Processors - Page 86

Computex 2019 - Intel was never going to unveil anything in the form of new news on its discrete graphics cards at its Odyssey event during Computex 2019, but it did take the time to show off some amazing new design concepts from the very talented Cristiano Siquiera.

The 2035 image collection looks absolutely out of this world, and if Intel launches anything that looks boring in reference design when its first discrete graphics card since the iconic i740 (I had one guys, does anyone remember Trespasser on the AGP-powered i740 -- I do!) then I will be really mad. Like, really mad guys. These concepts look truly awesome, and I'm really hoping one or more of these crazy designs make it to market.

First up we have something called the Intel Gemini GPU concept. From the front we would expect a triple-fan cooler with an awesome styled gridding look around the entire card.

Computex 2019 - Day one of Computex 2019 has come to a close and during our trek across the show floor of Nangang we stumbled upon an unannounced AMD Ryzen 3000 series CPU at the Colorful booth.

The CPU in question is the Ryzen 5 3400G which is a 4C/8T chip on the Zen+ CPU architecture but this processor packs Radeon Vega graphics. The AMD Ryzen 5 3400G processor has a base clock of 3.7GHz and boost clock of 4.2GHz, and while we were there we ran 3DMark's TimeSpy benchmark (of course). As for the GPU side of things, we have Radeon RX Vega 11 graphics on-board.

The TimeSpy benchmark resulted in a total score of 1149 and graphics score of 1022, while the CPU score was 3940 -- putting it into Ryzen 5 2400G territory.

Computex 2019 - We are sitting in the AMD Computex 2019 press conference while some of our staffers are watching the YouTube livestream and we noticed that some of the prep work for the event was going up over the internet onto YouTube.

Well, now we have the skinny on AMD's next-gen Ryzen 3000 series CPUs including processor names and pricing, but there's not much known outside of that right now. For now: the quick and dirty version is that the flagship Ryzen 9 3900X will be a 12C/24T processor for $499, while the Ryzen 9 3800X will cost $399 and the Ryzen 7 3700X will cost just $329.

We don't know everything yet, but in the AMD livestream (publicly available) the company explained: "For third-gen Ryzen a big focus has been high frame rate and light threaded games".

Computex 2019 - AMD is about to kick off its huge Computex 2019 keynote, so what does its competitor have to show: oh, a special edition Core i9-9900K which will be called the 9900KS.

Intel's new Core i9-9900KS is virtually identical to teh current 8C/16T chip in the 9900K except the new variant rolls out with all-core boost clocks of 5GHz which is impressive. Intel will unveil more details of the Core i9-9900KS during its Computex 2019 keynote tomorrow, but they did confirm it will have a base clock of 4GHz (compared to 3.6GHz on the 9900K).

We can expect the TDP on the 9900KS to be freaking high -- something Intel isn't talking about now, but alongside the 8C/16T of processing power we have 16MB of L3 cache, GT2 graphics, and the same soldered IHS that was on the 9900K.

We are now officially less than 24 hours out from Lisa Su taking the stage for AMD's huge Computex 2019 keynote, and now there is a monster new leak that teases some incredible performance from the 6C/12T offering in AMD's upcoming Zen 2 family of processors.

The news is coming from a leaked Geekbench result which is a 6C/12T chip in the Ryzen 3000 series family, with this chip rolling out with a base CPU clock of 3.2GHz and boost CPU clock of 4GHz. It seems to be suspiciously identical to the previously-leaked Ryzen 3 3300 that was meant to cost $99... and if these leaks are anything to go by, we can expect performance up to the current Zen-based flagship CPU in the Ryzen 7 2700X (which is an 8C/16T chip).

The new 6C/12T chip is only doing well in Geekbench 4 which does not represent overall performance or gaming, but the entry-level CPU doing this well in Geekbench is impressive to see considering its a 6C/12T chip versus the 8C/16T chip in the 2700X.

AMD is gearing up for the big unveil of its next-gen Zen 2 CPU architecture which will power both the Ryzen 3000 series CPUs as well as the next-gen EPYC 'Rome' range of CPUs that will do some serious damage to the best Intel can offer.

The new Zen 2 chips will be made on the 7nm node including the beast 64C/128T in the new EPYC 'Rome' CPUs but we'll see radically improved IPC performance, more cores and faster CPU clocks, as well as improved power efficiency. There are new leaks now with benchmarks from SiSoft SANDRA which point to some monster performance.

