace the Godaveri platform which we were introduced to with the Carrizo APU, with the Carizzo-based notebooks arriving in the next couple of months, but most likely at Computex 2015 in June. The new Zen APU would feature quad-channel DDR4 support, up to 16 processor cores based on the Zen architecture, and the HBM-powered Greenland GPU.

We should expect Greenland to be based on the Fiji architecture, which will be powering AMD's upcoming flagship video card: the Radeon R9 390X. We don't know if AMD will be using HBM1 or HBM2 on the Zen APU, but with the R9 390X using HBM1, we should expect AMD to quickly shift to HBM2 sometime in 2016.

Continue reading: AMD's next-gen APU could feature 16 CPU cores, HBM memory and more (full post)

We get some details on Intel's next-gen Knights Landing platform

William Harmon | Mar 25, 2015 6:31 PM CDT

We just got back from a briefing of the Knights Landing platform at Intel Jones Farm. This new platform compacts a large number of cores into a small package that consisted of 1U blades.

Here is the basic Knights Landing (KNL) information screen. Knights Landing will be based on 14nm process node and have a TDP of ~300watts. The number of cores shown on the slide shows over 60 cores, we assume there will be several different SKU's with different core counts and other spec's.

The KNL core itself is based on Silvermount, these cores have full Xeon capability and features which have been modified to meet the new design platform. The system itself will have both Windows and Lunix capability with very little code modification to applications if any. While running a Windows OS on this platform you can see all the logical processors in the task manager which shows the OS actually sees all the cores unlike Knights Corner which was a PCIe coprocessor.

Continue reading: We get some details on Intel's next-gen Knights Landing platform (full post)

Have you ever stuffed up your PC build this badly?

Chris Smith | Mar 13, 2015 12:25 AM CDT

As seen on the Watercooled PC Facebook page, one users' comment to the following photo is that it "looks like the pins were at a football game doing the wave." All we know is that someone messed up - badly.

We've seen plenty of incompetent PC builders throughout the years, however this one almost takes the cake. Not only have they put their thermal paste on the pins, they've obviously pushed either the wrong socket processor in or not lined it up properly, bending many pins involved. But maybe there's something we're missing here - more thermal paste might be the solution we've all been looking for.

Don't try this at home people, unless you've got a lot of money to throw around.

Continue reading: Have you ever stuffed up your PC build this badly? (full post)

Analysts: Samsung Galaxy S6 modem loses to Qualcomm by around 12%

Anthony Garreffa | Mar 12, 2015 10:54 PM CDT

With tongues wagging over the announcement of the Galaxy S6, we haven't seen any real-world performance numbers - with the biggest question being the battery life of Samsung's super-powered handset.

Analysts with Moor Insights & Strategy took to their blog over Mobile World Congress, which we're only getting around to now, with an article titled "Not All 4G LTE Modems Are Created Equal According To Tests With Qualcomm And Samsung". Where most are talking up the internal power and benchmarking abilities of the Galaxy S6, the hit on battery life thanks to Samsung baking in its own modem could be a bigger problem than previously thought. It looks like Qualcomm has the better modem chops, but Samsung has decided to use more of its own components than ever in its latest flagship.

The blog post covers this, where they said "Some companies, like Qualcomm and Samsung Electronics, have developed their own front end solutions in order to improve their modem solutions and make vast improvements in all aspects. They have accomplished these improvements in multiple ways, including increased throughput going from Category 4 150 Mbps download speeds to Category 6 300Mbps and Category 9 450 Mbps download speeds as well as reducing power consumption at the same time". While that might not sound like much, what they say next should have you opening your eyes a little wider.

Continue reading: Analysts: Samsung Galaxy S6 modem loses to Qualcomm by around 12% (full post)

Samsung stuns the world, shows off the world's first 10nm FinFET tech

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 25, 2015 5:17 AM CST

The International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) has just kicked off in San Francisco, where Samsung has just unveiled the world's first 10nm FinFET technology. Samsung Electronics Semiconductor Business chief, Kim Ki-nam teased the future for Samsung when he took the stage.

Ki-nam teased the company's 10nm DRAM technology, as well as a sneak peak at its 3D V NAND technology. Samsung expects that its technology will be used in countless devices going into the future, where Kim said Samsung is "expected to come in the future advent of IoT (Internet of Things) spread into a wide range of IT equipment, including the age of the data center (Data Driven World) 'and the silicon semiconductor technology it is possible to ensure the performance and low-power solution for the semiconductor chip that can process these data through the innovation".

We should hear more about Samsung's 10nm FinFET process as we move deeper into the year, as well as what devices and products will be powered by the 10nm technology. Exciting times!

Continue reading: Samsung stuns the world, shows off the world's first 10nm FinFET tech (full post)

Intel expects 10nm by late 2017, with silicon being abandoned at 7nm

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 24, 2015 10:37 PM CST

Intel will be providing more details on its upcoming 10nm manufacturing process this week at the 2015 International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), and how its new research will continue pounding on the door of Moore's law when it hits 7nm, and beyond.