There are two different EPYC 'Rome' CPUs listed here with the first being the higher-end 64C/128T offering while the other CPU is a 32C/64T chip, which points to our previous story about AMD silently killing off its Ryzen Threadripper CPUs make sense. The current Ryzen Threadripper 2990WX comes in with 32C/64T on 14nm, while the new Zen 2 architecture will offer up 32C/64T on 7nm with better power numbers and higher clocks than current 32C/64T chips on 14nm.

Intel is in the security doo-doo again with a new major vulnerability known as ZombieLoad, something that affects virtually every processor Intel has made and sold since 2011. The problem? Intel didn't really care, and seemed to have even bribed people with a $40,000 "reward" with a bonus payment of $80,000 which were both refused.

A post on Reddit in /r/hardware by 'EverythingisNorminal' said that a Google translation of a Dutch report about VU University Amsterdam's announcement of this latest (among many) of Intel security leaks is worse than we think. Before we get into ZombieLoad, this is what the Reddit post reads: "According to the VU, Intel tried to downplay the severity of the leak by officially paying $40,000 in reward and "$80,000" in addition. That offer was politely refused".

The report added: "If it were up to Intel, they would have wanted to wait another six months". This right here is awful if true.

AMD is not far from the release of its next-gen Zen 2 CPU architecture and new Ryzen 3000 series CPUs with news that current-gen AM4 motherboards will be able to run. The news is coming directly from ASUS and ASRock confirming Zen 2 CPUs will work in current-gen 300- and 400-series motherboards.

ASUS and ASRock are both hard at work on BIOS updates for their current range of motherboards, with most of ASRock's range of 300- and 400-series boards to soon get an update that will make them compatible with the next-gen Ryzen 3000 series processors. This includes everything from the lower-end A320 series through to the flagship X470 boards.

So what is the use of the new X570 chipset if the new Zen 2-based CPUs will work in current-gen 300/400-series boards? New tech, that's why.

AMD will be detailing its new Zen 2 architecture and Ryzen 3000 series CPUs at Computex in two weeks time, with a major unveiling at E3 2019 alongside Radeon Navi and launch on 7/7 according to all the information we have so far.

The new rumors point to the flagship Ryzen 3000 processor rolling out with a 16-core design with slower clocks, and a faster-clocked 12-core CPU. This makes sense -- to see a lower-clocked but higher core count CPU launching with a higher-clocked lower core count CPU, as it'll handle two different consumers beautifully.

We've heard about the Ryzen 9 3850X for a while now, with rumors late last year pointing to a 16C/32T chip at up to 5.1GHz for $499. This completely blows away the first-gen Ryzen Threadripper, and blows away the clock speeds of the second-gen TR chips.

Intel has been promising 10nm for quite a while now and while it has shipped some 10nm CPUs into the market, those numbers have been small, until now. The company is promising that its 10nm mobile Ice Lake CPUs will begin shipping in larger numbers starting in June.

The company will have its 10nm mobile CPUs packing a quad-core Intel Core i7 processor and GPU performance that is doubled over current 8th-gen mobile Intel CPUs while AI receives 3x the power. The new 10nm Intel CPUs will help the company better compete with new mobile AMD Ryzen processors hitting the market, and the big gorilla in the room suddenly with Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Always Connected PCs with up to and over 20 hours of battery life with 4G and soon, 5G connectivity.

We can expect 10nm CPUs from Intel next year, as well as new GPU designs in the Xe-based graphics cards in the second half of 2020. The company will be dabbling in 10nm with new CPUs, GPUs, server processors and specialized parts for AI like Nervana.

AMD is about to launch its next-gen Zen 2-based range of Ryzen 3000 series on the new 7nm node, but what is its competitor up to? The latest rumor on the next-gen Comet Lake S-based processors is that they won't work with current-gen motherboards, as they'll require a new socket.

The latest leaks were found inside of the new Intel server chipset driver, with the listing mentioning the 400-series chipset and 495-series chipset, both of which are totally new. The 10th generation Core processors in the form of the Comet Lake-S range look to be arriving on LGA 1151 V3, which will require a new motherboard and hence, new chipsets to support them. This means the 10th gen Core CPUs will not be backwards compatible.

The new Comet Lake-S family of processors should arrive in 4/6/8/10-core SKUs all on the same 14nm node that Intel has been stuck on for many years now, but we should expect higher clock speeds on the 10th gen CPUs. We should see them deployed sometime in Q1 2020 alongside the new 400-series motherboards. Computex 2019 is right around the corner, so we'll see what Intel does there.

AMD is just a couple of weeks from making its next-gen Zen 2 CPU architecture official with the unveiling of its new Ryzen 3000 series CPUs on the fresh new 7nm node, all while Intel struggles its way to 10nm.

The latest news comes from TSMC talking about its new 5nm manufacturing process in a recent call with investors, with the Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer talking about its 5nm developing being "well on track". TSMC says that it has entered a phase called "risk production" in the first few months of 2019, meaning it has already happened, and that the first tape out of 5nm will happen in the first half of 2020.

TSMC explains: "With 1.8X logic density and 15 percent speed gain and (sic) an ARM A72 core compared with 7nm, we believe our N5 technology is the most competitive in the industry. With the best density, performance, power and the best transistor technology, we expect most of our customers who are using 7nm today will adopt 5nm".

AMD was originally expected to unveil next-gen Ryzen Threadripper 3000 series CPUs in the coming months based on the new Zen 2 architecture and the new 7nm process node. But in AMD's own 2019 client line up the new third-gen Ryzen Threadrippers are missing.

In the last 2019 roadmap image AMD had detailed the third-gen Ryzen Threadripper CPUs in its 'non-stop product momentum' which has hit a stop, and dropped momentum with the latest roadmap. The new high-core count CPUs have mysteriously been omitted by AMD, and in its place the company will most likely deploy the next-gen Zen 2-based Ryzen desktop CPUs on the new 500-series motherboards on the cheaper, simpler AM4 socket.

What does this mean for the future of Ryzen Threadripper? Well, we'll have to wait and see what AMD says and if there's an update (and yet another change) to the 2019 roadmap at AMD's upcoming press conference at Computex 2019.

We're just weeks away from the launch of what should arguably be AMD's biggest CPU launch of all time with its next-gen Ryzen 3000 series processors and now new leaks tease some performance numbers and CPU clock speeds.

AMD is in much need of an IPC boost and that's something the new Zen 2 architecture will take care of, doubled with the frequency reaching heights of 4.5GHz we should see some huge performance improvements over the current Zen-based Ryzen 2000 series CPUs. Mix this in with the exotic 7nm process node and you have a recipe for success for AMD, and with Intel supply issues continuing into Q3 2019 and no 10nm desktop CPUs in sight until possibly 2022... it could be potent.

The new Zen 2 architecture will arrive with an improved memory controller that will support DDR4 RAM at over 4000MHz, an improved execution pipeline, doubled core density, half the energy per operation, and so much more. The improvements that AMD will be delivering with the third-gen Ryzen CPUs is going to be mighty impressive.

AMD will have its new Zen 2 architecture launching on 7nm next month at Computex 2019 and even in the months after its launch, Intel will still feel the aftermath as it will struggle from CPU shortages.

Intel CEO Robert Swan explained in a recent conference call that supply issues will "continue to be a challenge in the third quarter". He said: "Our supply constraints have had a disruptive impact on our customers and ecosystem. We've committed never again to be a constraint on our customers' growth. We've increased the capacity to improve our position in the second half, although product mix will continue to be a challenge in the third quarter as our teams align available supply with customer demand".

He continued: "A day earlier, Microsoft said Intel's CPU shortages aren't a big deal anymore, after stating in January that the shortages were affecting Windows sales. However, Microsoft may not be as affected in part because Intel prioritized the production of Xeon and Core i7/i9 processors that would normally be destined for systems that Microsoft's enterprise customers would use. Additionally, some OEMs have started switching to AMD processors, which is certainly one way to end the 'CPU shortages'."

Intel just launched its new 9th-gen mobile CPUs with more power and energy efficiency than ever before, but what about the desktop? It looks like desktop 10nm CPUs are a few years out now, spelling trouble for the company and a win for competitor AMD.