The chipmaker expects to provide the first 10nm-based processors late 2016 or early 2017, as the company is hoping to dodge the delay train it hit with Broadwell at 14nm. Before 10nm is even here, Intel is teasing 7nm, saying that it will need to use new materials in order to build it. This means that 10nm will be the last product Intel builds using silicon, with Intel eyeing down a replacement for silicon, such as III-V semiconductor, such as indium gallium arsenide (InGaAs).

Then we have even more interesting points of Intel's shift to 7nm, which could see the company using new types of packaging. This includes 2.5D, which is something AMD is using on its upcoming Radeon R9 390X which uses HBM memory. 2.5D has separate dies which are placed side by side on an interposer. Intel would also be looking at 3D, where each die is stacked directly on top of one another. When it comes to 10nm, Intel is hoping to continue pushing Moore's law against the wall, all while reducing the price per transistor. 7nm is going to be a very exciting milestone, as it will shift away from silicon that has been used for decades now. Imagine the possibilities of a 3D stack of 7nm dies... that should have any enthusiast begging for more.

Continue reading: Intel expects 10nm by late 2017, with silicon being abandoned at 7nm (full post)

Samsung announces the mass production of its 14nm FinFET processor

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 17, 2015 3:41 AM CST

The time has come for Samsung to tease to the world that it has started the mass production of its 14nm FinFET process technology, moving from its current node at 20nm.

Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing, System LSI Business, Samsung Electronics, Gabsoo Han, said: "Samsung's advanced 14nm FinFET process technology is undoubtedly the most advanced logic process technology in the industry. We expect the production of our 14nm mobile application processor to positively impact the growth of the mobile industry by enabling further performance improvements for cutting-edge smartphones".

This is quite the achievement, as the new 14nm FinFET processors offer up to 20% more speed, 35% less power consumption, and 30% productivity gain when compared to Samsung's current 20nm process technology. Samsung's new 14nm FinFET process will see its way into the company's upcoming Exynos 7 Octa later this year, as well as many other products in the near future.

Continue reading: Samsung announces the mass production of its 14nm FinFET processor (full post)

Intel claims Apple would be lost without their chips

Chris Smith | Feb 15, 2015 7:25 AM CST

With over 10 years of cooperation, Intel have been a mainstay in Apple hardware - taking over from Apple's co-designed chips with PowerPC due to them reportedly having issues with slimming down their laptop range, turning to the processor giant for some help.

In a recent interview with Business Insider, Intel's CFO Stacy Smith stated "for a customer like Apple you'd have to take a big step off performance to step off our architecture. That is what in essence enables us to win across different customers."

This is a rather big statement from Intel, but lets be honest here - Intel is at the top and it will stay that way for a long period of time no matter what happens.

Continue reading: Intel claims Apple would be lost without their chips (full post)

AMD acknowledges that fake processors were sold through Amazon

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 10, 2015 5:08 AM CST

AMD and NVIDIA have been in the headlines quite often lately, with AMD now in the headlines for something completely different. The chipmaker has acknowledged that some consumers have purchased counterfeit processors from Amazon.

The fake processors have heatspreaders that say that they are an FM2+ AMD A8-7600 but the CPU underneath of the heatspreader is just an older AMD APU, which is not compatible with the AM2+ motherboard at all. The CPU that most people seem to be securing is the very old AMD Athlon 64 X2 5200+ which will not work on current motherboards.

AMD has released a statement to Overlock3D, saying: "It is apparent that this isolated incident is not related in any way to AMD's manufacturing or packaging, however AMD takes any reports of product tampering very seriously. As part of our ongoing efforts to help ensure consumers and businesses are sold only genuine AMD processors, we thoroughly investigate these extremely rare incidents in an effort to determine the source of the altered products, and consider all available legal remedies - including both civil and criminal prosecution - against persons found to have engaged in fraudulent actions affecting AMD products".

Continue reading: AMD acknowledges that fake processors were sold through Amazon (full post)

Intel CFO says Apple needs its processors to stay ahead of competition

Anthony Garreffa | Feb 8, 2015 10:29 PM CST

Apple and Intel have been partnered together for a while, ever since Steve Jobs announced that Mac systems would use Intel processors back in 2005.

At the time it was quite the shock, as Intel was the biggest chipmaker that made processors for PCs that ran Windows, and Microsoft were Apple's biggest enemy at the time. The tides have changed however, as Google was simply a search engine at the time, but they are now Apple's biggest competitor by far. Well, during an interview with Business Insider last week, Intel CFO Stacy Smith talked about how Intel is so far ahead of the competition, that when it comes to PC processors that Apple uses, the company has no choice but to use its CPUs.

Smith said: "Apple is a great partner of ours. Like Intel they like bringing really cool stuff to the market... As long as we're bringing great technology to the marketplace, we're enabling them to do great Apple products". Smith continued: "Our leadership over the rest of the industry is extending. We're not delayed relative to the industry. We're actually ahead of the industry". Smith also added: "For a customer like Apple you'd have to take a big step off performance to step off our architecture. That is what in essence enables us to win across different customers".

Continue reading: Intel CFO says Apple needs its processors to stay ahead of competition (full post)

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