Intel will reportedly have 10nm (or smaller) desktop CPUs sometime in late-2021 or 2022, around the time that Intel will be launching its next-gen Ocean Cove CPU architecture. Between now and then we can expect Comet Lake-S refreshes with 2/4/6/8-core CPUs on 14nm between now and mid-2020, while Comet Lake-U will introduce new 8- and even 10-core CPUs both on 14nm.

The next CPU architecture after the Comet Lake-S release will be Rocket Lake-S which will be on an optimized 14nm node. The next-generation Ocean Cove CPU architecture will be the first deployed on 10nm in 1H 2021, delivering 4 cores on 10nm. AMD on the other hand has 8C/16T processors on the new Zen 2 CPU architecture on 7nm in the coming months, with an announcement at Computex 2019 in a month from now.

AMD will be unveiling its new Ryzen 3000 series processors at Computex 2019 in late-May/early-June, with new 500-series motherboards to join the fray with flagship X570 boards arriving with the first taste of next-gen PCIe 4.0 connectivity, too.

Well, now a retailer in Singapore has released some early pricing on AMD's upcoming Ryzen 3000 processors, a list of prices that is pretty close to the ones leaked in December. We're looking at prices from the Ryzen 3 3300 at $151, to the Ryzen 7 3700X at $501. But it's the higher-end Ryzen 9 3800X and Ryzen 9 3850X that should take things to the next level as they'll be next-gen 7nm Zen 2 CPUs that will reportedly pack 16 cores and 32 threads... Threadripper territory.

The purported Ryzen 9 3800X and Ryzen 9 3850X would compete directly against Intel's Core i9 family of CPUs, but it will offer a thread-busting 16C/32T with higher CPU clock speeds thanks to the 7nm node and Zen 2 architecture improvements. We're looking at the flagship Ryzen 9 3850X coming in at 4.3/5.1GHz for base and boost CPU clocks respectively, while the Ryzen 9 3800X will arrive with 3.9/4.7GHz base and boost CPU clocks respectively.

Intel has kicked off the hype train for its next-gen Lakefield processor, which will be the first to use Intel's new Foveros 3D packaging technology, and will start production later in the year. The teaser below does a great job of what to expect, which will see Intel fighting directly against Qualcomm in the SoC space for the next generation of laptops and portable devices.

Lakefield is going to be one of the most insteresting and tech-packed system-on-a-chip releases this year, with Intel getting to show off its 3D design packaging that will pack a slew of chips, GPU, memory and I/O on top of the main base die.

The two DRAM layers are placed on top of the compute chiplet that houses the CPU and GPU which are both on 10nm, and then placed on top of the base die with cache and I/O.

Intel has just released the first Pentium-branded processor to have 4GHz clocks out of the box, with the new Pentium Gold G5620. The new CPU replaces the G5600, and is based on the 14nm 'Coffee Lake' CPU architecture.

The new Intel Pentium Gold G5620 is a 2C/4T processor at 4GHz (without Turbo Boost), 256KB of L2 cache per core, and 4MB of shared L3 cache. There's also integrated graphics in the form of Intel UHD Graphics 630 which rolls out with 24 execution units. There's dual-channel DDR4 support, which will house up to 64GB off DDR4-2400, although I don't know who would pair a 2C/4T processor with 64GB of RAM.

We're looking at a TDP of just 65W and no pricing just yet but we should expect it to be around $100 or so, with availability next month.

Intel looks to be making a tasty new CPU with a purported Core i9-9900KFC model in the works... and that's not a typo, 'KFC' in the model of the processor actually makes sense and most likely won't come with a bucket of chicken.

Breaking down the KFC model we have 'K' meaning it's an unlocked CPU, 'F' is something new for Intel and means it doesn't feature integrated graphics, while 'C' designation was added to Broadwell CPUs that had improved integrated graphics. But the 'C' contradicts the 'F' as one means without integrated graphics and the other means it won't have integrated graphics, so what is going on here?

AnandTech points out that the 'C' processors featured a "small amount of eDRAM to act as a buffer between the L3 cache and the CPU. In our testing of those processors, it only really gave extra performance to integrated graphics workloads, which is where those Broadwell processors were focused". This means we could see a new high-end 8C/16T processor with additional eDRAM, which is going to confuse people I'm sure. The 9900KFC would feature additional hardware on it to boost graphics performance, but doesn't feature integrated graphics. Alrighty then.